Examing an ADD study

I ran across a shocking study recently on the misdiagnosis of attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which is unfortunately, something I see very often. I will have parents bring their children in who have been diagnosed with this disorder looking for other answers after the medication fails to help. Many times, children are misdiagnosed with ADD when they have a vision problem that can be corrected with glasses and/or vision therapy. The study shows another reason that kids are often misdiagnosed: their age. These children are significantly more likely than their older classmates to be prescribed behavior-modifying stimulants such as Ritalin, said Todd Elder, whose study appears in an issue of the “Journal of Health Economics.” Such inappropriate treatment is particularly worrisome because of the unknown impacts of long-term stimulant use on children's health, Elder said. It also wastes an estimated $320 million to $500 million a year on unnecessary medication -- some $80 million to $90 million of it paid by Medicaid, he said. Read the rest here

The Strength of Community

I thought about what I would write about this week long and hard.

Many of you who come into the office hear me say some weeks it is hard to find things about the eye and health to write about sometimes.

This is one of those weeks. There will be no eye care in my column today.

Early Monday morning on the 23rd of January, many of our friends and neighbors had their worlds turned upside down by a force of nature. One exceptional young lady even lost her life.

And when something like this happens, your friendly neighborhood eye doctor could write something generic about wearing safety glasses as you volunteer in the cleanup.

I thought about doing that today, but when I wrote the first few words, it sounded hollow. Instead, I’ll write about our community, and how good and how strong I think it is.

Read the rest here