According to the Associated Press on November 19, 1998, a National Institutes of Health committee reports that doctors still don't know how best to treat or even diagnose ADD/ADHD. Dr. David J. Kupfer, chairman of the panel and professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh says, "There is no current validated diagnostic test for [ADD/ADHD]. He also pointed out that there are no studies that have examined the long term effects of common treatment drugs such as Ritalin aside from the bad side effects that they can cause. Conclusions reached by the panel members include: *Panel member Janis Ferre of the Utah Governor's Council for People With Disabilities said there's inconsistency in diagnosing ADD/ADHD. "This results in over-diagnosis and under-diagnosis." *Panel member Donald Berry of the Duke University Medical Center criticized the lack of long-term effect studies on Ritalin and other strong, mind-altering drugs used in treating ADD/ADHD and said he thought they are prescribed too often and in wrong dosage. *Although Ritalin may correct some behavior problems, there is no evidence that it helps children's academic performance, or overall health and brain function. *Doctors and schools often do a poor job of communicating when treating ADD/ADHD and follow-up is often poor. By way of commentary, this panel estimated that up to 5% of children are truly affected with ADD/ADHD and that percentage is rising. If your child has been diagnosed with ADD/ ADHD, you must seriously determine if you want a questionable medical treatment with high-powered drugs that have long-term effects for your child. No doubt there's a better approach we should be taking first before medicating. Chiropractic Wellness Care helps normalize and balance the nervous system by removing subluxation interference that can create the disturbances seen in the ADD/ ADHD disorders. All children, not just those diagnosed with ADD/ ADHD need to have their spines examined for subluxation interference. “Lifetime Family Wellness”