Health and Education, Fox News

Chris Magill

Educ 305

08/03/2015

This article discusses the possibility of ADHD medication being linked to reduced injuries for kids diagnosed with the disorder. Studies at the Yale school of medicine conducted a study recording the percentage of children in the hospital that are diagnosed with ADHD, as well as how medication played a factor. The results concluded that from age five to ten, kids without medication had an injury risk of 19 percent, whereas those medicated were only at 12 percent. The results of medication sustained the lower probability leading into teenage years as well, although both percentages rose, understandably so. Of course, clumsiness is more common to cause injuries with young children than with older. Those with ADHD are especially prone to this, because of severe distractibility and lack of focus. Hyperactive children also move around a lot more often than others, so they can very easily knock into something or trip over an object. The article gives a fairly detailed explanation of why this is so common and more than likely will continue to a lesser extent in life. Older teenagers with ADHD are prone to accidents and mishaps, but much more severe due to added responsibilities and opportunities. This could involve various types of drugs, reckless driving, or physical outbursts before assessing a situation correctly. Medication will help prevent spontaneous activities that could potentially be harmful, which in turn, will prevent injuries and more severe emergencies from occurring. The article concluded with stating it is not necessary to prescribe more medications, but medication clearly reduces injury risks for those of all ages diagnosed with ADHD.

Before I began reading this article, I was very skeptical of the headline. I was surprised that there was plenty of proof to back up the study done by Yale professors. There seemed to be a direct relation with ADHD medications reducing injury risks, especially with young children. It settles them down, largely prevents spontaneous behavior and lapses in judgment, and engages them in activities at hand. I thought this was very interesting and am glad I had the opportunity to read and review it. As someone who has ADHD, this was very helpful information to know, especially since ADHD is typically genetic. This will help me take care of my future children even more so. It will also hopefully allow me to inform my close friends who have ADHD of the supported results of this study. The article also touched on the possibility of ADHD being diagnosed too frequently. I definitely agree with this. Many young children will obviously be very hyperactive. Many doctors state that a complete diagnosis should not be conducted until at least the age of six, which I completely agree with. Regarding the evaluation of older ages, there should definitely be medication with ADHD. Many suicides, drug usage, and car crashes especially ruled a DUI, have involved people diagnosed with ADHD. I believe there is plenty of evidence supporting ADHD medications reducing injury risks. Focusing on what is in front of you, and avoiding risk-taking behavior are very much contained while being medicated, we can only hope more of us are aware of that.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/07/30/medication-may-reduce-injury-risk-for-kids-with-adhd/