Green Options

Many of you have followed–and been outraged by–the “breastfeeding while drunk” case.

But we all know that being drunk while pregnant is a gigantic “no-no”. A new study shows that fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are often misdiagnosed as ADHD. Both disorders have a number of similar symptoms: very limited attention, physical restlessness and extreme impulsivity.

But in some ways, FASD seems to be a bit more like another spectrum disorder: ASD. And now a study from the University of Toronto claim that we’re confusing disorders.

A common prescription for ADHD is a stimulant medication. You’ve probably heard the brand names Adderal and Ritalin.

Problem is, stimulants like these make kids who take them 7 times more likely to die suddenly.

What we found — to our surprise — is that even if you take out confounding factors, the association between stimulant use and sudden death was still significant.