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