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Attention Deficit (ADD; ADHD)

MrSnowman

Abominable Snowman
Joined
Aug 5, 2002
Messages
869
It's pretty disturbing - the amount of children who get diagnosed with hyperactivity *cough* sorry, attention deficit disorder these days, and get Ritalin shoved down their throats.

I think in a lot of cases, a healthier diet (less Sunny Delight and Kwik Save orange squash) would help, and also an acceptance that some kids are just more exuberant than others. What frightens me is that many parents might be getting their kids diagnosed with these disorders just for a quiet life, and not willing to accept that the child's behaviour is more of an attention deficit on the side of the parent where more and more are putting their careers first.

Oh what a sad world we live in. :(
 
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I spotted a Dr. Phil on ADHD and he had a guy on who said that:

1. ADHD was overdiagnosed

2. ADHD was over-medicated

Although couched in rather 'out there' terms (like his use of kinesthology) his way of actually tackling ADHD boiled down to three basic premises:

1. Give your child a clear and consitent well defined structure of discipline.

2. Meditate.

3. Eat less processed foods (esp. the ones high in sugars, etc.) and eat more fruit and veg.

Which all seems pretty good advice and should at least be a starting point rather going straight for a pill (which has some pretty unpleasant side effects).

This is the Dr. Phil pages and the book mentioned is The ADD Answer. I have to say I'm awfully unsure about not including oranges or grapefruits but the rest of the banned foods seem sensible.

There is a good article on "Brain Respiration" in today's Garudian which suggests that that form of meditation has been shown to be effective with ADHD.
 
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My own personal opinion is that ADHD does not exist, and is merely an excuse used by/for poor parents and over spoiled children.

Lack of discipline along side poor diet and constant giving in to what the child wants creates a state of hyperactivity and tantrum throwing, the parents can't/can't be bothered to cope/fix the problem and therefore look for a medical excuse for them to say "well I tried my best, but he/she has a medical condition which means I have to buy/give/let them do whatever they want"

I and also truly believe that some people should have a licence to breed.
 
I'm not too sure whether ADHD exists as a disease or is the product of circumstance... but I am sure that when a child is diagnosed with ADHD people tend to give up on contolling the behaviour and/or punishment for bad behavior. Instead they just dose the poor kid up and say that solves the problem.
 
Nottoo sure if painy2 is correct about AHDH but I agree that some people should require a license to breed. The eugenicists weren't all wrong ye know.
 
I used to believe that about ADHD, until I met child who truly had it. ADHD is way over-diagnosed. Poor parenting and emotional issues can certainly result in symptoms of ADHD. IMO true ADHD does exist, but is in fact fairly rare. When you have a chid who has no other emotional issues and who wants very badly to behave and focus the way their peers do, and tries very hard to do so, but just can't, that's when you have a child with ADHD.
 
My nephew has ADHD.

He was diagnosed at 3 years of age, after smashing his head through plate glass windows, developing his eight-pack abdomen by climbing atop everything, and repeatedly jumping from the second story of my parent's house.

My mom thinks that he had a whole team of guardian angels working on his case because he was never injured in all of his excesses.

I guarantee that ADHD exists. I've seen it. It's just over-diagnosed.
 
Anonymous said:
Lollypockets said:
Are there any other afflictions that are becoming fashionable?

ADHD - It's big in the Pushy Parents world. Like Asperger's, really. It's not so much self-diagnosis, as lablelling your progeny to excuse their dreadfulness and your own failings. It's very easy for overbearing but inept parents to read some article in the Guardian colour supplement, fill in the Is Your Child Afflicted? test at the end and then start pestering the poor sprog's school about Dearest Timmy's [/i]Special Education Needs.

The "good" thing about having a child which you yourself have identified as suffering from such a condition is that once it fails all its exams, you can avoid feeling any responsibility yourself and instead feel righteously indignant that those nasty teachers didn't do anything to help your Poor Diddums when you had always told them he needed special help.


Sorry. Rant over.

Woah! While I know this was written in 2004 - nearly ten years ago - I just had to comment on this! My son has ADHD (and I have ADD) and I would like to assure the author if they are still around that ADHD is a real disorder! My son was so difficult to teach that he ended up going to special ed. It was nothing to do with upbringing and if you only knew just how hard we both tried to get him into a routine, get him to comply to rules, and to deal with the meltdowns day after day after day from a small toddler until he left home at 19 (where he had to go into sheltered accommodation so he could be helped further) then you would know that it has zero to do with upbringing and everything to do with the biology of the child.

You shouldnt judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes.
 
I would like to assure the author if they are still around that ADHD is a real disorder!...You shouldnt judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes.
Amen!!! I have four children, one of them is ADHD. Not so severe as Cece's son apparently, he's always been able to stay in mainstream classes. But impossible for him to stay on task, behave in class, fit in socially, go to a movie without pissing off everyone else in the theater. He drove us all crazy, and we spent a LOT of time and energy and money getting him help. Much better now that he's 18. The point is, none of my other kids were like that at all; it's NOT parenting, it's brain chemistry. And my God I get so sick of people blaming the parents.
 
They didn't say it wasn't a real disorder. They were ranting about parents who decide after half an hours internet searching and watching a couple of documentaries that their darling has ADHD/ADD/Asperger's/whatever, no going for a diagnosis from professionals. It's that, that they were against. I'm on another board with several parents of AS/ADHD children, and I would have gone loopy(er) with what they put up with, both in bahaviours from their children and the attitudes of various authorities.
 
They were ranting about parents who decide after half an hours internet searching and watching a couple of documentaries that their darling has ADHD/ADD/Asperger's/whatever, no going for a diagnosis from professionals.
If that's the case I retract my statement. Maybe a bit oversensitive because one does get "why can't those parents raise their kid right?"
 
There are so many talented autistic people out there who are going to waste because of obsession with a medical diagnosis.

Again, our kid has ADHD not autism, but one of the most striking things anyone ever said to us came from this very gentle, humorous specialist who was helping us "adjust" our son. Watching Jesse wander his office opening every drawer and dismantling everything, he said "oh yes, look at him, he's an explorer" and said that in the old days our son would have been a valued member of society - he'd be the one wandering the hills above the village all night watching for wolves and enemies. I took his point to be that this is modern society's disorder more than it is Jesse's.
 
Yes, like every person with AS likes and is good with computers...
 
??? I don't think I was stereotyping every person with AS as being good with computers ??? Rather that the relentless restlessness of kids we label "ADHD" would be an actual asset in "more traditional" societies, while we and especially our school systems see it as a problem.
 
??? I don't think I was stereotyping every person with AS as being good with computers ??? Rather that the relentless restlessness of kids we label "ADHD" would be an actual asset in "more traditional" societies, while we and especially our school systems see it as a problem.

...as the often underrated comedian/actor/writer Simon Day (of Fast Show etc fame) put it, ADHD didn't exist in the '70s: you were just 'a fidget'!
 
So true. As a child, back in the 60s when teachers were allowed to belabour children with whatever fell to hand, I saw classmates battered every day with hands, rulers and plimsolls for the crime of not sitting still.

My concentration wasn't bad - probably looked unnervingly good to the adults, thinking about it - but my handwriting was poor so I collected regular beatings for that instead.

Kids whose handwriting was perfect often wrote nonsense with spelling mistakes, while I untidily wrote sophisticated pieces with good spelling and punctuation. The teachers yelled at all of us. It seemed obvious to me that something was going on there that the teachers were too stupid to grasp.

I didn't understand it either, but I was only a kid.
 
This thread is being established to contain discussions relating to ADD and / or ADHD.
 
My memory is that in the 70s there was "hyperactive" as a description of behaviour in children.

I think it has changed and ADHD is the modern term for the same sort of behaviour that used to fall into descriptions of hyperactivity....

I actually think I am probably an undiagnosed ADHD person....

I remember my childhood/school days and a lot of ADHD stuff clicks as a probability.

I was that child who got into trouble/daydreamed/had no friends/wouldn't go to sleep at night....

Apparently, my mother considered whether it would be worth taking me to a psychologist as a child (she told me this, but I can't imagine her having the courage to do it - she won't even take faulty items back for a refund). She said I was likely hyperactive. According to her, my father didn't want me to be labelled in case it had bad consequences....

But I also wonder if there is a part of me that doesn't understand others or interpret them/our interactions well. I have often been let down because my expectations of others were too high. I have often valued people I considered friends when they only considered us vague acquaintances......It is like I tend to give interactions too much importance....

As an adult, I still daydream and get bored easily. I can be fidgety too. I would hate sitting at a desk all day - and if forced to, I fidget.

In the 70s/80s I am sure most people wouldn't have had things diagnosed that are recognised and understood better.

In the 70s and 80s there were more additives in food that might trigger certain behaviours too - I suspect it is easier to remove these from the diet now and some are not used anymore in the UK/US....The diet thing was dismissed at first by some as cranky - but there was something in it with some of the substances added to foods.
 
I have a brain that deviates and goes all over the place......It is just the way I am.

Part of me enjoys the meandering.

It is just the part that leaves me feeling that there is a trick or some sort of thing that everyone knows except me that concerns me....and that maybe is the answer to why I seem to be such a failure/oddball. I feel like an outsider watching everyone else get on with life and accomplish things. They seem to understand something about how to do life that I don't!

I never wanted to end up alone for example....I have spent longer alone than I have in relationships....
 
I have a brain that deviates and goes all over the place......It is just the way I am.

Part of me enjoys the meandering.

It is just the part that leaves me feeling that there is a trick or some sort of thing that everyone knows except me that concerns me....and that maybe is the answer to why I seem to be such a failure/oddball. I feel like an outsider watching everyone else get on with life and accomplish things. They seem to understand something about how to do life that I don't!

I never wanted to end up alone for example....I have spent longer alone than I have in relationships....
I have felt exactly the same (and still do on occasion) but.....who's to say what constitutes a 'failure' anyway though? Some people want to live as a hermit in a cave on the moors (I knew this guy).
This is what p****s me off about life - ''this is how it should be and if you don't do it this way you're weird/odd/a failure......''

You've only got to look on here- people from all walks of life, with all kinds of jobs and interests and I wouldn't think any true Forteans would consider anyone else here a 'failure' no matter what or where they came from or how they ended up in life.
Apart from Trev, obviously.
 
I have felt exactly the same (and still do on occasion) but.....who's to say what constitutes a 'failure' anyway though? Some people want to live as a hermit in a cave on the moors (I knew this guy).
This is what p****s me off about life - ''this is how it should be and if you don't do it this way you're weird/odd/a failure......''

You've only got to look on here- people from all walks of life, with all kinds of jobs and interests and I wouldn't think any true Forteans would consider anyone else here a 'failure' no matter what or where they came from or how they ended up in life.
Apart from Trev, obviously.
I think it is more a case of, I feel I haven't succeeded in any way....My track record for everything is that I get so far.....and then I don't go any further......Then I wonder whether there is any point in continuing because I hate just doing the same thing over/over and having nothing to look forward to in terms of learning/experiencing new things, getting better at something or having more success as measured in the usual ways....I get very bored if I don't feel I am "going anywhere."

And it is great if you feel fulfilled/happy doing what you are doing, even if no one else would necessarily agree with your lifestyle. But if you feel unfulfilled it is an issue.

I do sometimes wonder if I had been assessed and diagnosed with ADHD or something as a younger person and given some sort of support/coping strategies and tools for life survival, I would have made less mistakes and been less troubled/unfulfilled/unsuccessful. I always feel like I have to act all the time to fit into what people/society wants me to be - school/education, workplace etc. I tend to fail at some point to fit into the system and get the outcome I want.

I feel so fed up/worn out by the effort involved in pretending to be someone else 100% of the time - which is how life feels. I have to do that pretending to "survive" in this world, it seems.

Waffle and diversion over. I continue to be interested when I read about so called neuro divergence, because I am curious as to whether I might be undiagnosed, and it might provide some answers/explanation for my experience of life.
 
This treatment could be beneficial.

Laser light therapy has been shown to be effective in improving short term memory in a study published in Science Advances.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham in the U.K. and Beijing Normal University in China, demonstrated that the therapy, which is non-invasive, could improve short term, or working memory in people by up to 25%.

The treatment, called transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM), is applied to an area of the brain known as the right prefrontal cortex. This area is widely recognized as important for working memory. In their experiment, the team showed how working memory improved among research participants after several minutes of treatment. They were also able to track the changes in brain activity using electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring during treatment and testing.

Previous studies have shown that laser light treatment will improve working memory in mice, and human studies have shown tPBM treatment can improve accuracy, speed up reaction time and improve high-order functions such as attention and emotion.

This is the first study, however, to confirm a link between tPBM and working memory in humans.

Dongwei Li, a visiting Ph.D. student in the University of Birmingham's Center for Human Brain Health, is co-author on the paper. He said, "People with conditions like ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) or other attention-related conditions could benefit from this type of treatment, which is safe, simple and non-invasive, with no side-effects."

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-short-term-memory-problems-laser.html
 
Quack clinics exposed.

Patients are being offered powerful drugs and told they have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after unreliable online assessments, a BBC investigation has discovered.

Three private clinics diagnosed an undercover reporter via video calls.

But a more detailed, in-person NHS assessment showed he didn't have the condition.

The clinics say they conduct thorough assessments and follow national guidelines.

Panorama spoke to dozens of patients and whistleblowers after receiving tip-offs about rushed and poor-quality assessments at some private clinics, including Harley Psychiatrists, ADHD Direct and ADHD 360.

All three diagnosed undercover reporter Rory Carson with the neurodevelopmental disorder - a recognised medical condition which affects behaviour and can be considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010.

The investigation found that:
  • Clinics carried out only limited mental health assessments of patients
  • Powerful drugs were prescribed for long-term use, without advice on possible serious side effects or proper consideration of patients' medical history
  • Patients posting negative reviews were threatened with legal action
  • The NHS is paying for thousands of patients to go to private clinics for assessments
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-65534448
 
So many people concentrate on the 'hyperactivity' element, as though it means that we all run around like maniacs. They ignore the fact that the hyperactivity can manifest as hyperfocus, which can be an extremely useful trait - I use mine to focus on writing, where I can become so involved in a story that it is more real to me than outside life (which, when you're on a deadline, is a very good thing).
 
My grandson was incorrectly diagnosed with ADHD and was put on ritalin (just a few years ago). The ritalin made him very ill tempered and my daughter weaned him off it and took him to a different doctor who did a battery of tests and diagnosed him as on the spectrum of autism. He was referred to a counselor for cognitive behavoral therapy that included my daughter, she needed it as well, since a lot of his problems were anxiety from her reactions to some of his issues. He did eventually get put on the lowest dose of aderal and that has not changed in 3 years. It helps him focus at school. He had a head injury when he was 3 that was not treated and the doctor said that may have contributed to his condition. Too many doctors are owned by pharmacuetical companies and their focus is their bank account instead of their patients. It should be different in countries that have social medicine. Healthcare is big business in the U.S. to the detriment of the patients. One of the reason that alternatives are so popular here.
 
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