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ADHD is not always what it seems

Tuesday 23rd June 2015

The number of kids diagnosed with ADHD continues to grow with reported cases of the disorder up by 42 percent in the USA since 2003. But a recent study suggests that some of these children might actually be suffering from a different condition that often goes undetected.

Pediatrician Ira Chasnoff and his team analysed a sample of 156 foster children who had been referred to his clinic and found that 81 percent of them had foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) that had not previously been detected. The most common reason they had been referred to Chasnoff was ADHD.

FASD is related to the better-known foetal alcohol syndrome and can cause similar behavioural and learning problems. Unlike foetal alcohol syndrome, those with other types of FASD may not have facial anomalies and thus the issue may go unnoticed.

Most importantly, children who have FASD require different types of treatments than those who have standard hyperactivity disorder. "About 74 percent of children with FASD do meet criteria for ADHD," Chasnoff said, "but, because of all the neurochemistry changes from the alcohol, its a different kind of ADHD." FASD-affected children are more likely to need additional therapies, like sensory integration and family therapy, that ADHD-affected children might not need. Also, before Chasnoff tested them, 19 of these 156 children had been on stimulant or psychotropic medications to treat their ADHD, but afterward, it turned out that only two of the children needed the drugs.

This story is a summary of an article published in The Atlantic. Click the External link button to read the original article.

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