ADD is a Myth

And Other Mythical Diseases

By Captain LlamaPants, published Feb 01, 2007
Published Content: 18  Total Views: 21,760  Favorited By: 5 CPs
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This is an opinion/satire piece. Easily offended persons should read elsewhere.

Hate me if you will, but I must spout off on what I think is either a universal conspiracy by the pharmaceutical companies to induce the public into believing that human quirks are really diseases or just a bunch of powerful hypochondriacs getting their kicks. First off, the infamous ADD/ADHD infuriates me. The Attention Defecit Disorder Association (www.add.org) states that the disease is characterized by "... symptoms of inability to maintain attention, impulsive behaviors and/or motor restlessness." Wow, that describes like every three year old I know! They must all be riddled with poor neurotransmitters. Come on people! Wake up! What is with this country that we must make up a disease for every little quirky indiosyncracy we have? Stop feeding the mongo-pharmacy companies our cash!

Look at the facts, homosexuality used to be considered a psychological disorder. Isn't even remotely possible that daydreaming is just being fancifully renamed "attention defecit disorder"? Do you know there is actually a Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) and Chronic Skin Pickers Disease (CSPD)? When will the madness end??

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are exceptions that really have a problem. However, I bet you the majority of kids put on Ritalin and other evil drugs are ... guess what... suspense.. suspense... just BEING KIDS!!! That's right, in the old days they called it imagination, rambuctiousness, and being energetic, but we are in the modern age now, and we must stamp out the idea of children not focusing on their studies in kindegarten. We must repress the spirit of independence and sillyhearts! Down with childhood activity! Let us raise snails that drool at their school desks and mindlessly wander quietly through life! If little Johnny is more interested in doodling a cartoon in his notebook than listening to the 5,000 year old teacher drone on about pronouns, then he must be sick. Drug that boy! Seriously folks, how can we justify feeding mind altering drugs to children as young as four years old??

Takeaways
  • Daydreaming is bad for your health.
  • An energetic child means they are sick in the head.
Comments
Comments 1 - 15 of 15
 
 
I agree. I know that there are prob kids out there who really have this, but mostly it is just a way for overworked, underpaid teachers to be able to have a little control over the kids that either have never learned to behave at home or like you say are normal kids that maybe are a little lazy or don't have great organizational skills. My step son has been diagnosed with ADHD. He is a normal kid who is lazy and forgetful and it gets him in trouble at school. He is and always has been one of the most laid back kids I know and some how still didn't escape the drugs. My son who is three is way more hyper than he ever was( i came into my stepsons life at four) and I think he is normal, but know he will never make it through school without drugs. So, now my stepson went from being a C,D student to an A,B student. So that's proof right that the medicine has helped? Well, give me a narcotic too and I'll be the A student I never was.

Posted on 09/11/2008 at 2:09:58 PM

 
Let's see, I presented this article under the heading ... OPINION... not sure how that's confusing, but whatever... Perhaps instead of personally attacking me (wow, that's not child like at all), you can write your own article describing why ADHD is real. I can only imagine that such hostility stems from the fact that I do not stand alone in this opinion and that you have heard it elsewhere. Tell the parents that lost their son Matthew Smith due to chronic stimulant use (Ritalin) that these drugs are OK because your feelings are hurt.

Posted on 04/29/2007 at 10:04:00 PM

 
I found your RANT on ADHD/ADD very offensive and before you call me "easily offended" just look at your response to Mother of ADHD Child's post. The way you present your article does not suggest it is just an opinion piece with the exception of 'rant over'. Your title says "ADD is a myth" which I found hurtful and you point the finger at drug companies, yes that really gives an indication of good knowledge on the subject. This article is nothing my 10 year old cousin couldn't do better, of course he would rather play his computer than read this pointless and useless rant that does nothing more than state the obvious. I would trust that people would do more research than just what they know and learn from someone elses rant before they post an article. While we're at it your comparison to homosexuality was irrelevant since people also thought breast cancer was a result of not being 'feminine enough'. Breast cancer was still real but they got the diagnosis of symptoms wrong. I would like

Posted on 04/29/2007 at 7:04:00 PM

 
I'm sorry to see your comment cut short Rachel, I really would like to have heard all of your story. As a survivor of child abuse and domestic violence, I know what it is like to suffer through clinical depression and living with another person with mental illness that is very real. Looking back at this article I was a bit tangential in my ramblings. I think the gist of what I'm getting at is mostly the concern for the over-diagnosing of ADHD for children, especially young children (less than ten years old). I have read many articles about the risks of the controlled substance Schedule II drugs given to children for this condition that does not even have a biologically based test to diagnose it. Some of those risks were hallucinations, abdominal pain, increased suicidal thoughts, and death because of heart failure. Maybe what I read wasn't true, but if even of those stories is true, then that's freaking scary. Best wishes.

Posted on 04/26/2007 at 10:04:00 PM

 
When I read this all I could think of was Tom Cruise and his comments re depression. Articles like this are highly irresponsible. As an adult that grew up wondering what was wrong with me, why was I so different? Always feeling depression, anxiety.. The hyperness.. The sadness... Sorry Folks, ADHD is REAL. As real as Depression and it can bring on depression due to the loneliness our disability/disorder inflicts on us. Yes, some of us are different, some can get "better" with behavior modification and other alternative vitamins.. but many of us, that isn't the option. I grew up in the Caribbean. I didn't have TV to watch all day; didn't want to anyways. The ocean was my playground. Water is safe there, free of lead, so that wasn't the cause. No there wasn't lead base paint in my home. My mother had us eat the 5 food groups with every dinner, no, missing breakfast and lunch. And a Salad was included every day. So, that wasn't the problem either. She had be taking

Posted on 04/21/2007 at 9:04:00 AM

 
Yes, I really enjoyed this piece. I DO think there is a lot of room for discussion when it comes to diagnosing children ADD...I agree with your feelings...let kids be kids!

Posted on 03/28/2007 at 8:03:00 AM

 
Thanks for the info Antoinette. $700!!! Wow. I'm even more upset now. That's exactly what I'm upset about, that kind of situation. Obviously, not all families do that, and there are families with real problems, but when there isn't even a biological test to prove whether one has a problem or not, it makes things difficult and allows for the kind of unacceptable behavior you mention (money-grubbers).

Posted on 03/23/2007 at 10:03:00 PM

 
Just as a side note. Where I live I could not count how many parents have gotten their kids labeled as ADD and put on med just for the simple reason is that social security will give parents close to $700 dollars a month if their kids is ADD. It is sickening to see this cause these parents are making out like a fat cat off of a disease that more than likely their kid does not have. The doctors around here dont really test the kids or anything else they just label the child and hand out pills base on just what the parents say. Half the time they don't speak with the teachers at school or anything. Free money and all you have to do is dope your kid up. Hey sounds like a good career move to me. Sorry but it is things like this that undermine the one's who truly have this disorder and make it where a lot of people do not take it serious enough to realize that a child may really suffer from this. My heart goes out to the kids and the families who truly do live with this daily. And for the p

Posted on 03/22/2007 at 10:03:00 PM

 
Let me first start off by saying that I do understand that some children do truly have ADD and the such. But doctors are making it easier for lazy parents to dope their kids up instead of dealing with what the kid is doing. My step son for example is labeled ADD. Now when he is at his Mom's house he is ADD. When he is at our house he is not. The difference is he is not ADD. She just does not care to deal with the kid at all. At our house there are rules and I do get up to deal with any thing the kids are doing. This is where doctors are making ADD a problem. By labeling kids that are not ADD and just have a lack of discipline ADD, they are undermine the disorder for the one's that truly are ADD. If a child is ADD they are that way no matter where they are. ADD does not turn off and on depending on who's house a child is in. The doctors need to recap what they are doing to stop undermining this terrible disorder.

Posted on 03/22/2007 at 10:03:00 PM

 
Let me add that I am encouraged that a "serious" health professional wouldn't prescribe such drugs to children any younger than the ripe old age of six. I've totally changed my point of view now. And seriously folks, what do you expect from a llama wearing pants? In-depth investigative reporting?? In the OPINION section? Geez. Go get a massage or something. You people are too tense.

Posted on 02/05/2007 at 8:02:00 PM

 
I love Anonymous Cowards.

Posted on 02/05/2007 at 8:02:00 PM

 
Your demagogy is very entertaining...but the time you spent drafting isn't worth more than...a quick smile. Just a few elements you could do a little research on... Although certain big pharmas are working on ADD medication (E.L. came out with something new in 2003, Concerta a slow release Ritalin is also a new drug), Methylphenidate (Ritalin) is by far the most prescribed drug and the patent expired a long time ago... Let's also point out that 3 year olds do tend to behave the way you describe them, but any serious health professional would not venture into an ADHD diagnostic before age 6 or 7 at the youngest, when family history indicates presence of ADHD. Finally you may be right, ADHD which is described as a disorder in the actual version of the DSM may become a condition or just a matter of life eventually. In fact just like being lefty in North America before the 1950s or better...being gay (homosexuality was a disorder up to the last in-dept review of the DSM (IIIR)

Posted on 02/05/2007 at 2:02:00 PM

 
Let me reiterate that this is an *opinion* piece. I don't pretend to be a doctor, psychologist, or trapeze artist. Easily offended persons should read elsewhere. Also note I said "I'm sure there are exceptions that really have a problem." My concern is that *some* children who are simply spoiled are wrongly diagnosed. My concern is that these sets of behaviors demonstrated by people with "ADD" may actually be symptomatic of other underlying problems that may be the root cause of the trauma going on in one's life. My underlying rant is that we as Americans tend to pathologize everything that seems just a wee bit off the norm which is simply ridiculous and unhealthy. Best wishes to you and your family.

Posted on 02/02/2007 at 8:02:00 PM

 
It would be really nice if people would get more educated before thay start spouting off stupid ideas that could effect someones life. It's because of people like you that causes prejudice against innocent children and their families. I'm a better parent than a lot out there. My child has boundries and there are concequences when he breaks those boundaries, but without meds he can barely function. You have made light of the symptoms, of course when said in the way you did, it sounds like every other little boy out there, but unless you actually walk in other peoples shoes, you really should shutup about things that are so painful to other people. My son's ADHD effects everyone in the entire family and it is extremely painful to see him hurting so much. Would you make fun of someone with cancer or a child who had to use a wheelchair? Maybe you should educate yourself more and actually get to know some families personally who have to live through this and maybe you can do somethin

Posted on 02/02/2007 at 9:02:00 AM

 
Hysterical. You really have a knack for humorAA!

Posted on 02/01/2007 at 8:02:00 PM

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