Section 9 – Case Study 16

After reading this article, I can only imagine how difficult it would be to raise a child who suffers from ADHD. The disorder appeared to be pretty much what I had always assumed, but I feel like I have a greater understanding of why ADHD is overdiagnosed. Some of Billy’s symptoms were exaggerated, prolonged normalcies of the growing up process. For an unprepared parent, less severe forms of Billy’s actions may cause alarm for potential ADHD.

Also, one thing in particular from Billy’s story surprised me. I was in that “group of people” who thought that Ritalin and other ADHD medications provided some sort of tranquilizing effect. I understand the reasoning behind treating ADHD with stimulants, but I wonder about what happens why and how the drug does not work for certain patients. When stimulants fail ADHD children, is it mostly because there is no improvement, or rather does the disorder simply worsen? Does it have anything to do with the child being misdiagnosed, or do researches take that into effect when they calculate the number of successes and failures?

One final note I’d like to make is on the fact that Billy had a relapse of sorts. The author told us that it was overcome with a change in medication dosage and a “renewed effort” in Billy’s behavioral program. I worry a little for Billy; does this mean that his parents only put forth the maximum effort when Billy is behaving badly? How is he ever to completely overcome his problem if he isn’t treated consistently within his family? (Then again, I’m implying all of this from one sentence in the case, so perhaps the outlook isn’t as gloomy as I make it out to be.)