re: So who else here thinks ADHD in children is bullsh*t??

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I agree that there is a small percentage of misdiagnosis

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Well, I mean, it appears that the % of misdiagnosis is higher and very possibly a LOT larger than correct diagnosis which is what I've been talking about from the start.

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That is the case in ALL medical PRACTICE, which is called that for a reason.

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Meh. If there were more people on heart meds that DON'T need heart meds than there were that DID, that would be a significant issue.

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I just like to engage in conversation when I have a certain level of knowledge.

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My assertion in the thread from the start was simple. Most kids I meed that are supposedly ADHD, aren't.

The numbers support my assertion to the point that they support it by a pretty wide margin.

This does NOT mean that I have a problem with ACTUAL ADHD kids getting treated.

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If a child goes through all the testing and gets on something then they also need to be going to behavioral therapy to help them cope with things in life with the goal being to get off the drugs.

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My grandson has it. He is 9 and been thru a ton of test. He is on a med and going to a behavioral therapy. Has had a big change in his school work from d's to a+'s.

It is bullshite. The guy that came up with the diagnosis openly admitted to it

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Dr. Leon Eisenberg, the ‘father’ of ADHD, said just before his death that ADHD ‘is a prime example of a fictitious disease.’

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NEVER let anyone put your kid on medication. EVER!

When mental health professionals were given vignettes, they diagnosed boys more than twice as often as girls(same vignettes!!!)



Can you imagine if you got that result for diagnosing the flu!

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Because there seems to be a lot more mass shootings coming out of the ranks of kids that were medicated during their school years

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Ritalin is a no joke drug.

I mean, if someone REALLY needs it, OK.

But, people seem to think it's barely more than Aspirin.

It’s sad how defensive you methheads get when someone accuses you of faking

I had never seen a reference to that incident before...

Der Spiegel Interview

Fascinating interview with father of ADHD...

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Kagan: That's true, but it is primarily due to fuzzy diagnostic practices. Let's go back 50 years. We have a 7-year-old child who is bored in school and disrupts classes. Back then, he was called lazy. Today, he is said to suffer from ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). That's why the numbers have soared.

SPIEGEL: Experts speak of 5.4 million American children who display the symptoms typical of ADHD. Are you saying that this mental disorder is just an invention?

Kagan: That's correct; it is an invention. Every child who's not doing well in school is sent to see a pediatrician, and the pediatrician says: "It's ADHD; here's Ritalin." In fact, 90 percent of these 5.4 million kids don't have an abnormal dopamine metabolism. The problem is, if a drug is available to doctors, they'll make the corresponding diagnosis.

SPIEGEL: So the alleged health crisis among children is actually nothing but a bugaboo?

Kagan: We could get philosophical and ask ourselves: "What does mental illness mean?" If you do interviews with children and adolescents aged 12 to 19, then 40 percent can be categorized as anxious or depressed. But if you take a closer look and ask how many of them are seriously impaired by this, the number shrinks to 8 percent. Describing every child who is depressed or anxious as being mentally ill is ridiculous. Adolescents are anxious, that's normal. They don't know what college to go to. Their boyfriend or girlfriend just stood them up. Being sad or anxious is just as much a part of life as anger or sexual frustration.

SPIEGEL: What does it mean if millions of American children are wrongly being declared mentally ill?

Kagan: Well, most of all, it means more money for the pharmaceutical industry and more money for psychiatrists and people doing research.

SPIEGEL: And what does it mean for the children concerned?

Kagan: For them, it is a sign that something is wrong with them -- and that can be debilitating. I'm not the only psychologist to say this. But we're up against an enormously powerful alliance: pharmaceutical companies that are making billions, and a profession that is self-interested.

SPIEGEL: You once wrote that you yourself often suffered from inner restlessness as a child. If you were born again in the present era, would you belong to the 13 percent of all children who are said to be mentally ill?

Kagan: Probably. When I was five, I started stuttering. But my mother said: "There's nothing wrong with you. Your mind is working faster than your tongue." And I thought: "Gee, that's great, I'm only stuttering because I'm so smart."

SPIEGEL: In addition to ADHD, a second epidemic is rampant among children: depression. In 1987, one in 400 American adolescents was treated with anti-depressants; by 2002, it was already one on 40. Starting at what age is it possible to speak of depression in children?

Kagan: That's not an easy question to answer. In adults, depression either implies a serious loss, a sense of guilt or a feeling that you are unable to achieve a goal that you really wanted to reach. Infants are obviously not yet capable of these emotions. But, after the age of three or four, a child can develop something like a feeling of guilt, and if it loses its mother at that age, it will be sad for a while. So, from then on, mild depression can occur. But the feeling of not being able to achieve a vital goal in life and seeing no alternative only starts becoming important from puberty on. And that is also the age at which the incidence of depression increases dramatically.

SPIEGEL: The fact is that younger children are also increasingly being treated with antidepressants.

Kagan: Yes, simply because the pills are available.

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I think it exists. I've seen it bad in some kids.

But it's over diagnosed and over medicated for sure. Most kids need just a bit more structure.

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Oh don’t forget if you have a kid with adhd, School requires you send him to a child psychiatrist every couple of years for test. It’s the biggest racket there is. Around $2000 for a guy to tell you that he still has ADHD

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Or you could love him and spend time with him and set a good example at home for free.