Treating hyperkinetic disorders in childhood

Rise in psychotropic drug prescribing in children and adolescents during 1992–2001: a population-based study in the UK

“…As a controlled drug, methylphenidate used to be available from the license holder on a named patient basis. In 1995, the drug licence changed to make it generally available through wholesaler, which would be one of plausible explanations for this growth [23,24]. In addition, ADHD is becoming a more recognised disorder.…”

“…In addition, ADHD is becoming a more recognised disorder. The 'hyperkinetic disorder' is more clearly defined in the ICD-10 than in the previous version, this change could possibly make ADHD more readily diagnosed [21,24,25].…”

A Critique of the International Consensus Statement on ADHD

“…There is obvious uncertainty about how to define this disorder, with definitions changing over the past 30 years depending on what the current favourite theory about underlying aetiology is, and with each revision producing a higher number of potential children deemed to have the disorder (Timimi, 2002). It is hardly surprising that epidemiological studies produce hugely differing prevalence rates from 0.5% to 26% (Green, Wong, Atkins, Taylor, & Feinleib, 1999;Taylor & Hemsley, 1995) of all children.…”

Drug treatment in attention deficit disorder: a survey of professional consensus

“…The essential characteristics of hyperkinetic disorder are persistent traits of severe and pervasive inattentiveness, overactivity and im pulsiveness, beginning in the first five years of life (Taylor & Hemsley, 1995). Affected children are a subgroup of those who meet the broader criteria for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Asso ciation, 1994).…”

“…British National Formulary; Consumers ' Association, 1995;Taylor & Hemsley, 1995) was designed. This covered areas includ ing: the role of various professionals in the initiation and continuation of prescribing; asso ciated psychological treatments; practical issues regarding dosage amount and regimes; age limits; and indications for drug use.…”