And todays rant is on...
ADHD.
I think it is the biggest-pardon my language- bullshit ever. Known officially as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, this 'thing' is technically(straight from ADHD.com- and no these asshats aren’t getting a link, they don’t deserve it) “characterized by the inability to sustain focused attention, impulsivity and hyperactivity”.
Get Real!!
What they are basically saying (in my mind) is this (said with false cheer) "Oh my! Your child actually is active and doesn’t want to watch TV?!?!? Oh my, well lets just dope him up on drugs! And then he’ll calm down and become another bum that will live off of you until your old and then he’ll put you in a Wonderfully Crappy Old-Folks Home! Yes that’s precisely the solution!" I am sure there are some actually ADHD kids, my brother was one of them, but come on!
Lets look at some statistics:
ADHD.com states that "one to three children in any classroom of thirty students [has ADHD]".
Is a child who is not interested in TV and Video games that unusual now? Is it that scary of a concept? Is it a shame for a kid to want to (dare I say it? *Mocks serious thinking* Yes I'll say it) WANT SOME FRESH AIR??!!??
"Two to three times more boys than girls are affected" Cry me a river. Boys are more hyper then girls, well.. DUH! What do you expect? It’s a fact of life! Dogs are also more hyper than girls, but we don't put them on drugs because of it. But it gets better! From the same site I bring you this 'heart-wrenching' *gag* passage:
ADHD often continues into adolescence and adulthood, and can cause a lifetime of frustrated dreams and emotional pain.Okay and people say I over dramatize things.But there is help...and hope. In the last decade, scientists have learned much about the course of the disorder and are now able to identify and treat children, adolescents, and adults who have it. A variety of medications, behavior-changing therapies, and educational options are already available to help people with ADHD focus their attention, build self-esteem, and function in new ways.
Heres another bunch of idiotcy:
ADHD is 5 to 7 times more common in boys.
ADHD occurs in people of every level of intelligence.
ADHD tends to run in families, and there is an association with a family history of alcoholism and / or depression.
There is some suggestion clinically that asthma may be more prevalent in ADHD children.
ADHD children often show considerable ability with artistic endeavors, but may have difficulty forming symbols (writing) unless "drawing", going very slowly and precisely.
ADHD is much more commonly diagnosed in the United States than in Europe, and the stimulant medications are used vastly more in the United States as an intervention strategy.
Shall we tear this little passage apart? Yes, yes lets.
ADHD is 5 to 7 times more common in boys I’m not going to repeated myself on this one, I want to, but I wont. I'll spare you.
ADHD occurs in people of every level of intelligence. Yeah, uh-uh. Like I believe that. You know who is most likely to get stuck with the title of ADHD? Smart kids that are bored out of their skulls! I can't even count the number of times I’ve seen a really smart kid stuck in lower course because "They can't handle the higher levels". How do they know this? They don't, a higher course could be just the solution. The kids are BORED! Not dumb.
ADHD tends to run in families, and there is an association with a family history of alcoholism and / or depression. So basically, if you live in a crap family/world, and you don't like to be at home where you have to listen to the drunks and the moaning of the depressed, you get put on drugs? Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose? The kids are hyper because they want OUT! It’s like a little dog, if you don't let the dog out to pee, it will pee on the floor, and it’s not their fault, because it wasn't let out! Geeze.
There is some suggestion clinically that asthma may be more prevalent in ADHD children. Well if I ran around I’d be short of breath too. 'Nuff said.
ADHD children often show considerable ability with artistic endeavors, but may have difficulty forming symbols (writing) unless "drawing", going very slowly and precisely. Maybe, probably not. It’s just that in their intense boredom they teach themselves to draw.
ADHD is much more commonly diagnosed in the United States than in Europe, and the stimulant medications are used vastly more in the United States as an intervention strategy. I’m not even going to comment on this one.
Well that’s enough rant on this subject for today. I mainly decided to rant on it because I’m bored. (Quick dad! Haul me off to a doctor so I can get put on speed! I'm overly hyper!)
Comments
I prefer to call ADHD "ack of focus," which often translates to lack of self control, aka lack of maturity, lack of discipline.
I knew a kid when I grew up that would've been classified as ADHD (if we had it back then) - he was just crying for attention.
I think it's more of a symptom of a bigger problem (see above).
hln
Posted by: hln | October 12, 2003 07:55 PM
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Oh, I am just dieing to make a comment on this one, but I'm going to wait untill I haven't been out at the pub for a few... More to follow... Nice post!
Posted by: Tim | October 12, 2003 09:53 PM
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You know Mookie, I've thought the exact same thing. I believe a large percentage of those drugged kids are nothing more than extremely bored intelligent beings who are NOT being challenged.
I was very restless and squirmy and could not focus. Hell, I still get that way to this day, rather often. The reason? I'M NOT BEING CHALLENGED!
Many will probably argue this "theory" but I think we (you and I and anyone else who agrees) are right.
Posted by: serenity | October 13, 2003 06:21 PM
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I'd have to agree 100%... Fortunatly, I got through school before ADHD got in vogue... The common one then was ADD, and Dyslexia (sp?)...
I'm sure I would have been flagged with ADHD if I was in school now, since they had me down to see the school shrink atleast once a year to try to figure out what was wrong with me... My diagnosis, like yours, is that I was bored to tears with the schoolwork... (used to drive people crazy testing really highly, and not doing any homework... geesh... there must have been something wrong with me right...) They bounced me up levels, and down levels so often I couldn't keep track what "track" I was supposed to be in...
I saw so many other kids get "cured" with their drugs... If that's cured, I'll stay sick thanks... I actually like living on an emotional roller-coaster... I really don't think we should all be either happy all the time, or calm all the time... Isn't variety the spice of life?..
Posted by: Tim | October 13, 2003 06:32 PM
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exactly right! great post. those doctors who diagnose children with this "disorder" simply take advantage of parents who are looking to explain why their children act up in a fashion that doesn't place any of the blame on their shoulders. kids are going to be kids, and this is just a big scam to sell medicine at the expense of getting to the root isssues involved.
Posted by: mjxm | October 14, 2003 05:44 PM
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"One pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small."
Parental units who grew up with this dubious advice now believe that one pill makes you sit still and shut up already, that any problem can be solved by pharmaceuticals - because, after all, it's not their fault.
Posted by: CGHill | October 14, 2003 10:15 PM
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So you're saying these people who have a hard time paying attention DON'T? I mean.. come on now... What the hell do you think Attention DEFICIT means??? You say your little brother is one... does him BEING YOUR little brother qualify him as an exceptoin to being (in your own words) "biggest-pardon my language- bullshit ever?"
Look Mookie... You either accept it or you don't. PAY ATTENTION! I geuss YOU'RE the one who's ADD since you can't seem to focus on a simple logistics crash course like this one.
#1.) BEing ADD means you're GONNA be lazy, but it's not the REASON you're lazy. If you ARE a lazy person, having ADD is just gonna make you lazier.
#2.) YES, people DO take advantage of their disadvantage... AS OFTEN AS a guy with 2 arm-casts asks the nurse to help him in the restroom. (A) takes advantage of the oportunity. (B) BUT, when it's needed... HE HAS NO OTHER CHOICE.
#3.) Ok, you stubern little 16yo bookworm... If YOU have no problem concentrating on things, then stay up for 24 HOURS and then try to study (just to see how hard they have it. They WANT to concentrate... they just can't!!! and alot of them give up. THAT'S why you don't understand. Because YOU don't want to. Because if you DID... you might not feel higher then them. Trying to feel higher then somene and using their dissorder as an excuse makes YOU a descriminating victimizer.
"The truth can hurt, but honesty is ALWAYS on your side." (me)
Do you tell someone without legs that having no legs is no excuse to not run?
Just because it's a handicap you can't SEE, doesn't mean it's not a handicap you can't pay attention. After all... it seems YOU've been busy paying attention to it alot lately.
~yoda~
P.S.: As far as the pharmacudicals ("drugs"), if ANY of you knew ANY thing about biological chemistry, you MIGHT understand HOW these drugs work and that they DO work.
ADD sufferers include...
Harriet Tubman, Roosevelt, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), Thomas A. Edison, J.F.K., Benjamin Franklin, George Washington Carver, Eddie Van Halen, Albert Einstien (did you know he flunked alot in public-school math as a child??), AND MORE. (these statistics taken through years of research by reputed sphychologists and archiologists combined efforts of obtaining info on various people in history to obtain a better idea of what their personality were like charactoristicly more acurate for historical knowledge. To obtain URLs about this research, feel free to e-mail me).
Posted by: yoda | October 17, 2003 06:17 AM
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Actually, my brother has Attention Deficit Dissorder. It does exist! He is not lazy but unable to focus. Unfortunately, his mother did drugs while during the vital window of term. For a child who is not on prescription drugs, he has come a long way. He is pretty damn normal. I am not speaking for the rest of the children with ADD.
Posted by: firegobblin | December 16, 2004 03:10 AM