Jessica Acorn, Tom Jenkins, Heather Hobson, Avery Carroll, Brittany Elmsley, Rianna Awan

Over Medicated Children

Side effects that go along with ADHD medication are unfortunately very common. A lot of the medication that is prescribed to children in Canada are schedule II drugs.

A schedule II drug: “A category of drugs considered to have a strong potential for abuse or addiction but that have legitimate medical use. Among the substances so classified by the Drug Enforcement Agency are morphine, cocaine, pentobarbital, oxycodone, alphaprodine, and methadone” (Farlex Inc., 2013).

Side Effects

There are many “drugs” prescribed to help children and young adults with their ADHD. The top 10 medications prescribed to children and youth who have ADHD are as follows: Ritalin Adderall Vyvanse Intuniv Strattera Provigil or Modafanil Wellbutrin The Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCA) Risperdal And lastly, excersize

Top Ten

“A recent article in the Toronto Star brought to light troubling findings on a variety of side effects experienced by some Canadian children taking ADHD medications. 600 cases of serious side effects in the past decade, including 11 deaths- seven of those suicides.

Toronto Star

The paper also says that a growing number of medical professionals and parents are reporting adverse reactions to ADHD medications, but that Health Canada, which collects adverse reaction reports, does not adequately make them public, allowing the prescription drug industry to “largely police itself” (Grainger, 2012).

Toronto Star Cont

Q: How do we apply alternatives to practice?  

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) offers parents various treatment options for this condition, including dietary modifications, nutritional supplementation, herbal medicine, and homeopathy.

*CAM appears to be most effective when prescribed holistically and according to each individual's characteristic symptoms.

Alternative Treatments for ADHD

According to various studies conducted at the University of Maryland Medical Center, reports of behavioral improvements in children with ADHD have been linked to diets that restrict allergens.

Dietary Modifications 

“Exposure to sensitizing foods appears to increase inflammatory mediators and neuropeptides in the blood… hypersensitive children are likely to exhibit atopy, irritability, sleep disturbances, and prominent hyperactive-impulsive symptoms”

Source: Pellow, J., Solomon, E. M., & Barnard, C. N. (2011). Complementary and Alternative Medical Therapies for Children with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Alternative Medicine Review, 16(4), 323-337.

The experts say:

Among the suspected additives and foods that parents and studies report as inciting behavioral changes are:

Any artificial colorings (particularly yellow, red, or green) Other chemical additives -- for example, BHT or BHA Milk Chocolate Eggs Wheat Foods containing salicylates, including all berries, chili powder,

apples and cider, cloves, grapes, oranges, peaches, peppers (bell & chili), plums, prunes, tomatoes

Source: http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/some_alternative_approaches_attention-deficit_hyperactivity_disorder_000030_10.htm#ixzz2OhV7rwHt

Behavioral Change Due To Additives In Foods

Feingold Diet. The most well-known diet for ADHD is the Feingold diet, a salicylate- and additive-free diet, which requires rigorous vigilance over a child's eating habits. This diet also prohibits aspirin, which contains salicylates. Some parents report great success with this diet, although it may be difficult to impose. It is certainly wise, in any case, to avoid food with artificial colors and flavors and to provide a healthy balance of fresh, natural foods.

Essential Fatty Acids. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fatty fish and certain vegetable oils, are important for normal brain function and may have some benefits for people with ADHD. It is not clear if supplements of fatty acid compounds, such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaneoic acid

Specific Diets

Zinc. Zinc is important for the metabolism of certain neurotransmitters that play a role in ADHD, and deficiencies have been associated with some cases of ADHD. Long-term use of zinc, however, can cause anemia and other side effects in people without deficiencies and it has no effect on ADHD in these patients. In any case, testing for trace minerals, such as zinc, is not standard procedure when evaluating children suspected to have ADHD.

Sugar. Although parents often blame sugar for causing children to become impulsive or hyperactive, a number of studies strongly indicate that sugar plays no role in hyperactivity.

Source: http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/some_alternative_approaches_attention-deficit_hyperactivity_disorder_000030_10.htm#ixzz2OhW2w200

Specific Diets Cont.

The legislation surrounding the medication of children is incredibly vague and hard for most children or youth to understand. When the laws surrounding children’s rights are next to impossible for children to understand here lies the opportunity for misunderstanding and maltreatment.

Currently Canadian law states that any children under the age of 16 does not have the capacity to make reasonable choices about their medical treatments, therefore you must be at least 16 to have a legal say over your medical treatment in most cases.

 

Legislation

Although age 16 might seem like a reasonable time to allow children some agency over their medical treatments we must take into consideration all children in all situations. For example, children living with a parent who is suffering from Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy will actually force illnesses onto their children for the emotional gain of attention for the parent. Parents suffering from this illness will withhold food from children, give the child drugs that the child is not aware off or tamper with medical equipment the child is using such as IVs.

Legislation

Munchausen Syndrome is very rare but in these cases children should be given say over their medical interventions and treatment well before the age of 16.

What is less uncommon is the overmedication of children in Crown Care. Statistically today in Ontario 47% of all children in Crown Care are medicated for a whole host of reasons but mainly to keep them “under control”

"In this day and age, particularly in North America, there's a rush for quick fixes. And so a lot of kids, especially those that don't have parents, will get placed on medication in order to keep them under control."- http://www.accessibilitynews.ca/cwdo/activities/health_committee.php?activities-health=137

Legislation

Should We?

"It's the adolescents who are being given medication usually, and it's adolescents who are noncompliant. But they're supposed to be," she added. "That's their job. So as adolescents grow and challenge the system or challenge staff, it's at that time that we begin to medicate them. They are going to be challenging, and medicating isn't the way to help them through adolescence."

The idea is simple, children in care are often not told - or not fully told - their rights in regards to medication and simply accept what they are being told as the truth. This leads to situations such as these where children are being medicated for illnesses and disorders they do not likely have.

Legislation

Mental competence presumed at age 162 In the absence of evidence to the contrary, it

shall be presumed(a) that a person who is 16 years of age or more is

mentally competent to make treatment decisions and to consent for the purpose of this Act; and

(b) that a person who is under 16 years of age is not mentally competent to make treatment decisions or to consent for the purpose of this Act.

Meaning of incapacity for personal care

Legislation

3 For the purpose of Parts 8 and 9, a person is incapable of personal care if he or she is repeatedly or continuously unable, because of mental incapacity,

(a) to care for himself or herself; and(b) to make reasonable decisions about

matters relating to his or her person or appreciate the reasonably foreseeable consequences of a decision or lack of decision.

Legislation

http://healthlifeandstuff.com/2009/12/the-ten-most-important-adhd-meds/

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Schedule+II http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/blogs/shine-on/adhd-medication-helping-kids

-hurting-them-164859137.html

Pellow, J., Solomon, E. M., & Barnard, C. N. (2011). Complementary and Alternative Medical Therapies for Children with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Alternative Medicine Review, 16(4), 323-337.

http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/some_alternative_approaches_attention-deficit_hyperactivity_disorder_000030_10.htm#ixzz2OhV7rwHt

http://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/statutes/ccsm/m110e.php

References