![]() ![]() ![]() Has my child had problems in elementary school, or did teachers only start talking about attention in middle school?ĪDHD hardly ever emerges after a kid turns 12. The best treatment for sleep deprivation is sleep, not stimulants. But the appropriate remedy is really for Jason’s parents to unplug the video games and turn off the lights so he can get some sleep. Vyvanse and Adderall are amphetamines, powerful stimulants they will compensate for his sleep deprivation and improve his performance in class. However, I have found that some doctors do only a cursory evaluation, look at an automated report, and then say, “Let’s try medication and see whether it helps.” Stimulant medications such as Vyvanse and Adderall may be dramatically ‘effective’ for Jason the sleep-deprived gamer. A skilled clinician who takes the time to ask the right questions will determine that Justin has ADHD, but that Jason and Jennifer do not. Jennifer isn’t paying attention because she is gifted, and the material covered in class is material she mastered two years ago she’s bored. Jason isn’t paying attention because he stays up late playing video games and he’s sleep-deprived. Justin isn’t paying attention because he has ADHD. The same is true of a child who is sleep-deprived, or depressed. If a child is bored, that child won’t be paying attention. Not all problems with attention are due to attention-deficit disorder. Here are some questions to ask yourself before your start filling prescriptions for your child:Īm I sure my child really has ADHD, rather than some other problem which is causing him to be inattentive? That’s especially of concern because of research showing that these medications for ADHD may affect the developing brain in significant ways. ![]() Outside of North America, medication is usually a last resort. One is that in the U.S., medication has become the first resort for almost any child who is struggling in school. In my book The Collapse of Parenting, I explore some of the reasons why. For example, a teenager in the United States is now nearly 14 times more likely to be on medication for ADHD than a teenager in the United Kingdom. You can watch streaming video of the TV interviews, review lists of his speaking engagements, and contact him directly, at American kids are now much more likely to be diagnosed and treated for ADHD than kids in any other country. His essays about a wide range of pediatric issues – the diagnosis and misdiagnosis of ADHD a growing apathy and lack of motivation among American kids, especially boys and the overuse of psychiatric medications in children, among other issues - have been published in the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and others. The Collapse of Parenting (Basic Books). ![]() He has spoken on issues of child and adolescent development for schools and communities not only all across North America – from California to Nova Scotia and from Alaska to Florida – but also in Australia, Bermuda, England, Germany, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland, Spain, and Switzerland. Sax has built an international reputation as an expert in issues of child and adolescent development. Sax returned to full-time clinical practice near his home in Chester County, Pennsylvania.ĭr. After an extended sabbatical to lead workshops across North America and around the world, Dr. He provided both primary care and urgent care services to children and adults in suburban Maryland for more than 19 years. Sax established a family practice in Montgomery County Maryland, just outside Washington DC. Next he did a 3-year residency in family practice at Lancaster General Hospital in Lancaster Pennsylvania.ĭr. He then went on to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned both his PhD in psychology, and his MD. Leonard Sax earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in five semesters at the age of 19. ![]()
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