ADHD Nation: Treatment And Prevention Through Music

I will be discussing the facts, statistics, and misunderstandings regarding ADHD in the U.S., and how music can play a role in lowering the number of diagnoses.

You've heard about it in the news. You've read about it in the newspapers and it can be found anywhere on the Internet. It seems like there is a little nation of young people living within The United States Of America. As of August 2010, there have been 4.5 million children diagnosed with ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. You've heard the term ADD, but it actually doesn't exist. I just want to clarify that when we use the acronym ADD, we are actually talking about Attenion Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.

So does your child have ADHD? Do you know someone that has a child with the disorder? I'm sure you do. We all seem to know someone. It feels like the numbers of people diagnosed with the disorder are growing and that doctors are increasingly willing to prescribe medicine for it. In fact, there is a big discussion going on in the medical world about how many of the diagnosed children actually have ADHD.

One study by Todd Elder, economist at Michigan State University, argues that many children are misdiagnosed with ADHD simply because they are the youngest in their class. Using a sample of nearly 12,000 children, Elder examined the difference in ADHD diagnosis and medication rates between the youngest and oldest children in a grade. The data comes from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort.

Elder's study says that the youngest kindergartners were 60% more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than the oldest children in the same grade level. When those kids reached the fifth and eighth grades, the youngest ones were over twice as likely to be prescribed stimulants. In all, the Elder study discovered that about 20% of the 4.5 million kids currently identified as having ADHD have been likely misdiagnosed by doctors. Wow! That's a lot.

If that's true, then that means teachers, parents, and doctors are jumping to diagnose simply because the child shows the common symptoms. So let's looks at the possible symptoms of ADHD:

1) has a hard time paying attention
2) tends to daydream a lot
3) does not seem to listen
4) is easily distracted from schoolwork or play
5) forgets things
6) is in constant motion or unable to stay seated
7) squirms or fidgets
8) talks too much
9) is not able to play quietly
10) acts and speaks without thinking
11) has trouble taking turns
12) interrupts others

Article Author: The Musiconomy

Tony Margiotta is the founder of The Musiconomy, a publishing company that advocates musical training as an essential focus in childhood education and development. Sign up for the Free monthly newsletter and special report here:

…

Visit The Musiconomy's author page — The Musiconomy's Blog