ironmonk Posted October 19, 2003 Share Posted October 19, 2003 I rememeber chatting about this with a few people... don't remember who... I've been claiming that ADD is a joke for years... I just came across a little ditty from a Harvard Doctor... Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D.... that says the same thing that I've been saying... Moral of the story... don't let some quack pshrink give your kids drugs for being kids... Read his article here: http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/myth_add_adhd.htm To many doctors spend only 10-30 mins. w/a kid then say ADD, here's a pill... then they wonder why drug use is skyrocketing... fix everything with a pill... why not use drugs for recreation also.... it's too easy to become a psychologist... and the people in charge of those that do, should be fired. God Bless, Your Servant in Christ, ironmonk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hecklingsoul Posted October 19, 2003 Share Posted October 19, 2003 Amen! I think it's the adults that are generally suffering from LAD, "lack of attention disorder". Kids wind up having a hard time paying attention when they are constantly trying to come up with new ways to get attention from those they look up to. The last thing they need is to be given a pill that turns them into a zombie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EcceNovaFacioOmni Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 Agreed. ADD is just lack of discipline/attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norseman82 Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 I observe what is reported about all the discipline trends (or lack thereof) and how it seems that the government has a veto power over how you discipline (or will make you feel like an abusive parent if you don't use the correct latest trend), and when a parent who has their "hands tied" cannot discipline their kid, why then does society or the courts blame the parent for not controlling the kid????? If I were a parent and some doctor wanted to put my kid on Ritalin for ADD, I'd ask to see the blood tests proving that there is a chemical imbalance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PedroX Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 First misconception is that ADD and ADHD are not medical disorders, they are psychological disorders. (Sorry Norseman, no blood test) Second misconception is that that link goes to a scholarly article. This article is someone's opinion. Notice that the first serveral of his "references" are his books! He has no foot prints in his article, and refers to no studies. Come on Iron Monk, you're better than this. Is ADD over diaganosed? YES. Does this article impress me? NO. peace... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary's Knight, La Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 I gotta agree that ADD is over diagnosed but disagree with it being a myth, my fiance's little bro has it, his parents gave and still give him plenty of attention and disciplined him as much as they dared but with the medication it's a lot clearer for them what is caused by the disorder and what is simple disobedience, he can't take the fully prescribed medicine dose though cuz it gives him bad headaches so he's only about 1/2 doseage so he's not over medicated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasJis Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 Another name for Ritalyn is: SOMA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironmonk Posted October 20, 2003 Author Share Posted October 20, 2003 I gotta agree that ADD is over diagnosed but disagree with it being a myth, my fiance's little bro has it, his parents gave and still give him plenty of attention and disciplined him as much as they dared but with the medication it's a lot clearer for them what is caused by the disorder and what is simple disobedience, he can't take the fully prescribed medicine dose though cuz it gives him bad headaches so he's only about 1/2 doseage so he's not over medicated ADD is not a chemical problem, ADD as a chemical problem is a myth. ADD as a behavior disorder is real in that it describes the behavior, but pills should not be used to treat ADD. I think the guy is right on the money. My opinion on this has been developing for the last 14 years... It was nice to see someone with a Ph. D. saying what I have been saying. When I worked at a juvenile level 2 day program, there were many kids diagnosed with ADD and had meds prescribed to them. All of them had many common upbringing traits... - Their parents did not care what they did. - Most were from single parent homes. - None of them ever received spankings growing up. - They had no structure or disapline in their lives. - I was there when some would go to a psychologist, spend 15 minutes, the psychologist call a psychiatrist, then the psychiatrist prescribe the drugs for the child. There is a lot of money in drugs. Some doctors push them for pharmaceutical kick backs. Take for instance cancer... that's a big industry... doctors hardly ever bring up things that have saved lives that are not from a pharmaceutical giant. Take for instance Essiac tea, many people have had cancer, then used this tea and their cancer went into remission (http://essiac-info.org/)... do the doctors talk about this... no. My point being that today's psychologists and psychiatrists are lazy and do not want to take the time and effort needed to really help the patient... so they just throw pills at them.... I know that there are a few good one's out there, but the bottom line is most are bad... they try to take the spiritual out of the equation, and that is where they have flawed. The best psychologist/psychiatrist's are the Catholic Priests that have those degree's... They know God is the center and that without God, no treatment will really help. God Bless, Your Servant in Christ, ironmonk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PedroX Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 So, the problem is lazy pschologist and psychatrists? How about the fact that insurance will pay for medication, and not therapy? Come on, you claim to know the system so well lets place the blame where it belongs. Most of the time insurance won't pay for more than 6 visits to either of the above professionals. However, they will pay for medication. I'm sure it would be great if everyone could go see a priest who had an advanced degree in psychology or an MD in psychaitry, but lets be realistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmotherofpirl Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 ADD is not a mythical disorder. THere are some parents who do absolutely everything right, and the kid still has ADD. You are overgeneralizing. Is it over-diagnosed - sure, is it mythical - no. I am impressed by intelligence, not a piece of paper from Harvard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hecklingsoul Posted October 20, 2003 Share Posted October 20, 2003 ADD & ADHD exist. No question. However, I would gather that 9 out of 10 are misdiagnosed. My brother and virtually all of his friends were diagnosed with ADD or ADHD (5 out of 6 of his friends). All of them were the middle or youngest child (youngest only when there was only one other sibling). All of them had some aptitude for art (in some form), all off them were sugar junkies, all of them smoked. All of them were fascinated with fire and destruction. Half of them dropped out of school. They came from families where both parents worked or only one parent was around and the oldest child was the authority figure. They all felt like they were the "screw-ups", the black sheep. They all felt their parents didn't care what they did. They got in as much trouble as they could. Trouble demands attention. Especially when it ‘s brought down by an authority. No one can ignore his or her child when a teacher or cop speaks to the parent directly and demands the parent do something. There is definitely a common psychological disorder but my guess is that it is a product of the child’s environment. I am not implying that there are no kids with ADD or ADHD. I am also not implying that it is diagnosed out of laziness. I also don’t think it is the result of parents with bad intent. I think in some way these kids want to be diagnosed with a problem (subconsciously). I think it is, at least most of the time, an effect of the break down of the traditional family structure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foundsheep Posted October 21, 2003 Share Posted October 21, 2003 ADD is not a mythical disorder. THere are some parents who do absolutely everything right, and the kid still has ADD. You are overgeneralizing. Is it over-diagnosed - sure, is it mythical - no. I am impressed by intelligence, not a piece of paper from Harvard. Did this include a good spanking when necessary! My mom used to knock the ADD right out of me. Really it is not a mythecal disorder but it seemed at one time it was the popular one. Doctors seemed to be quick to diagnose ADD when sometimes they were just dealing with a spoiled brat. i really dont like the idea of a child on an addicting prescription drug when unnecassary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Michael Posted October 21, 2003 Share Posted October 21, 2003 (edited) I personally don't think corporal punishment is the answer for attention disorders. I had my share of whippings when I was a kid... and I STILL couldn't pay attention in school. I was put on Ritalin, and that helped to a degree, but it messed up my metabolism and suddenly I was getting overweight. Somehow I managed to set a schedule for myself with studying, homework, and all that other stuff, and I graduated on time. I plan to read a load of books on raising kids the instant I know one's on the way. I promised myself that things would be different from the way my parents raised me. My wife, bless her heart, has excellent study habits. I pray that our future kids get blessed with her genes in that respect. And I am aware that there's a chance my kids may inherit my attention problems, and I hope I can solve them without drugs. But I do know this... I may have to smack my future kids around to keep them in line, but I will NEVER take a belt to them. Edited October 21, 2003 by Thomas Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foundsheep Posted October 21, 2003 Share Posted October 21, 2003 I know Im not the one who always has decent advice,but I say this to everyone, make sure you never allow the television to babysit kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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