Does ADHD even exist or is it some made up and misdiagnosed thing?

Question

Pharmaceutical fraud stunt like the hundreds of others? I dont see how "having a hard time paying attention in a mundane non visually stimulating experience" means you need to be on speed the rest of your life.
Please, someone, explain this chaos.
Thanks.

Answer 1

I dislike the term "mental illness." All it means to me is someone who's brain acts differently. I'll admit there are some people who truly have screwed up brain chemical balancing, but there are just so many BS "mental illness's" out there.

And to answer your question, no I don't personally believe ADHD exists. It's just a term to make people with short attention spans feel better.

Answer 2

It's a total fraud; a convenient escape for parents who would rather not care about their children's needs, a self-help cult for stupid adults. You don't need to be on speed the rest of your life if you have a hard time paying attention in a mundane non visually stimulating experience, indeed. Of course, propagandists would probably spew **** out like "THIS ISN'T SIMPLY A MATTER OF CHILDREN BEING BOISTEROUS!!!!!!!! THESE ARE CHILDREN WHO CAN'T: EAT SOMETHING BECAUSE THEY GET DISTRACTED IN THE TIME IT TAKES TO BRING THE FORK TO THEIR MOUTH!!!!!!, and other crap, but the fact is, the DSM only makes reference to; "often has difficulty remaining seated when expected to", and so that is ALL it comes down to. They would have to include the former in the official definitions if they want that, but they wouldn't because not a terrible lot of children can fit into that, and if any did I should think they already would have a prior diagnosis of mental retardation. If you want some references to help explain the chaos I would reccomend;

http://www.adhdfraud.org/
http://www.uhuh.com/education/ritpsych.htm

I also find it very sad that someone judged there child as "different" from the moment they were born. You are not doing your job as a parent by letting people talk you into thinking that that is an acceptable way to think.
It is very easy to see how he would have bahavoural problems.
I am supposing that the ADHD child that was somehow slowed down by the drug was 12 while the normal child with the normal reaction was 15. See the link above. All of these stories and observations are all just silly little lies. Not once are these supposed brain differnces ever what meets the eye, it's either just a result of the drugging, misrepresenting of data, age differences between the smaller-brained ADHD children and the bigger-brained normal children, and never ONCE are they subject to REPEAT STUDIES. Buy the video and book from the first link, it will explain alot.

The medication very rarely does have good results, and when it does it is a placebo effect, sugar pills have been shown more effective than ADHD drugs. The most common place I see any stories about it working and making a difference is on the internet.

It is all indeed just a fraud

Answer 3

Here are some other sites which might help explain things. The others have done a really good job of explaining it, and also of indicating the level of "debate" which you can expect from people who don't understand what AD/HD is.

I don't know where "having a hard time paying attention in a mundane non visually stimulating experience" comes from - actually I'm not sure the statement even makes sense. But seeing as someone has selectively quoted from the DSM, I've included a link to the full entry.

Just on a brief personal note, I had problems all through school but was never taken seriously because I kept doing really well academically. Far from being "stupid", had my grades been worse I might actually have received treatment early enough to prevent my subsequent development of clinical depression. As it stands the depression diagnosis was made some years before I finally found out about AD/HD at the age of 27. I am now fairly sure I will be "on speed for the rest of [my] life" - but I understand that if treatment begins early enough some children can avoid this.

Answer 4

It goes so far beyond not being able to pay attention. I knew from birth that my son was different. You have the mantra of someone that has done no reading on the subject. There is an actual morphological difference in the the brain of an ADHD child. Although the drugs used to treat ADHD may be speed to someone with a normal brain morphology, they have an entirely opposite effect on the brains of these children.

All children exhibit a different combination of symptoms. A short attention span is not the same thing as ADHD. THere is an intensity, irritability, uncomfortableness about them. If you spent any time around a child that truly has ADHD you would know.

As for diagnosing and treating, pills are not dispensed out of a candy machine. We tried different diets limiting sugars, and only offering whole wheats. We went to a counselor, we tried different behavioral programs. All that got me was a brilliant child that could not read, and was spiraling into a depression.

Our pediatrician started my son on Adderall. This was after my husband and I both filled out exstensive paperwork narrowing down and categorizing his symptoms. These questions were used as a tool to help narrow down which medication would be the best fit. There were several trips to the doctor. The entire process took about 2 years. So no, ADHD is not a way for drug companies to make money. It is not a mysterious disease that is over diagnosed. If anything it is under diagnosed.

By the way, after 6 months of Adderall my first grader reads at a third grade level. He is happy, he plays, he actually *kind of* sits in his chair through dinner. :)

Answer 5

It does exist. It is a neurobiological dysfunction.

EEG scans have shown ADHD children to have an imbalance in Beta and Theta activity in their brains, and significantly less Beta activity could explain why they have trouble concentrating. A normal brain will emit a significantly higher amount of Beta waves than someone with ADHD.

Like a lot of medical conditions, yes some people can be misdiagnosed. The proper diagnosis should take a fair amount of time. A minimum of many months. Histories need to be taken and analysed, tests done to either support the possibility or eliminate the possibility of ADHD and other similar conditions and co-morbid disabilities.

You may possibly start with a psychologist but you will need to see more specialists in the process. I reccomend a developmental paediatrician for children or a psychiatrist who is specialising in the area (and continuously attending relevant conferences on ADHD to keep up to date). Some psychaitrists are hopeless at diagnosing and treating ADHD, others are thorough and very good. you need to find the right one though.

It is not pharmaceutical fraud that ADHD exists, it is exploitation in regards to the cost, but the change it makes to the children with ADHD is in my opinion far more important that the perception of skeptics who are more concerned with the medication than the difference it makes.

The medication is NOT speed. The active ingredient in ONE of the various medications on the market (and it is not Ritalin either) is used IN speed, not the other way round. The other stimulants are similar in construct to methamphetamine but not the same, although the ingredient in other meds is also used in drugs other than speed. The other thing is that the medication is measured in MICROgrams and a person on speed will use a lot more than any child or adult with ADHD would be taking in their medicated form. The other thing is that speed is mixed with junk and made in unhygeinic places. ADHD medication is pure, clean, monitored, safe and above all LEGAL for those with prescriptions.

The symptoms do sound ordinary for the most part, what is different in a person with ADHD is the extent and degree of the symptoms and their effect, their history analysed along with environmental factors and so on. Development as a child is analysed, often kids with ADHD are slower to talk, walk, and sometimes even growing out of things like wetting the bed. They can be highly intellegent but their progress in certain mediums is not balanced with other areas of learning and I could create a long list but I have other stuff to do.

Thanks for your question though I value the opportunity to help begin to clear the muddy waters on this topic.

Answer 6

I can assure you it's very real. I however never got diagnosed with it as a kid . I didn't get diagnosed with it until I was 42. So while the legal drug companies never made a dime off of my malady some of the illegal folks did as I attempted to self medicate for a disease I didn't know I had. Self medicating is very common in adults with undiagnosed ADD/ADHD.
So here's what I want you to do, find a real person that a real doctor certified as having ADHD/ADD and spend a whole day with that person. If you can get past your preconceived ideas , you may actually learn something

Answer 7

Obviously you haven't had ANY experience with ADHD. Do some research before popping off about something you don't know about. Find a local support group and talk to them. I'm sure they'll really appreciate your attitude as much as I have.

Answer 8

it does exist. but can be easily misdiagnosed - that's why whoever is doing the dianosing should be a psychiatrist or psychologist, not just a regular doctor.

Answer 9

ADHD is a modern, convenient excuse for pharmacudical companies and doctors to rake in the cash.