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Caleb Hanson
Jennifer Courtney
English 2010
12/10/2016
Mental Disorders for Children Are on the Rise
Over the last several decades the number of mental disorders diagnosed have
been steadily increasing every year. According to Azadeh Ansari, journalist at CNN,
A.D.H.D. diagnosis alone has been rising at about 5% a year for well over a decade.
There are a lot of theories as to why this trend is happening, one of the first
assumptions is that doctors are over diagnosing children due to demand from
pharmaceutical companies. One piece of evidence for this theory comes from Katherine
Ellison, journalist at the New York Times. She states that In the United Kingdom,
prescriptions for A.D.H.D. medications rose by more than 50 percent in five years to
657,000 in 2012, up from 420,000 in 2007. This increase of prescription drug use has
contributed to the $11 billion international market for A.D.H.D. drugs (Ellison). This
might sound like a ton of drugs just for one disorder but according to Korina Lopez,
journalist at USA Today, just 14% of teens with any mental disorder are on medication.
This leaves even more room for corporate profits.
Over diagnosing is still a very important topic Since many of the hallmark traits
of ADHD and other common mental disorders can resemble typical behavior from a
young child (Ansari). What we need is a better system in place to be able to tell at what
point a child really does have a disorder versus acting out. Currently the assumption

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seems to be that doctors will go continue to take the safe approach and diagnose the
child without enough evidence. The problem with this is that the medication for these
disorders can actually worsen a childs condition. Until more rules are set in place to
avoid this the longer the abuse of pharmaceuticals will continue. The chart below from
CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder) illustrates
the rise in ADHD diagnoses from 1997-2014.

Even though there are obvious fiscal opportunities for pharmaceutical

companies, one can make the argument that we are just able to catch symptoms of
A.D.H.D and other mental disorders more often then we have been in the past. As with
almost all mental disorders most of what we currently understand about them is very

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limited and will only improve as time goes by. In either case the impact mental disorders
have on children is vast. According to the CDCs Childrens Mental Health Report it is
estimated that 13 20 percent of children living in the United States (up to 1 out of 5
children) experience a mental disorder. For any government to be able to fully support
parents on this magnitude is a daunting task since it requires a lot of time and
resources. Its estimated that $247 billion is spent each year on childhood mental
disorders (CDC) in the Untied States alone. On the international level a lot of countries
offer no support at all. Nino Jakhua lives in Georgia and is unable to even get
medications for her sons A.D.H.D. since her country bans the drugs used for treatment
(Ellison). This is where charities like Allies with Families come in. These charities
provide the resources parents need that is otherwise unattainable.
One of the hardest parts for any parent after having their child diagnosed with a
mental disorder is deciding the best way to treat their child. Often the decision comes
down to two different solutions, finding the right medication or looking into natural ways
of dealing with the disorder. Either way there is no right or wrong answer, both methods
of treatment are controversial at best. Patricia Odell illustrates this well by stating, "If
you medicate, you are a bad mom, and if you don't, you are also a bad mom (Ellison).
What is known is that whatever path is taken the decision will be critical for that childs
future since 50% of teens with a mental disorder drop out of high school (Lopez). This
is assumed to be from children not being able to overcome their disorder. The weight of
the decision faced by parents is only amplified when the childs condition puts their life
at risk. For example Sarah McQuilkin who adopted a daughter with symptoms of BiPolar disorder states Without treatment, I see my daughter as killing herself (Lopez).

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Unfortunately she is not being extreme in saying this since its been observed that one
out of five bipolars will commit suicide (Lopez).
As part of helping families find natural ways of dealing with a child's disorder,
Allies with Families offers meditation sessions. Meditation is a well known way for
children to overcome mental disorders like A.D.H.D., Bi-Polar Disorder and Depression.
Meditation gives these children a way to be self reliant and learn to control the way they
think instead of relying on medication. Allies with Families also helps parents come up
with other solutions by offering courses that dive deep into what makes up their childs
disorder and the different ways to approach it.
Studies find that another factor in childrens mental disorders are different
parenting styles. Ariana Eunjung Cha, journalist for the Washington Post, states About
half of kids with ADHD see their symptoms drop off... during the teenage years. To find
out the reason for this a study was conducted by Florida International University. In this
study they asked parents a series of questions to determine how critical that parent is of
their child. They concluded that overly critical parenting had a direct correlation between
children that had their symptoms continue past their teenage years.
Allies with Families not only tries to reduce critical parenting using awareness
and workshops but it also tries to create a positive family environment using what they
call Sipshops. Sipshops are workshops intended for the siblings of the child with a
mental disorder. If you think about normal sibling relationship you tend to think about
fights and arguing generally associated with siblings. When you add mental disorders
into the mix that relationship can get even more polarizing. Sipshops aim to fix this by

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helping the siblings understand their brother or sisters condition and how they can best
help their sibling. They also have the child with the mental disorder participate in group
activities meant to help them gain more social skills which in turn creates confidence. By
doing this Allies with Families makes the situation a more positive experience for the
whole family.
In summary mental disorders are on the rise and are playing an ever more
crucial role in our society than ever before. Until we figure out the best way to approach
these disorders we need help. Allies with Families is that help. From looking into exactly
what your childs disorder means for his/her future to figuring out the best coarse of
treatment, you will always have an ally with Allies for Families.

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Works Cited
Ansari, Azadeh. "More ADHD Cases Being Diagnosed at Younger Ages, Report Finds."
CNN Wire Service. 02 Sep. 2015: n.p.
SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 22 Sep. 2016.
Cha, Ariana Eunjung. "Overly Critical Parenting Linked with Persistent ADHD in Kids."
Washington Post - Blogs. 09 Feb. 2016: n.p.
SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 22 Sep. 2016. General Prevalence CHADD, Web. 28
Sep 2016.
http://www.chadd.org/Understanding-ADHD/About-ADHD/Data-and-Statistics/
General-Prevalence.aspx
Children's Mental Health Report CDC, 16 May. 2016
http://www.cdc.gov/features/childrensmentalhealth/
Ellison, Katherine. "A.D.H.D. Rises, but Support Lags." New York Times. 10 Nov. 2015:
D.6. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 22 Sep. 2016.
Lopez, Korina. "Parents of Bipolar Kids Face Hard Questions." USA TODAY. 11 Dec.
2012: D.3. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 22 Sep. 2016.