Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a label tag that is being put on our children at alarmingly increasing rate.
In a November 1998 article The National Institute for Health admits that their current stance on the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder is a contradiction.
From the scientific point of view, medicine demands that an accurate diagnosis should be made before the proper treatment can be administered. Despite this there is the admission that children with ADD are being treated even though there is no way to make an accurate diagnosis.
Their report, by a panel of experts, called Attention Deficit Disorder a “profound problem” that currently affects 3-5% of school children and costs more than 3 billion dollars. But a consistent, proven method of diagnosing and treating this disorder remains elusive says the chairman of the panel, Dr. David Kupfer.
The most common treatment, given absence of an accurate diagnosis, is Ritalin, a drug categorized as a class 2 narcotic (that’s the same as cocaine). Emergency room visits by children ages 10-14 involving Ritalin intoxication have now reached the same level as those of cocaine users which indicates escalating abuse of this highly addictive drug.
According to this report, there are no studies that have been undertaken to examine the adverse effects on children taking Ritalin for more than 14 months.
Our concern is the apparent willingness to treat in the absence of an accurate diagnosis with a very powerful drug that has no studies proving its long-term safety.
There is no question that we are dealing with a neurological problem at the core of this condition. Chiropractic, while not a treatment of ADHD, does have a profound effect on the body’s nervous system and its ability to bring healing. Doesn’t it make more sense to find out why the nervous system is malfunctioning then to mask the symptoms with powerful drugs? If you or your loved ones suffer from this or a similar disorder, you owe it to yourself to allow chiropractic to remove the interference that may be the root of the problem.
I have never checked a child who was diagnosed with ADHD that did not have subluxation (interference with the spinal cord). When subluxation is corrected these children decrease the usage of and most get off their Ritalin. Even now, among the medical community, there are warnings about the dangerous side effects of Ritalin.
The problem is they are still looking for the solution in the form of a pill to resolve the problem. However, great health starts from an optimal spine and nerve system. Chiropractic does that!!
