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August 2015 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net |
ADHD Perspectives:
France Vs. the
United States
More children are diagnosed
here than in France
By Angela S.
Hoover,
Staff Writer
At least 9 percent
of American schoolaged children are
diagnosed with ADHD and take
pharmaceutical medications, according to 2012 figures. In France, fewer
than .5 percent are diagnosed with
ADHD and treated with medication.
Why does ADHD seem to be more
rampant in the United States than in
France?
Perspective, interpretation, treatment methods and possibly parenting styles may explain the difference.
The first three of these explanations are predicated on whether
or not ADHD is a biological-neurological disorder. Both countries
answer this question differently. In
the United States, child psychiatrists
consider ADHD to be a biological disorder with biological causes.
Therefore, the treatment is biological, in the form of psycho-stimulant
medications such as Ritalin and
Adderall.
French child psychiatrists view
ADHD as a medical condition that
has psycho-social and situational
causes. Instead of treating a child’s
focusing and behavioral problems
with drugs, French doctors seek out
the underlying issue that is caus-
ing the child distress. This means
looking into the child’s social context rather ѡ