Misdiagnosis for children
Joey Rivera
Professor Hodge
Goodwin College
English 300
11/23/15
Are meds necessary or are you a lazy parent? (Ellis, 2012, pg1)” Between 2005 and 2011 data had been collected to show that there was an increase in mental illnesses for children ages 3-17. “ADHD (6.8%) Behavioral or conduct problems (3.5%) Anxiety (3.0%) Depression (2.1%) Autism spectrum disorders (1.1%) (CDC, 2015, para 9” the problem with these numbers is not that there going up it is that there is a misdiagnosis occurring. There is a general misconception about what someone with a mental disorder looks like. The symptoms may also make it harder for a parent not to believe that their normal child might have some extreme disorder when in reality the children are being children. In today’s society parents often use the internet when trying to figure out if their child is normal. Not everything that they read on the internet is accurate; something like a child being inattentive which is usually normal might get misdiagnosed as “ADHD” with no tests to determine …show more content…
Saying mean and hateful things when upset? Blaming others for your mistakes? Deliberately trying to annoy or upset others? These are the most reoccurring questions for symptoms of Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Again this sounds like what any ordinary child does on a regular basis. “Only between 1 and 16 percent of children and adolescents have ODD (ODD)”even though it is not that common to see this in children, it is on the brink of become over diagnosed because of the repeated misdiagnosis. Many children who are diagnosed with ODD also have other treatable mental health conditions. Some conditions that coexist with ODD are ADHD or mood disorders such as Depression and Bipolar disorder. Some of the things that can contribute to ODD are a dysfunctional family life, a family history of mental illnesses and/or substance abuse, and inconsistent discipline by
Joey Rivera
Professor Hodge
Goodwin College
English 300
11/23/15
Are meds necessary or are you a lazy parent? (Ellis, 2012, pg1)” Between 2005 and 2011 data had been collected to show that there was an increase in mental illnesses for children ages 3-17. “ADHD (6.8%) Behavioral or conduct problems (3.5%) Anxiety (3.0%) Depression (2.1%) Autism spectrum disorders (1.1%) (CDC, 2015, para 9” the problem with these numbers is not that there going up it is that there is a misdiagnosis occurring. There is a general misconception about what someone with a mental disorder looks like. The symptoms may also make it harder for a parent not to believe that their normal child might have some extreme disorder when in reality the children are being children. In today’s society parents often use the internet when trying to figure out if their child is normal. Not everything that they read on the internet is accurate; something like a child being inattentive which is usually normal might get misdiagnosed as “ADHD” with no tests to determine …show more content…
Saying mean and hateful things when upset? Blaming others for your mistakes? Deliberately trying to annoy or upset others? These are the most reoccurring questions for symptoms of Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Again this sounds like what any ordinary child does on a regular basis. “Only between 1 and 16 percent of children and adolescents have ODD (ODD)”even though it is not that common to see this in children, it is on the brink of become over diagnosed because of the repeated misdiagnosis. Many children who are diagnosed with ODD also have other treatable mental health conditions. Some conditions that coexist with ODD are ADHD or mood disorders such as Depression and Bipolar disorder. Some of the things that can contribute to ODD are a dysfunctional family life, a family history of mental illnesses and/or substance abuse, and inconsistent discipline by