Jason Misdiagnosed with ADHD

Jason's Story
Jason started crying the moment he was born. He didn't stop for two years. The first time he was placed in his mother's arms for feeding, his projectile vomiting reached across the hospital room. When Jason went home from the hospital, he never slept. It was not that he simply had his nights and days mixed up. The child literally never slept! The slightest noise would wake him. And when Jason was awake, he was crying.

Weighing over ten pounds at birth, a fair-skinned, towheaded, blue-eyed child, Jason began his early years with ear infections, asthma, pneumonia, skin rashes, constipation, and severe colic. As Jason grew, the problems grew too.

In preschool, he spent much of his time in the hallway... penance for bad behavior. Jason hit, kicked, and bit the other children and threw things across the room. He picked the worst-behaved kid in the class to be his best friend, and surely that child's mother said the same thing about her son's choice of Jason.

Because Jason could not restrain himself from running out in front of cars, climbing up to high places and jumping off, and other reckless behaviors, Jason's mother greatly feared that he would suffer a tragic, possibly even fatal, accident.

Jason was very, very bright. He taught himself to read at the age of three. There were times when his rages would subside and his parents could see a sweet, lovable child. Yet those times were not often enough. He was shuffled from doctor to doctor, from pediatrician to psychiatrist, from psychologist to counselor. They said that Jason's problems were his mother's fault because she did not discipline him appropriately, or she was spoiling him. Many predicted that Jason would end up in a psychiatric hospital, or worse, in prison.

By age nine, Jason had developed into a hyperactive, aggressive child, seemingly unable to focus on any single activity for more than a few minutes. However, Jason could watch television for hours and seemed hypnotized by the images. He was plagued by violent, abusive outbursts, and spent most of the fourth grade being disciplined in the hall. In addition, Jason was uncoordinated and unable to participate successfully in sports.

Doctor after doctor told his parents that Jason suffered from ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and that the only treatment available was the popular drug, Ritalin (methylphenidate HCl). Even Jason's teacher suggested that his parents do "what all the other parents are doing" and put him on Ritalin.

Although the situation was desperate and miserable and often frightening, Jason's parents refused to accept the dire future predicted for their child: a lifetime of drug treatment and psychiatric care. So they began looking for a physician who would help them find the answers to his problems. Jason's parents brought him to Dr. Block's office.

Many children who have been diagnosed with ADHD have a similar infant history as Jason: colic, crying, insomnia, ear infections, and temper tantrums. Some of these symptoms relate to low blood sugar and some to allergies or hypersensitivities.

The underlying cause of Jason's symptoms, which had been diagnosed as ADHD, was actually food sensitivities and hypoglycemia, also known as low blood sugar. Modifying his diet corrected the behavior problem. With Jason's behavior problems resolved, his personality changed dramatically. He is now a sweet, thoughtful, considerate young man. The teenage years, which his parents had anticipated with fear prior to his treatment for hypoglycemia, were delightful. Jason's learning problems were treated. He eventually obtained exceptional grades and excelled in sports. Jason didn't have ADHD. He had hypoglycemia, food sensitivities, and learning disabilities.

* There are many examples of children who have been diagnosed with ADHD and treated with Ritalin - masking the symptoms of the underlying causes. This story was excerpted from one of Dr. Block’s books.