ADHD? Real or bogus?

ADHD.

Many here will have heard of it, you may even believe you know someone with it.

But is it a controversial condition?

Is it a true condition, and have we perhaps over pathologised some behaviours, thus creating a condition?

Or is it ignorant to think that ADHD is any other than a very real, potentially serious, and disabling condition, at times?

What do I know of it?

I have a friend who works at a school for kids with special needs, be they mental or physical.

They sometimes admit the odd pupil with ADHD.

She says they can lash out, have anger issues, and do not concentrate.

Her private view is that she is not 100% convinced that it is a true condition, in the way that schizophrenia may considered to be, for example.

What do you think?

Are we doing the right thing in recognising it as a condition in it's own right, or have we made the mistake of over pathologising certain behaviours in kids, behaviours which may be more to do with their environment?

Jack

 

My thoughts on ADHD

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDT3gDWyIa8&feature=youtube_gdata_player"]Alternative ritalin treatment - YouTube[/ame]

 

At the risk of being seen to sit on the fence, I think it CAN be a real condition, but at the same time I think it is overdiagnosed and many people use it as an excuse or to seek attention.

 

Lol.

Jack

 

How do you know the difference?

 

That's exactly the problem, isn't it? I've known many people who were diagnosed with ADHD, I'm convinced some of them had simply chosen to use it as a shield for laziness and bad behaviour, but I can't prove that and I would hesitate to even try. But you did ask for opinions

 

I think its real, but also over diagnosed.

My nephew definitely has it (and probably some other issues as well). He does terrible in school because he can't focus on anything, he has horrible trouble reading and doing even simple math, he has more energy than a freaking crack head, he plays FPS video games with controller sensitivity all the way up to max (and absolutely destroys people). and thats just from what I have seen... (while he is on his meds to calm him don and focus him more...). He also has a maturity level of someone in elementary school (he is 13 atm)

 

I think it is a mix.

Hyperactivity, inability to concentrate, manic behavior... those used to describe what it meant to be a kid.

In some ways I'm more worried about the kids who can sit there for hours straight without moving or talking... that just seems abnormal to me.

Yet I realize that there are some individuals who actually have problems that may or not be helped with medication.

 

This.

I used to be one of those individuals but have since grown out of it. I've known people with severe ADHD. It's real. Diet, exercise, lifestyle, etc probably play a big part in it as well.

 

My opinion does not matter as I am not a doctor- and neither are any of the posters here.

 

Ha ha... silly poster.

EVERYONE on the internet is a doctor.

 

Not only ADHD, but also many things that would normally be "just life" have entered the diagnostics literature of psychiatry.

In my humble opinion this is because pharmaceuticals and doctors need to widen their customer base and market share by giving out more diagnoses.

The girl I know who works in a related field just calls these things "bad-behavioritis".

 

I think it exists, but that the majority of kids diagnosed with it are just right little brats, and suffering from nothing more than 'precocious little (*)(*)(*)(*)' syndrome.

Its an easy way to justify your childs bratty behavior.

 

Jason Bourne is.

 

I think ADHD is a description of someone's overall mental state rather then a disease, it also called hyperactive child syndrome, when someone says someone has the syndrome, people then have a idea of what they are dealing with as that describes symptoms many people have in common

 

It's real. You can identify ADHD by scanning the brain. People with ADHD have big differences in how there brains process information.

Your thought are fast and hard to hold onto, your head feels clustered and you can NEVER seem to keep your mind in one place. You constantly butt-in on conversations and act rowdy. You can't comfortably sit still, you eventually just start twitching like a crack addict. You often seem rude and too-outgoing.

I know cause i have it hahaha..

 

Then I must have ADHD.

 

It's very common nowadays. Probably some modern chemical were all drinking or something.. or some people are just born with faster (faster* not better) minds. A lot of people seem to 'age out of it' as they get closer to 30.

All i know is if i stop popping ritalin my grades sink like the titanic.. xD

 

One thing that is being overlooked is that our culture of information is blasting an ENORMOUS amount of information at us from birth. One could speculate that this constant overstimulation - the myriad of devices and items vying for our attention, the almost obsessive need to be doing something new and exciting - could effectively rewire the brains of children to handle this constant influx, this never-ending barrage, that represents the torrential pace of modern life.

 

I think its over-diagnosed, but its definitely real. Some of my close friends have it, and you can be sitting right next to them shouting their names for 5 minutes and you just wont get their attention.

 

I believe the condition does exist, however I also believe it is over used by lazy parents to justify their misbehaved children.

 

So what was different to your diet, lifestyle and excercise, from kids that did not have ADHD?

 

My diet was healthy, I exercised well, lifestyle normal. I just meant that I think poor diet, exercise and lifestyle have something to do with over-diagnosing people with this condition.

 

So what do you think caused it in you, how long did it manifest, and define 'grow out of it'?

 

I look at most of these conditions the same way, and you can readily compare diagnoses' of ADHD with Autism. Look at it this way, many people believe that the prevalence of Autism Spectrum disorders has been on the increase in the last few decades. However, there are a few things that many studies tend to not take into account. The very first real attempt to diagnose these disorders was published with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders back in the 1950's, but the 4th revision of the manual to include these spectrum disorders was in 1994. Guess what era we started to see the prevalence of Autism increase? You can also take into account that the population has been steadily increasing since then. When you compare the data sets from these two sources you'll see that Autism hasn't really risen at all, but only that physicians are now diagnosing cases that were not recognized before the mid 1990's. This is relevant to ADHD in the fact that when you take into account differnet variables including population growth, demographics and reported incidents you will probably see that only the expansion in the definition of the disorders is what has influenced the rate at which we see the prevalence of the disorders.

I do believe there are cases of parents and physicans diagnosing too early, but by expanding previous definitions of conditions one is able to seek treatment that may not have been avaliable to them years ago. What we call being a "normal unattentive child" could just be our stubborness to admit that those behaviors may not be as natural as we all like to think.