ADHD: Hot Topic, Big Questions

photo from fanpop.com

by Barbara Mulloy-Robbins

ADHD has become a “hot topic (a favorite expression used by talk show host, Whoopi Goldberg). However, ADHD is definitely a hot topic not to be taken lightly.

In the mid-to-late 70’s and 80’s my lovable, but definitely out of control five year old son, Greg, was professionally diagnosed with  MBD (Minimal Brain Dysfunction)... Along came the 80’s and 90’s with the viewpoint that it was just a “catch-all, yuppie fad disorder.” Today ADHD is the official renamed disorder according to the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).

Recently, Alan Schwarz  and SarahCohen wrote a great, and certainly timely article for The New York Times... ADHD in 11% of U.S. Children as Diagnoses Rise.

Some of the big questions from the article seem to be…

1. How discriminating is the diagnosis and treatment?

2. Are mild symptoms being diagnosed too casually? and…

3.  Dr. Thomas R. Frieden at the CDC (The Center for Disease Control) likened the rising rates of stimulant prescriptions among children to the overdose of pain medications and antibiotics in adults. Can this be true? 

It appears that the etiology of ADHD is calling out for more definitive answers.

ARTICLE LINK... It's a good read.

As a person who likes to stick a quote in wherever I can, this one seemed appropriate...

“There are years that ask questions, and years that answer.” -Zora Neale Hurston.

“For Everything There is a Season…”

My Garden, a Harbinger of Hope

by Barbara Mulloy- Robbins

It has been said, “For everything there is a season…” and for me,  my season of health related distractions will hopefully soon come to an end.   

As many of you may know, the old order of my life came to an abrupt halt in July, 2012 with a health issue that interrupted perhaps a once in a lifetime vacation…a cruise down the Mediterranean coast.

However, it wasn’t meant to be. Instead, the Big “C” became an uninvited guest who brought along with it a HUGE laundry list of inevitable health issues to navigate through. With my focus on the above and all its related “extensions”, there never seemed to be enough time or energy to continue with my blog, Barbara's Reason, and along with that… promoting the 2^nd edition of my book: An Uphill Struggle:  Managing Dual Diagnosis in the Family.

I decided that it is time to show up and become a presence once again in response to the extensive ADHD media coverage today. I watched Brian Williams on NBC Nightly News speak on several occasions about the subject.  Alan Schwarz and Sarah Cohen collaborated on an article for The New York Times and The Palm Beach Post , with the headline: ADHD Seen in 11% of U.S. Children as Diagnoses Rise. Those, along with many other ADHD articles have spurred me into action.

 I want to throw my hat back into the ring and speak about my troubled journey with two sons both diagnosed many years ago. This was a time when ADD/ADHD were neither recognized, treated or even accepted by the general public; certainly not the least of which, the medical community. Consequently, both boys chose to self medicate resulting in their untimely deaths in 1997 and 2004. It was for this reason, that I chose to write my book.

Sadly, it still appears there are no definitive answers to many of the surrounding questions regarding my sons' mental health and in broader terms, the entire world's.  It is, however, our thesis that an underlying condition (ADD/ADHD) tightened the grip of my boys' eventual addiction.

So, that was where I was then, and this is where I am now. I am dedicated to continuing the discussion surrounding ADHD, mental illness and addiction and how, in some way, the three all appear to be so closely tied together.