ADHD Medicine Prescription

ADHD Medicine Prescription

            Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a mental condition in which a child’s brain is unable to control their self-control, their ability to sit or stay still, and even affects their attention. It is most prone to school-aged children, and it affects them at their homes, schools and might also affect their friendships.

Since it is a neurodevelopmental disorder, this condition is hard to tell if the parent or a teacher doesn’t take close watch over a suffering child. A doctor dealing with this sector use many criteria to come up with the conclusion that a child is suffering. It is accompanied by a wanting self-focused attitude where the child fails to recognize other people’s presence by annoying interruptions and poor turn-taking skills.

It is also accompanied with anger outbursts and severe temper tantrums. The children also lack the calmness during their leisure due to their constant fidgeting. ADHD makes the children require concentration, which in turn makes them unable to focus in their class, assignments, ot even their chores (Bachmann et al., 2017). It, in turn, hinders task completion. Its also accompanied with being forgetful both at home and in their schools. The children get prone to making mistakes and are often unorganized..

Once the child is diagnosed with ADHD, medication is prescribed by the doctor, and it comes with different side effects. They can, however, be avoided by using alternative ADHD therapy techniques. The parent is given the right to choose the kind of medication they want for their child depending on the condition the child is suffering from. ADHD medicine majorly improves the child’s concentration increasing their ability to focus on given tasks and even control their anger issues. The drug turns off the symptoms enabling the child to make drastic improvements in their behavior. However, the medicine does not heal the child, and once the child stops taking medicine the symptoms start to kick in. They might not even work in other kids. Regular medication is prescribed with a continuous balanced diet and rest for the child to improve performance.

It is, however, fair to say that ADHD medicine is overprescribed due to misdiagnosis and even poor judgment and insecurities. A parent with an elder child suffering fro the disease may take steps to give a younger one the medicine to control him or her if the child shows even the most minor symptoms. The medication at times is, however, overprescribe due to lack of following the rules set down by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

The treatment medicine is mostly stimulant medication, including the methylphenidates and amphetamines which come with numerous side effects once the child grows up. It brings about sleeping problems, which are the most common (Dunlop & Newman, 2016). Dizziness is also common, which is mostly accompanied with stomachaches and headaches. Along with that is the decreased appetite and weight loss, irritability, and chances of high blood pressure. Personality changes might also occur but in rare circumstances.

According to the research done, men are more likely to be diagnosed with the infection due to their hyperactive behavior. They tend to have outbursts easily compared to girls who tend to be silent, reducing the signs being easily seen. However, differentiating a child with ADHD from one who is not interested in a subject, and the one with just too much energy is simple. A child without ADHD will be active in specific fields, even if it is only one. Children suffering from ADHDrarely have any interest in any area.Inconclusion, the lack of proper diagnosis or the lack of understanding of children highly contributes to the over-prescription of ADHD medicine.

References

Bachmann, C. J., Wijlaars, L. P., Kalverdijk, L. J., Burcu, M., Glaeske, G., Schuiling-Veninga, C. C., … &Zito, J. M. (2017). Trends in ADHD medication use in children and adolescents in five western countries, 2005–2012. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 27(5), 484-493.

Dunlop, A. J., & Newman, L. K. (2016). ADHD and psychostimulants–overdiagnosis and overprescription. Med J Aust, 204(4), 139.