ADHD hoax?

[irishpat183]

Check this out....

I actually believe this to be true. Half the crap they make up these days is to sell scripts and keep the population in a drug induced state...


Inventor Of ADHD's Deathbed Confession: "ADHD Is A Fictitious Disease"

 

[NDBoiler]

I am not educated enough on the science/medicinal aspect, but I can relate from personal experience. i have an immediate famly member diagnosed with ADHD and you can definitely tell by his actions whether he has taken his medication recently or not. He would have to be an Academy Award winning actor if there wasn't at least some medical or psychological explanation for it IMO.

 

[DSully1995]

I wont say its fictitious, but Id have great doubts about these kinds of "disorders", ADD same thing, a kid cant sit in clas for 6 hours at a time....is that shocking?

 

[NDBoiler]

I wont say its fictitious, but Id have great doubts about these kinds of "disorders", ADD same thing, a kid cant sit in clas for 6 hours at a time....is that shocking?

I have my doubts too on varous medical diagnoses. I suggest spending a little time doing your own research and study the disorder(s) so you can either justify or formulate your own opinion based on fact rather than conjecture.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Check this out....

I actually believe this to be true. Half the crap they make up these days is to sell scripts and keep the population in a drug induced state...


Inventor Of ADHD's Deathbed Confession: "ADHD Is A Fictitious Disease"

I don't disagree with your anti-drug company sentement.

ADD is a spectral disorder, being that different conditions can cause a range of resultant behaviors, with or without hyperactivity.

Anyone who calls ADD or ADHD a decease has instantly surrendered all credibility in the conversation. There is a huge difference between a disease and a disorder.

Disorders tend to be over-diagnosed, as most people are looking for an excuse to justify bad behavior.

There is no substitute with kids for time and firm and loving resolute support and discipline. I strung those specific adjectives together in that order for a reason. People want to talk about discipline without support, and people want to talk about support without discipline, both are fails. And together they are fails without love and consistency.

How is Pat and Pat and mom doing?

PS. You guys are honing your goals in on a more specific focus, which is good and needs to be made to have a worthwhile discussion, IMO. Many questions need to be asked with any disorder being diagnosed. The guideline for further inquiry; if it is a child of reading age and no special learning disabilities to hinder them with this task, can they read a book on their favorite topic for twenty minutes or a half-hour? If they can't, or have trouble digging deeper, further investigation is warranted. Adult abuse, hidden, either sexual, physical, or emotional can cause these symptoms, and even cause a child's reading to lag several years behind standards.

 

[irish o'phile]

I have a psych background and work with children every day. I can tell you that ADHD is very real. However, it is waaay over diagnosed and medicated.

 

[Irishnuke]

I can't say whether or not its a real thing but I will say that people are way too quick to "diagnose" their kids with it and use it as an excuse for their kids acting like shits. I think docs over diagnose it as well. It's an easy answer when you don't understand why someone behaves the way they do.

 

[GowerND11]

I wont say its fictitious, but Id have great doubts about these kinds of "disorders", ADD same thing, a kid cant sit in clas for 6 hours at a time....is that shocking?

^This. Also aren't we looking for an easy fix nowadays?

"Oh my child is hyper and I can't control him/her. I should take him to the doctor for Adderall. Forget discipline and taking away caffine and sugar."

Do some need it? Of course, but I feel too many times we want perfect children when they are just that, children.

 

[Irishnuke]

^This. Also aren't we looking for an easy fix nowadays?

"Oh my child is hyper and I can't control him/her. I should take him to the doctor for Adderall. Forget discipline and taking away caffine and sugar."

Do some need it? Of course, but I feel too many times we want perfect children when they are just that, children.

Yep, pretty much how I feel.

 

[Irish Houstonian]

Real or fake, those drugs help you study something fierce, I tell you what. I wouldn't be surprised if 10% of all total college education is adderal-based.

 

[NDBoiler]

I can't say whether or not its a real thing but I will say that people are way too quick to "diagnose" their kids with it and use it as an excuse for their kids acting like shits. I think docs over diagnose it as well. It's an easy answer when you don't understand why someone behaves the way they do.

I think you may be referring to Autism here as opposed to ADHD. Autism is commonly interpreted (correctly or not) as a bratty or whiny kid. I agree in that it is difficult to tell and that there probably is some overdiagnosis in general but that's why it is helpful to do your own thinking/research on it IMO.

 

[Irish Houstonian]

I think you may be referring to Autism here as opposed to ADHD. Autism is commonly interpreted (correctly or not) as a bratty or whiny kid who only flies Qantas...

Fixed.

 

[irish o'phile]

Diagnoses become trendy. Right now everyone thinks they are Bi-Polar.

Also, so much of the assessment/diagnosing is subjective and contingent upon the tendencies of the assessor and the state of the reporter at the time of report. We are all a little a little Bi-polar and ADHD at times. That's part of being human.

 

[ohara831]

I am not educated enough on the science/medicinal aspect, but I can relate from personal experience. i have an immediate famly member diagnosed with ADHD and you can definitely tell by his actions whether he has taken his medication recently or not. He would have to be an Academy Award winning actor if there wasn't at least some medical or psychological explanation for it IMO.

Same here. I can tell when she has had her medication or not. And it makes a big difference in her ability to pay attention and concentrate at school and how she acts at home. Whether the diagnosis is always accurate in all kids can certainly be debated, but I know for a fact from personal experience the past 10 years that the disease is not a work of fiction.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Real or fake, those drugs help you study something fierce, I tell you what. I wouldn't be surprised if 10% of all total college education is adderal-based.

That is a kind of funny affect of the pharmacology and the disorder. Ritalin has an opposite affect on those that need it. It stimulates college students that use it to study, but it relaxes those that can use it for combating AD(H)D.

Two good points here:

1) Human condition to abuse drugs, diagnoses, etc. Major motivation is to avoid responsibility.

2) People that have the disorder and can use the meds, man, you can sure tell when the dosage is determined and they are taking it!

 

[ACamp1900]

The best indicator of whether a kid will be diagnosed with ADHD at any point during grade school is birthdate. If a child is born in December or January ( youngest kids in any average class) they have the highest diagnosis rates...

I'm not saying it doesn't exist... Though I firmly believe a wide number of cases are simply kids being dianogsed with a disorder and given drugs, when in fact they are just being kids...

 

[ACamp1900]

I don't know if its nation wide... But in California a family can apparently get approved for certain subsides if their child is ADHD... I dont know the exact circumstances but I had many parents come to me and the school psychologist basically demanding their child was ADHD when they clearly weren't... They wanted that money.

 

[Emcee77]

I have a psych background and work with children every day. I can tell you that ADHD is very real. However, it is waaay over diagnosed and medicated.

This. My mother in law has been a special ed educator for almost 30 years, and let's just say that I'm confident that ADHD is very real after hearing what she puts up with every day.

BUT there is a huge difference between my mother in law's kids, who have severe cases and literally can't sit still and avoid biting their classmates and teachers and engaging in other mischief without medication, and an unfocused child of helicopter parents who want to be told that the reason their $hitty kid isn't an all-star is because he needs some pill, not because they are $hitty parents. The trick is knowing the difference.

 

[Wild Bill]

I have it, it's real. I was diagnosed as a child and my parents refused medication, thankfully. I chose to take meds as an adult and then I stopped. To be honest, the meds really improved my quality of life. I stopped taking them b/c I hate taking meds, not b/c they didn't help. Exercise and a low sugar diet helps but nothing replicates the medicine. It is real.

That said, it's over-diagnosed. ACamp is correct about the gov't benefits. Parents take their kids to docs who are known to diagnose anyone and then they collect SSDI benefits. I see it all the time at work. It's disgusting.

 

[Irishnuke]

I think you may be referring to Autism here as opposed to ADHD. Autism is commonly interpreted (correctly or not) as a bratty or whiny kid. I agree in that it is difficult to tell and that there probably is some overdiagnosis in general but that's why it is helpful to do your own thinking/research on it IMO.

No I meant what I said but I also feel the same about autism. I don't doubt it's real but I think it's also over diagnosed.

 

[irishpat183]

I don't disagree with your anti-drug company sentement.

ADD is a spectral disorder, being that different conditions can cause a range of resultant behaviors, with or without hyperactivity.

Anyone who calls ADD or ADHD a decease has instantly surrendered all credibility in the conversation. There is a huge difference between a disease and a disorder.

Disorders tend to be over-diagnosed, as most people are looking for an excuse to justify bad behavior.

There is no substitute with kids for time and firm and loving resolute support and discipline. I strung those specific adjectives together in that order for a reason. People want to talk about discipline without support, and people want to talk about support without discipline, both are fails. And together they are fails without love and consistency.

How is Pat and Pat and mom doing?

PS. You guys are honing your goals in on a more specific focus, which is good and needs to be made to have a worthwhile discussion, IMO. Many questions need to be asked with any disorder being diagnosed. The guideline for further inquiry; if it is a child of reading age and no special learning disabilities to hinder them with this task, can they read a book on their favorite topic for twenty minutes or a half-hour? If they can't, or have trouble digging deeper, further investigation is warranted. Adult abuse, hidden, either sexual, physical, or emotional can cause these symptoms, and even cause a child's reading to lag several years behind standards.

Thank you. I put drug/alcohol addiction in the same category....their not diseases. Not to say they're any less of a problem...but I can't put them in the same category as a person with cancer. Can't do it.

And thanks for asking!! We're doing fine. Sleep is like currency around my house right now...trading an hour here and there with the wife. LOL. Can really only post during work hours...LOL. Miss my IE boys!!

 

[irishpat183]

^This. Also aren't we looking for an easy fix nowadays?

"Oh my child is hyper and I can't control him/her. I should take him to the doctor for Adderall. Forget discipline and taking away caffine and sugar."

Do some need it? Of course, but I feel too many times we want perfect children when they are just that, children.

Diagnoses become trendy. Right now everyone thinks they are Bi-Polar.

Also, so much of the assessment/diagnosing is subjective and contingent upon the tendencies of the assessor and the state of the reporter at the time of report. We are all a little a little Bi-polar and ADHD at times. That's part of being human.

I have it, it's real. I was diagnosed as a child and my parents refused medication, thankfully. I chose to take meds as an adult and then I stopped. To be honest, the meds really improved my quality of life. I stopped taking them b/c I hate taking meds, not b/c they didn't help. Exercise and a low sugar diet helps but nothing replicates the medicine. It is real.

That said, it's over-diagnosed. ACamp is correct about the gov't benefits. Parents take their kids to docs who are known to diagnose anyone and then they collect SSDI benefits. I see it all the time at work. It's disgusting.

Great posts. Not that the issues don't exist. But as a society, we're too quick to dump/make exuses for our problems.

Kid misbehaves at school? It's other kids or the teachers.
Kid can't sit still? give him a pill.
Kid shoots up a school? Blame the gun
Kid is fat? Sue McDonalds.


it's absurd. When are we going to start accepting responsiblity for OUR kids and how they behave?

 

[ACamp1900]

I agree with each of the four posts pat quoted and his last post as well.... Sadly the few legit cases are used as a base for everyone else to jump from...

 

[nlroma1o]

Real or fake, those drugs help you study something fierce, I tell you what. I wouldn't be surprised if 10% of all total college education is adderal-based.

I can strongly say that I would bet my house that it is way more than 10% of college students between the ages of 18 and 26. The demand for adderall at most colleges is higher than pot or other "fun time drugs." I shyt you not, come finals time, it was damn near impossible to find the stuff, unless you knew someone close. I graduated in 2010, and the going rate back then was $3 for one 10mg. So most people would stock up on it. I have friends in law school, med school, vet school, pt school, studying for the cpa, you name it, and most of them take adderall to study. Me personally, I have my own prescription, so i never had to buy that shyt illegally. And yes, it does wonders when you study.

 

[Cackalacky]

I am not educated enough on the science/medicinal aspect, but I can relate from personal experience. i have an immediate famly member diagnosed with ADHD and you can definitely tell by his actions whether he has taken his medication recently or not. He would have to be an Academy Award winning actor if there wasn't at least some medical or psychological explanation for it IMO.

This. 1000%. I can tell anytime my immediate family member has not taken the medication.

Over-diagnosed. Possibly.
Diagnosed too early. Possibly.

 

[Cackalacky]

When are we going to start accepting responsiblity for OUR kids and how they behave?

You are gonna learn soon enough daddy.

 

[Cackalacky]

This where we get to get back to the meth and adderall chemical composition comparison right?

 

[Cackalacky]

The best indicator of whether a kid will be diagnosed with ADHD at any point during grade school is birthdate. If a child is born in December or January ( youngest kids in any average class) they have the highest diagnosis rates...

I'm not saying it doesn't exist... Though I firmly believe a wide number of cases are simply kids being dianogsed with a disorder and given drugs, when in fact they are just being kids...

Just curious because in South Carolina our "age groups" end in September 1 of that year. To start kindergarten, the kid must be born before September 1 prior to school starting. Meaning, a child born near or just before September will be the youngest in the class for that year. That means these children are underdeveloped from the older kids in the class and there is a huge difference between 4 year 9 month old and a 5 year 11 month old.

Is that what you are getting at?

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Thank you. I put drug/alcohol addiction in the same category....their not diseases. Not to say they're any less of a problem...but I can't put them in the same category as a person with cancer. Can't do it.

And thanks for asking!! We're doing fine. Sleep is like currency around my house right now...trading an hour here and there with the wife. LOL. Can really only post during work hours...LOL. Miss my IE boys!!

I never thought I would say this, but we miss you too!

I agree with each of the four posts pat quoted and his last post as well.... Sadly the few legit cases are used as a base for everyone else to jump from...

Well crafted and I agree with you (therefore them) except for the one bolded word. It is much less that the clamoring masses imagine, but sadly, more than a few. Few, rhymes with? Brew it's Friday afternoon. I am getting ready to call it!

In Ohio it is set by the school district. My 10 year old 5th grader is born on the cutoff day. 7-31. She made it by four hours. They are seriously considering moving it to some time near the end of June. They have stats that show how much better those kids do with an extra year.

Ironic, of my seven kids, and my oldest two ([both June birthdays] we gave them an extra year) my daughter born on the cutoff day was the most ready!

 

[irish1958]

I think Dr. Eisenburg had a little too much cognac in his pablum.
It appears he is credited for inventing a disease that had been defined in medicine for at least two hundred years, and extensively studied since before the end of the First World War.
ADHD fits the medical definition of "disease," and also the broader inclusive term "disorder" although disorder is not a medical term.
Much of the problem understanding ADHD has to do with misunderstanding the basic biological concept of variation as expressed by the bell curve, complicated by the economic, emotional, and educational value of having the diagnosis.
Stimulants have been shown to improve function in all persons (and most animals) who receive them. As a matter of justice, should all students be offered access to them?
When I was in second year medical school our psychiatry professor brought a child of about ten years with severe ADHD to his lecture on ADHD (or miminal brain dysfunction as it was then called) and let him loose in the lecture hall for an hour. I am quite sure that the 100 medical students in that class are convinced the disease is real.