Is your ADHD teenager trafficking drugs?

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0108/1224287042366.html

YOUNG PEOPLE with attention deficit disorder problems are at a significantly higher risk of misusing drugs and alcohol.

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Conference organiser Rose Kavanagh said there is still widespread ignorance over the links between the disorder and substance abuse, even among health professionals. “All the research points to this link, but there needs to be much greater awareness about the problem,” she said.

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US research indicates that at least one-fifth of 17-18-year-olds with the disorder had some form of substance abuse problem.

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Until recently it was thought sufferers outgrew the condition. But recent studies show that around 60 per cent of those diagnosed with the disorder in childhood will continue with a modified form of the condition into adulthood.

Well ... gollee! For years, I have been amazed that our health professionals could believe that a kid, after some years on Ritalan, or the alternatives, could 'grow out' of the need for legalised speed when they become adults. This has to be a contributing factor the self-destructiveness of so many of our teenagers. Road rage - and any other rages - should be evaluated to see what proportion of this behaviour could be attributed to the use of these drugs prescribed to manage ADHD in our children.

Let me tell you a story. Back in the 1990's, a fourteen year old in my care came home from school with a foil of Ritalin tablets. He had bought them from a classmate who had been prescribed them for ADHD. That kid was already a 'drug dealer' selling his tablets to his mates. Logic suggests that he didn't need the Ritalin if he was able to sell it rather than taking it. That beg's the question, how many teenagers are fakinhg ADHT to be a hero 'selling drugs' to their friends.