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Is ADHD a myth?

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    #212
    professore
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,857 ✭✭✭professore


    Remember that annoying bastard in school who kept wrestling with everyone and jumping all over the place the whole time? That's ADHD. If you can't remember him, you were the annoying bastard.


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    #213
    professore
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,857 ✭✭✭professore


    Kids with real ADHD are generally not mean, criminal or violent ... Quite the opposite in my experience. Many of them are very good athletes.


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    #214
    Sam Kade
    Registered Users Posts: 12,313 ✭✭✭✭Sam Kade


    Not so long ago there was a cure for this unknown disorder it was a clip around the ear or a kick up the arse :) both banned now :(


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    #215
    diveout
    Closed Accounts Posts: 746 ✭✭✭diveout


    iguana wrote: »
    I don't know enough to say whether it is or isn't a myth but it's most certainly over-diagnosed. Something like close to 10% of children in the US are diagnosed with it, that's not a disease, it's pathologising normal behaviour. Some kids are just extremely active and sitting still for hours at a time in school is too hard for them. Different teaching techniques like regular breaks for exercise or standing at an easel to learn would help enormously but apparently it's easier to attach a label to the child and medicate them.

    I read The Psychopath Test recently and the doctor who edited the DSM-VI states that his biggest regret was catagorising ADHD and Aspergers as diseases because of how frequently behaviour which is just normal behaviour on the spectrum of human personalities is being classed as a disease.

    Part of the problem in the US is they now expect of 5 year olds what they used to expect of 7 year olds, which means more kids are not meeting the criteria and so more kids get assessed and diagnosed, which in effect means more funding for schools. Also kids in the US get so much stimulation, it's hardly a surprise you have over excited kids.


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    #216
    Snake
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,844 ✭✭✭Snake


    Bogan wrote: »
    No not really. They'll be a disorganised mess, probably puffing on a fag/joint and blaming everyone else for their kids bad behaviour. Meanwhile the kids are going nuts, completely un-noticed by the parents.

    My brother was diagnosed and my father nor mother are hugely rich or successful and either I them never smoked a joint.


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    #217
    Snake
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,844 ✭✭✭Snake


    Sam Kade wrote: »
    Not so long ago there was a cure for this unknown disorder it was a clip around the ear or a kick up the arse :) both banned now :(

    Yeah it was a non medicated cure. But like medicine it wore off. Hitting kids isn't the answer to behaviour problems.


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    #218
    Sam Kade
    Registered Users Posts: 12,313 ✭✭✭✭Sam Kade


    GrayFox208 wrote: »
    Yeah it was a non medicated cure. But like medicine it wore off. Hitting kids isn't the answer to behaviour problems.
    It worked when I was going to school trouble is things have gone from one extreme to the other. Children belting parents isn't unusual now.


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    #219
    Davei141
    Registered Users Posts: 4,541 ✭✭✭Davei141


    My cousin has ADHD. The proper form not that he was just a ****. He literally couldn't sit still, broke everything as a kid and had to leave school as he was just too disruptive. We all knew he wasn't like other kids so i definitely believe it exists. He has mellowed quite a lot into adulthood probably with the help of smoking weed. I notice quite a lot of people with ADHD smoke weed because it calms them and helps them focus.


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    #220
    Tardful Slakerly II
    Closed Accounts Posts: 124 ✭✭Tardful Slakerly II


    I know the large figures for add in the states are based on getting aderall to a pretty large degree, it's an amphetamine pill, over the counter speed, it's proscribed to a huge degree. There's a big culture of students using it at exam times and the like, also selling it for a profit. People from truckers to doctors use it.


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    #221
    Mam of 4
    Registered Users Posts: 21,842 ✭✭✭✭Mam of 4


    Lucyfur wrote: »
    Ah no.

    I've an education and I stopped smoking agggggggeeeeessss ago and I don't get benefits and I pay all my own bills and I don't deal drugs or breed puppies by the gallon and I STILL have a kid with autism/adhd/dyspraxia/ocd/possible torretts

    And he's fecking deadly. And if the autism/adhd/dyspraxia/ocd/possible torretts fairy came along in the morning, I'd politely ask her to put away her magic wand, cos my maggot is pretty awesome just how he is, even if half the general public think his conditions are made up/bad parenting.

    + 1 gazillion times over.

    My 20 yr old son said that if they ever could take it all away , he wouldn't be who he is now , the essence of his being would be gone.


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    #222
    Shakespeare's Sister
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,412 ✭✭✭Shakespeare's Sister


    Just because it can be used by some as an excuse for their kids acting the shyte, doesn't mean it doesn't exist for real either.


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    #223
    spurious
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 27,138 CMod ✭✭✭✭spurious


    SpatialPlanning wrote: »
    As a teacher are you qualified to make the observations and judgements that you are making? Or are you basing your observations and judgements on a preconceived notion of what kind of pupil to expect in your classroom? Can a strict teacher cure other diagnosed problems?

    This is only part attack, part genuine question, Doctor.

    It's enough of an attack for me - are you saying that I did not witness what I did?
    The ones who could chop and change their behaviour as it suited also 'cured' themselves as they got older or got detention for their behaviour.

    They would even say it to us in 6th year - 'oh I was an awful little b**** when I started'. Yes, you were, until we taught you how to behave.

    That said, I felt sorry for the few kids (imo genuine ADHD children) who were zombified by the drugs, even if it meant they did not bite/assault another child/staff member that day.


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    #224
    candy-gal1
    Registered Users Posts: 6,568 ✭✭✭candy-gal1


    beauf wrote: »
    Do you mean anything. Or just some things.

    Because if you have some people who have a natural advantage, in something physical. You have some people who have a disadvantage. Considering the brain is a lot more complicated, its likely the same applies to that aswell. Some people are good at numbers, some people bad at staying focused. Good, bad sense of direction. Good coordination, bad coordination.

    From that perspective, "not trying hard enough" is very unlikely to be true for absolutely "anything".


    Well, I can understand what your saying, everyone has their own individual strengths and weaknesses etc, but we all have pretty much the same brain power on things in general, well Id think and hope so anyway :)

    We all know that if something feels bad, there has to be a reason and therefore its kind of then your proogative to find out that reason, possably why it is and get out of it as best you can - might take a short or long time but its better than sitting back and just saying "I have this , that or the other mental disorder"
    Unless youve tried everything, in every way, and nothing works even a little bit, then you may have a problem, possably


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    #225
    zcorpian88
    Registered Users Posts: 1,515 ✭✭✭zcorpian88


    I remember years ago I was in a shop with my mother and this other mother was talking to this very elderly shopkeeper, she was like nearing 100 years old and still working in the shop anyway this young mother was telling the shopkeeper that her son had ADHD and told her what the child is like and the shopkeeper was all supportive and sypathetic, then the mother took her shopping and went home.

    The shopkeeper then went to serve my mother and she says "Did you hear that? ADHD, a fancy word for bouldness!" she was very funny!


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    #226
    Dave47
    Registered Users Posts: 151 ✭✭Dave47


    iguana wrote: »
    I don't know enough to say whether it is or isn't a myth but it's most certainly over-diagnosed. Something like close to 10% of children in the US are diagnosed with it, that's not a disease, it's pathologising normal behaviour. Some kids are just extremely active and sitting still for hours at a time in school is too hard for them. Different teaching techniques like regular breaks for exercise or standing at an easel to learn would help enormously but apparently it's easier to attach a label to the child and medicate them.

    I read The Psychopath Test recently and the doctor who edited the DSM-IV states that his biggest regret was catagorising ADHD and Aspergers as diseases because of how frequently behaviour which is just normal behaviour on the spectrum of human personalities is being classed as a disease.

    You're pretty on the ball here- and I'm speaking as an adult diagnosed with ADHD. DSM-V has now gotten rid of the term aspergers, and diagnostic rates in the US are far greater than in europe. Another curious item is the high rate of children growing out of the disorder- I believe it's about 70%- such a high percentage is possibly indicative of incorrect diagnosis at an earlier age. As regards to its existence that is a virtual certainty and it has been confirmed by MRI scans on people diagnosed with the disorder- it's not of the most complicated ones either from a neurological standpoint.

    Fwiw I don't really mind what people say on it- diagnosed earlier this year and the treatment and support have been much more horrific than I expected, and I was expecting some very bad stuff indeed. Took me well over 6 months to convince psych. to give me proper medication and it's working quite well so far.


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    #227
    oak5548
    Closed Accounts Posts: 226 ✭✭oak5548


    Anybody who thinks ADHD is a myth or not something to be taken seriously needs to watch this, for AT LEAST 30 minutes.
    People with ADHD should watch it too.



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    #228
    stpaddy99
    Registered Users Posts: 590 ✭✭✭stpaddy99


    it seems to be as a non expert a lot of this attention problems stems from poor parenting. not taking time to teach your kids, to encourage them to learn, to read and write with them. to explain things to them and to listen and communicate with them....also the whole materialistic nonsense doesnt help.....dragging kids around shops day after day instead of doing something more cultural or spending quality time. also bombarding kids with tv adverts, peer pressure to get designer clothes, lose weight etc proms for 11 year old kids. its all part of the overly materialistic culture kids are brought up in. also broken families, single parents and absentee parents. none of this helps in bringing up kids and spending quality time with them


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    #229
    brown*eyed*girl
    Registered Users Posts: 441 ✭✭brown*eyed*girl


    ADHD is a hidden disability/ difference, if we could visually see these differences it would be a different story, behavior problems still have a huge stigma in society, I have 2 children a neurotypical and non neurotypical child basically my daughter is"normal " and myson has HFA High functioning autism, apologies if this is not articulate or long enough as my smart phone not easy to type on. I feel so hurt when people comment on topics like this that they have no real life experience in, no mm am or dad wishes this when they are bringing a baby into the workd,...


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    #230
    brown*eyed*girl
    Registered Users Posts: 441 ✭✭brown*eyed*girl


    To continue on from my last reply, unless you have real life experience with (ADHD or a similar behavioral difference) and I mean a parent or sibling or you yourself live with it every day then you have no clue. I've been to workshops, seminars and read pretty much every articles and leaflets and books. I've tried every strategy and to think some ignorant people think all I need to do is let my child watch less TV, be married ti his dad
    etc is going to cure him. My son lacks theory of mind which I am trying so hard to teach him, for most of us it comes naturally, he still despite being super clever dont get the natural instinct that others have their own wants needs and desires, also you might wonder why I'm bringing autism here well a lot of kids will have multiple diagnosiss and I've been in contact with so many parents of children with behaviour problems be it autism / or ADHD and we all find the lack of support and understanding makes our tough journey so much harder, also the whole ordeal of getting a diagnosis is hard so how its over diagnosed is a mystery to me, next timeyou judge a hidden disability stop think ..


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    #231
    stpaddy99
    Registered Users Posts: 590 ✭✭✭stpaddy99


    brown*eyed*girl wrote: »
    To continue on from my last reply, unless you have real life experience with (ADHD or a similar behavioral difference) and I mean a parent or sibling or you yourself live with it every day then you have no clue. I've been to workshops, seminars and read pretty much every articles and leaflets and books. I've tried every strategy and to think some ignorant people think all I need to do is let my child watch less TV, be married ti his dad
    etc is going to cure him. My son lacks theory of mind which I am trying so hard to teach him, for most of us it comes naturally, he still despite being super clever dont get the natural instinct that others have their own wants needs and desires, also you might wonder why I'm bringing autism here well a lot of kids will have multiple diagnosiss and I've been in contact with so many parents of children with behaviour problems be it autism / or ADHD and we all find the lack of support and understanding makes our tough journey so much harder, also the whole ordeal of getting a diagnosis is hard so how its over diagnosed is a mystery to me, next timeyou judge a hidden disability stop think ..

    do you always stop and think about all the other hidden disabilities, issues, problems everyone else has in their lives too? its easy to give advice , but can you take your own advice back? people, some people are willing to try and understand and to be empathetic and to try and help in some cases. however if a persons add impinges on another persons life, quality of life or even threatens their dafety then its beyond simple understanding and people wil always resort to survival mode. if we study all illnesses, disabilities, behaviour issues, health problems we can find out more and more and more. but we have a finite time on earth and not every person has enugh time, energy, inclination to study each and every person in depth. especially if it may involve personal danger. people will pass judgement on many things they havent experienced themselves. however i think its a vital experiment they miss in schools to get meet different people and to try and experience life through their eyes.

    i do believe many of these problems we see can be eased somewhat with far more proactive methods. obviously diagnosing as early as possible. but also in spending more quality time , one to one with children. alas so many kids get dragged into this mindless materialistic consumerism which is an excuse for a life and all of lifes lessons get lost somewhere between social media, debenhams, credit cards, mobile phones, spray tans and designer clothes. many people are not even comfortable holding a conversation any more. in the communication age, thats rather ironic. kids really want and need this interaction , we adults know they need it, yet so many adults choose not to give it. this of course exacerbates the social and behavioural problems. the solution? pills to numb the pain and take away feeling.


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    #232
    brown*eyed*girl
    Registered Users Posts: 441 ✭✭brown*eyed*girl


    stpaddy99 wrote: »
    do you always stop and think about all the other hidden disabilities, issues, problems everyone else has in their lives too? its easy to give advice , but can you take your own advice back? people, some people are willing to try and understand and to be empathetic and to try and help in some cases. however if a persons add impinges on another persons life, quality of life or even threatens their dafety then its beyond simple understanding and people wil always resort to survival mode. if we study all illnesses, disabilities, behaviour issues, health problems we can find out more and more and more. but we have a finite time on earth and not every person has enugh time, energy, inclination to study each and every person in depth. especially if it may involve personal danger. people will pass judgement on many things they havent experienced themselves. however i think its a vital experiment they miss in schools to get meet different people and to try and experience life through their eyes.

    i do believe many of these problems we see can be eased somewhat with far more proactive methods. obviously diagnosing as early as possible. but also in spending more quality time , one to one with children. alas so many kids get dragged into this mindless materialistic consumerism which is an excuse for a life and all of lifes lessons get lost somewhere between social media, debenhams, credit cards, mobile phones, spray tans and designer clothes. many people are not even comfortable holding a conversation any more. in the communication age, thats rather ironic. kids really want and need this interaction , we adults know they need it, yet so many adults choose not to give it. this of course exacerbates the social and behavioural problems. the solution? pills to numb the pain and take away feeling.

    Yes I do think about otjer hidden disabilities etc all tdifferenty mam has COPD and despite being off cigarettes for 12 years literally can onlyvwalk in slow motion and eg when a driver let's us cross the road you can see them wondering why she walks so slowly across. Maybe I'm just always aware what you see isnt the full story.

    We can argue all day but I won't budge that bad parenting makes kids develop diagnoses such as ADHD, i will agree that good parenting helps with all behavioral problems to an extent and this goes for all children. Both my children were/ are reared identically and are extremely different as my son has autism. My son couldn't have gotten and still gets so much interaction from us and has no interest in all the stuff you mwntion like credit catds etc., he's never took medication and I work so hard to teach him how to cope. Its a tremendous difference to teachong my neurotypical daughter the same thing, he just dont get stuff his brain works differenrly processes information differently he looks perfect but reacts innappropriately for his age is veryvsocially immature despite our every effort. People judging us have no clue as its a hidden disability, if he had a big lump on his face it would be different, I'm living with this day after day and wish people did take time to understand it. Also I've seeked help from all sources from psyxhologistd to therapists. My son was a very late talker, had poor eye contact and when he did speak we were ecstatic, I wish it was bad parenting tbh as then it would be so easy to help my Y beautiful child who struggles so much eveeyday :(


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    #233
    brown*eyed*girl
    Registered Users Posts: 441 ✭✭brown*eyed*girl


    Apologies for the typos my phone is terrible to type on the screen is tiny and so hard to type on will fix spelling when I get on laptop.


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