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"Paying Attention." Scientific American. "Increased Medication Use in ADD: Regressive or Appropriate?" JAMA "The Ritalin Controversy: What's Made This Drug's Opponents Hyperactive?" JAMA The Leading Edge Research Homepage newsgroup: alt.support.attn-deficit Wired Magazine, "Interrupt Driven" Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Adults You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid Or Crazy?! Success with Attention Deficit Disorder and Hyperactivity Parents of Children With Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder |
Shaywitz, Sally E. and Shaywitz, Bennet A. "Increased Medication Use in Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Regressive or Appropriate?" The Journal of the American Medical Association: Volume 260 No. 15; pp. 2270-2272. This article was also found in an MIT library (The Science Library) that was open to the public (although non-MIT members needed to sign in). The Journal is most commonly read by doctors, or those belonging to the AMA. As a result, the articles tend to be a little more difficult to read and the general public would probable be somewhat wary to pick up the magazine. In addition to doctors, the magazine may be sitting in medical waiting areas, where patients may be able to read it. Again, they would probably revert back to a copy of People Magazine since JAMA is so advanced. Others of the medical professions such as nurses and orderlies may read it also. The journal's popularity does not merit it selling on newsstands and as a result, public access may be somewhat limited, except at specialized libraries. The small circulation of the journal can be verified at the masthead. This article was written by two doctors from the Yale University School of Medicine, as stated at the end of the article. The article is rather general and as a result, people are classified into groups. Again, the "children" are again mentioned, referring to both the entire population and the ADD group. The article is written in chronological order, describing the history of the disorder and the schools of thought associated. Articles from older journals are referred to, in order to give an accurate sense of history. For example, a study is mentioned from THE JOURNAL, in which surveys were given to school nurses over many years in order to find correlations between prescription of methylphenidate hydrocholride and external factors. It was found that the number of students who used the drug increased over a sixteen year period. It was also found that the number using the drug rose abnormally high in the same time period among girls and the lower-class. This is just one of the studies mentioned. The article deals mainly with these two groups: the studies and the children. As the article details the history of the rise in methyphehidate hydrochloride, it makes several interesting obeservations. It gives two possible explanations for the rise: the drug is being prescribed for those that do not need it or the drug is finally being used by those that would have been formerly overlooked. The article cautions against the labeling all kids in school having problems as having ADHD. However, the authors do agree with the use if the patient fits all criteria. The conclusion is as vague as the article itself, only stating that the increased drug use is regressive if it is a product of treating all behavioral and learning disorder indiscriminately, but the increase is appropriate if it reflects a greater awareness for behavioral and learning disorders. The article tries to be objective and analytical at the same time. The third-person narration of the history from both sides serve as a reassurance to the reader (most likely the doctor) that the article is relatively non-biased. However, by staying on both sides of the fence, the article fails to analyze any deeper than superficially. As a result, what remains is a half-analysis that fails to go past common sense. If the just the history were given, the reader would come to the same conclusions himself. Subsequently, this article is unuseful to those (i.e. doctors and parents) seeking more information on whether to use drugs to treat ADHD. In trying to be everything at once, the article fails to be anything at all. Reviewer: Peter Siu |
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