Summary: An interview with Dr. Mary Anne Block (http://blockcenter.com/blog/about/). How would you respond if you were the parent of a young child who is sent home with a note from the teacher saying your son has been repeatedly disruptive in class and can't sit still? She has suggested that you take him to the doctor to see if something can be done for it. This is very commonly how children get placed on Ritalin (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000606/) or a number of other powerful drugs that act in a manner similar to cocaine. It is exactly how many children are treated. The problem is that placing kids on Ritalin is not dissimilar to giving a child with a brain tumor some Tylenol for the headache. The underlying problem has not been diagnosed and it is not being treated. This happens in adult medicine with some regularity as well. If you are diagnosed with high blood pressure, you will frequently walk out of the doctor's office with a prescription for a diuretic (water pill) without having the doctor look for the underlying cause of the high blood pressure, which is usually NOT treated by the water pill you were prescribed. Today there are over 5,000,000 children diagnosed with ADHD and many of them are on powerful stimulant drugs ... for many years. What impact does this have on their brain and their health in general? Today I'll be talking with a doctor who approaches ADHD differently and you'll hear why. If you are the parent or relative of a child with ADHD, or are an adult with ADHD-like symptoms, you won't want to miss this program.
