re: The ADHD Fallacy: It’s Time To Stop Treating Childhood as a Disease

quote:

---

There are ways to deal with what's going on in your mind, you just have to try. I had a hard time studying in college, mainly because I never had to before but also because I've always been hyper as frick. It was hard to even sit down long enough to study.

I graduated LSU in physics and 100% because I worked with what I had. I forced myself to stay in the physics building ALL NIGHT, twice a week for many semesters. I sat in the conference room and worked my problems on different mediums. I'd do two problems in my notebook, then do them both on the chalk board, then take a break...or I'd work out every problem on the chalk board then try to recreate them in my notebook without looking up. I'd walk around, I'd go into different rooms and jot down things on the board I wanted to remember...

Really, it comes down to staring failure in the face and deciding what kind of person you want to be. If your brain is a bit tweaked, use it. With hyperactivity comes hyper focus, and I don't believe if I medicated one away I would have kept the other. I HAD to have the hyper focus, that's all I know.

---

Congratulations, but your n = 1 (without ADHD) has nothing to do with people who have the disorder. 'Learn to try harder' is not a viable solution for the disorder. It is akin to giving an example of how you always look at the positive and using that as reasoning for why people with depression don't need treatment, they just not to stop being so negative.

quote:

---

Why do you think the overwhelming majority of cases are young males?

---

Its not an "overwhelming" majority (more like 2 to 1) but the reason it is more commonly diagnosed in males is because they are more likely to have the hyperactive than inattentive type. The inattentive type is more likely to be diagnosed in females and is less likely to be spotted.

quote:

---

However, in a lot (and I would say large majority) of cases it is simply typical adolescent behavior.

---

What do you base this statement on?

quote:

---

But to act like there aren't kids or people that need to be medicated is just ignorance.

---

To act like medical professionals, parents and teachers don't over use the ADHD and the medications associated with it is ignorance.

No need for blanket statements. There are people who need medication, and there are plenty of people who are medicated for no reason. What I took from the article is that medication doesn't need to be the first solution and unfortunately it all too often is.

(no message)

quote:

---

There's a difference between a kid being hyper and a kid literally not being able to sit down long enough to pay attention to what he needs to. Yeah some kids are medicated when they don't need to be. But to act like there aren't kids or people that need to be medicated is just ignorance.

---

Yep, my son is a good example of child who definitely responded positively to medication.

quote:

---

I'm not really sure how letting everyone take stimulants has anything to do with ADHD treatment.

---

you're talking about a highly competitive environment where you let one group cheat. that is not fair to those kids who are denied the cheat code

it's not a difficult concept

quote:

---

It is akin to giving an example of how you always look at the positive and using that as reasoning for why people with depression don't need treatment

---

see this is mis-stating what he said

if you have an issue, the first step is acknowledging the issue. then you have to learn about what is wrong and work around the issue.

your post basically says to deny/ignore the underlying issue

just like with depression. when you understand this situation is possible, b/c you've acknowledged your defect, then it's easy to understand when you're depressed. then you have to go back to your understanding of the problem to know that it's not an existential issue...your body is just sucking back too much serotonin. happiness is nothing more than a construct built around the level of certain chemicals, and you just don't have enough. then you take the proper steps to do what you can to ride it out, knowing it will level out.

quote:

---

you're talking about a highly competitive environment where you let one group cheat. that is not fair to those kids who are denied the cheat code

it's not a difficult concept

---

There was no confusion about the concept. Your example ('cheat code') was tangential to ADHD treatment, the article, and the discussion in this thread.

quote:

---

your post basically says to deny/ignore the underlying issue

---

In no way did it state that. While I agree that what you followed with is one strategy to treating depression, it is a simplified version. It is not just "working around the issue" with depression or ADHD in most cases. Recognizing the disorder is an early step (as you stated) but that alone is not enough. "Riding it out" is not a viable solution for most people with ADHD or depression. Recognition does not solve the issues that people face.