Debunking misconceptions

[BuxomDiva]

First it was that article suggesting that children in France don’t have ADHD. (I think it would be more accurate to say that French doctors take a non-pharmacological approach to treating it, but I digress).
Now somebody I know posted THIS story on Facebook.http://www.worldpublicunion.org/2013-03-27-NEWS-inventor-of-adhd-says-adhd-is-a-fictitious-disease.html

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[BuxomDiva]

how do we combat this kind of foolishness? I feel like I have been beating my head against the wall ever since I got my diagnosis, trying to convince people I am not just “lazy, stupid or crazy” 🙁

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[Wgreen]

Look at the last line of the article—
“Let us return to the basic matter of personal psychology and education: The child is to acquire personal responsibility and emphatic behavior under expert guidance – and that takes the family and the school: In these fields, the child should be able to lead off mentally. This constitutes the core of the human person.” (emphasis mine; and boy, they need a better translator——this has the hallmarks of having originally been written in a foreign language.)

There we have it. ADHD is an assault on “personal responsibility… the core of the human being.” And of course that simply will not do. Because it is an assault on deeply held beliefs/theology——the doctrine of free choice——it must be a fraud, a conspiracy among money-grubbing doctors and researchers. This problem isn’t going away. And come to think of it, I can’t think of any “disorder” that stands to be more disorienting to so many people. We assert that a neurological phenomenon impairs our ability to act consistently in “responsible” ways. We have to understand how outrageous that sounds to many people. And we should expect that people will try to impeach that assertion for years to come. It doesn’t help that so many kids apparently go prescription shopping by claiming to have ADHD when, in fact, they really don’t.

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[Patte Rosebank]

 

Yeah, ADHD is a fraud.

And all Stephen Hawking has to do  is DECIDE to get out of his wheelchair, do a backflip, and start tap-dancing while singing, “Happy Days Are Here Again”.

Maybe if his parents had raised him better, he’d have the discipline and willpower to do that.  Because ALS is a fraud too, and he’s just using it as an excuse.

(grrr…)

 

 

 

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[Patte Rosebank]

P.S. –  How can anyone claim to be the inventor of a disease or disorder?  Especially one that has been around for thousands of years, albeit under various names?

There’s also the inconvenient facts that it’s linked to two specific gene mutations (so far) and the reduced activity in the right prefrontal cortex of the ADHD brain is clearly visible in brain scans.

 

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[BuxomDiva]

Oh thanks for reminding me! Have to find those PET scan images that were posted on the NIMH website (I think?) years ago in a piece called the decade of the brain.

😀

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[Wgreen]

Hey, speaking of misconceptions, does anybody have access to the new DSM, the diagnostic handbook for mental-health professionals? Anything new in regard to ADHD?

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[sdwa]

The entire subject is irritating the hell out of me. No one “believes” in it – people think it’s made up by doctors and big pharma.

Even the school system, which is legally required to accommodate kids who have this diagnosis – doesn’t. Because they don’t understand it or take the time to learn about it.

Some days I don’t believe in it.

I get really angry at people who tell me I can’t do things because I have ADHD. I refuse to be limited by other people’s perceptions – totally not helpful. As if it weren’t frustrating enough to try to find ways to make things work. I don’t want it to become an excuse for not trying or working toward important goals, and I feel like a lot of the “literature” encourages that attitude.

Meanwhile, I haven’t been on medication in months because it is so expensive. I hate my medical insurance company, because of the hidden costs and crappy policy language and the fact that I ended up $1200 in the hole because they dumped a bunch of fees on me that I didn’t expect, so now I’m afraid to even see a doctor.

It’s easy to understand why people don’t want to “believe” in ADHD – because of the stigma, because of the cost, because of the lack of effective resources and support, and above all, the encouragement to regard yourself as broken and permanently useless. Who needs that? The greatest “cure” is success. At something. Anything.

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[SweetWriter14]

There is a book called something like “You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?” Talk about being on target! lol I’m in West Virginia. ADHD is considered a disability if the person feels that the condition interferes in their work, etc. I’ve received some accommodation at my job.

If others don’t believe, then too bad. No matter what you believe, say or write, there’s *always* someone out there who will disagree. Unless the non-believer has a lot of control over your work and/or life, it doesn’t matter that the person doesn’t believe.

I’ve read a very encouraging book. The author is a counselor whose now-adult son grew up with ADHD. She also has the condition. I’ll try to add the list of 29 positive traits of someone with ADD. They’re really cool!

The title is Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults – A Different Way of Thinking, by Lynn Weiss, Ph.D. (She’s also written ADD on the Job

Here’s the list: “Twenty-Nine Positive Attributes of ADD”
1. Sensitive
2. Empathetic with the feelings of others
3. Feels things deeply.
4. Creative in nature (including problem solving)
5. Inventive
6. Often sees things from a unique perspective.
7. Great at finding things that are lost.
8. Perceptually acute.
9. Stand-up comic.
10. Spontaneous
11. Fun
12. Energetic
13. Open and unsecretive
14. Eager for acceptance and willing to work for it
15. Responsive to positive enforcement
16. Doesn’t harbor resentment
17. Quick to do what one likes to do
18. Difficult to fool
19. Looks past surface appearance to the core of people, situations and issues
20. Down to earth
21. Good networker
22. Sees unique relationships between people and things
23. Cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary (SW14: re education and thought)
24. Less likely to get in a rut or go stale
25. Original, with a sense of humor
26. Observant
27. Loyal
28. Intense when interested in something
29. More likely to do things because they want to than because they should, thus often wholehearted in efforts.

I found this book in my local library. The other important thing about the book is that Dr. Weiss believes that there is a continuum of ADHD symptoms, and a person can have all of the symptoms or just part of them. Actually, the same line of thinking is currently held in Autism research.

“Check it out!”

Thanks

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