Whoa. This article is nuts. It talks about a new disorder that can be applied to children with attention problems, "sluggish cognitive tempo" which is described by feelings of lethargy, daydreaming and slow mental processing. Okay, not so surprising that there is another attempt to diagnose and medicalize perhaps "normal" child behavior, but here's the craziest part:
"Dr.
Barkley, who has said that “S.C.T. is a newly recognized disorder,”
also has financial ties to Eli Lilly; he received $118,000 from 2009 to
2012 for consulting and speaking engagements, according to propublica.org.
While detailing sluggish cognitive tempo in The Journal of Psychiatric
Practice, Dr. Barkley stated that Strattera’s performance on sluggish
cognitive tempo symptoms was “an exciting finding.” Dr. Barkley has also
published a symptom checklist for mental health professionals to
identify adults with the condition; the forms are available for $131.75
apiece from Guilford Press, which funds some of his research.
Dr. Barkley, who edits sluggish cognitive tempo’s Wikipedia page, declined a request to discuss his financial interests in the condition’s acceptance.
“I
have no doubt there are kids who meet the criteria for this thing, but
nothing is more irrelevant,” Dr. Frances said. “The enthusiasts here are
thinking of missed patients. What about the mislabeled kids who are
called patients when there’s nothing wrong with them? They are not
considering what is happening in the real world.”
This is about making money for pharmaceutical companies of course! This is so insane, definitely check out the whole piece.
For many reasons, there appears to be a preference for medicating problems (because it seems so much easier.) Granted, there are people and disorders that defiantly benefit and need medication, but there are also many kids that are given Ritalin or Anti-depressants that would benefit from other forms of intervention or help.
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