Not sure what you mean. Are you saying that the editorial I quoted is just a case of fear-mongering?
He presented some provocative information questioning long-term benefits of stimulants in children. I'd be interested in your opinion about it.
The article has some elements of fear-mongering, or at least provocative and not that well substantiated opinion.
It is not clear from his description what long-term benefits they were looking for in the study. Is "behavior" (which?) improved in 20-year-olds as opposed to 10-year-olds? One hopes so, he says it was not, we have no idea what was measured. What does he mean by "behavior problems" that didn't improve over a 10-year period? Against what baseline(s) were these problems assessed?
He thinks "the illusion that children�s behavior problems can be cured with drugs prevents us as a society from seeking the more complex solutions that will be necessary." And he says that "Drugs get everyone � politicians, scientists, teachers and parents � off the hook." I don't think very many people actually advocate using meds as the only treatment option for ADHD. In the short term, meds can help a person access the other treatment that's being offered, and gain enough impulse control to practice the skills that are being taught. That's a short-term gain, but one with longer-term implications for both functioning and self-esteem. The author doesn't address any of the subtleties around how and why these drugs are used.
The question of whether deficits are inborn or not, highlighted in the second page of the article, is interesting, but the author appears to be rather eager to blame parents (and the environment parents provide) for their children's disabilities. Environment plays a huge role, I'm sure, but I don't think we have enough science yet to say that most cases of ADHD should be blamed on causes in the family home. (I imagine the highly nurturing parents here whose kids have attention issues may have something to say on this subject.)
I'm not saying that everyone needs meds, nor that all meds are safe, only that the use of carefully prescribed meds to improve the lives of people who genuinely benefit from them should not be unjustly stigmatized.
DeeDee
