DSM-5 Diagnoses In Kids Should Always Be Written In Pencil

The three most harmful fads in psychiatric diagnosis, during the past 20 years, have all occurred in kids. Rates of Attention Deficit Disorder have tripled and rates of Autism and childhood Bipolar Disorder have multiplied an incredible 40 tmes. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dsm5-in-distress/201006/psychiatric-fads-and-overdiagnosis Poweful external factors have contributed greatly to this massive mislabelling of kids. For ADHD and kiddie Bipolar, drug companies misleadingly and aggressively sold the ill to peddle their expensive and profitable pills. Their marketing strategy was based on the cynical assumption that starting a kid early on pills might make him a customer for life. The explosion of Autism resulted from the combination of two things- the DSM-IV introduction of a much milder form (Asperger's) and the far too close linkage of the diagnosis to eligibility for enhanced school services. DSM diagnoses developed for clinical purposes are inappropriate gatekeepers for allocating educational resources. Educational decisions should be based on the child's educational need, as assessed by educators, using educational tools. It is long past time to tame the wild DSM over-diagnosis of kids. Juan Vasen and Gisela Untoiglich are leaders of the Forum Infancias*, an Argentine organization of mental health workers dedicated to the proper diagnosis and treatment of children and adolescents. www.foruminfancias.com.ar Drs Vasen and Untoiglich describe ten reasons why p...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news