More Than 20% of 14-Year-Old Boys Diagnosed With ADHD

ADHD, as currently defined, has been present throughout history.

Look at the 'meaning' of the acronym:
Attention Deficit- i.e. can't pay attention;
Hyperactive- i.e. is unable to concentrate and is over-active
Disorder- i.e. is intrinsic and ...?

The solution is simple, and has worked without medication.

Authority figures do something to gain control of the individual's attention, maintains control of the individual's attention and thus cures the disorder. This does require repeat administration of such actions, much like "take one pill twice daily" without the adverse side-effects the consumption of drugs typically causes. This repetitive action results in "LEARNING".

If you cannot control natural processes with natural processes, and require un-natural processes such as Ritalin to control said processes, there's a problem.

Who is more likely to request Ritalin... and who is more likely to request a belt? Who tends to like the holistic approach to things, let life be and such, and are less likely to pursue any sort of corporal punishment and prescribe artificial drugs?

Since the '60s, when talk somehow became perceived as more effective than action, at least in theory, 'downhill' has become a euphemism for 'drop off a cliff'.

reply to post by Snarl

I wonder what the ADHD prevalence rate is here in Korea. I just don't 'see' it in Korean kids, and their parents never unscrew the lid when it comes to pressure.

Lol, probably because if a kid pretends not to hear they quickly get boxed about the ears or smacked with a soup ladle. That would be culturally vastly different from the US. Here the parents would be arrested for child abuse.

Thats not a solution either I don't think.

My nephew plays like he doesn't hear. I've known him as he grew up and I have seen it getting worse over the years. He used to be open and responsive, now he sits and fiddles his I pod. That proves he is paying attention to the world around him. I can still pull him out of it, but I think one day it will be embedded in his character. Practice makes perfect.

I can't condone a belt for that. I want to scold his parents for running him ragged, forcing their beliefs on him and making all his decisions for him. No wonder he disconnects. Its a self defense mechanism.

If he does't conform they scold and punish him. They always have. And they don't realize they're the problem. The more he rebels, the more they squeeze. I know where thats leading…

The parents will blame him, a doctor will diagnose him (so the parents can save face) and then he will be medicated. There ain't nothing I can do. My brother snaps at me, he's my child, its none of your business.

Major modern denial.

reply to post by intrptr


I hate this time of year - It's cold and dark outside - so I watch TV to distract from the internet.

On TLC channel tonight I watched a program on "Jani - a child diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 6".

I've been a psychiatrich nurse for almost 30 years - yes, she definitely looked schizophrenic at even that young age.

Then their son born when "Jani" was 6 - started looking at least autistic - and obviously looked like he was having visual hallucinations at age 4 - again.

This family is either making money off the Big Pharma/UCLA psychiatric train - or something that these kids are environmentally around - are causing this crap. It does look authentic in the videos - but we know what they can do on tv.

I don't normally watch tv - like I said, it's cold outside.

Is this normal tv viewing? Are we feeding into "I'm special - my kid is obviously sick" mancheuser's (SP?) syndrome kind of crap - and we all know that if your kid is "mentally disabled" the family gets a load of money from the gov't.

Kind of feeds on people giving themselves HIV - just to get money from the gov't - from a recent thread.

The WHO - World Health Organization - gives this money out.

De-population seems to be the end game to me.

Questioning all of this.......

reply to post by Happy1

Is this normal tv viewing? Are we feeding into "I'm special - my kid is obviously sick" mancheuser's (SP?) syndrome kind of crap

I think thats part of it. Some parents would rather hand over a problem to others and avoid dealing with their part in it.

Munchausen syndrome is a bit different. More like faking symptoms to attract attention.

Munchausen by Proxy is when the parents use the child's "contrived" illness to garner that same attention.

Part of the problem with my nephews mother is related to that. She's deep into Homeopathy (quack medicine) and multiple treatments by "holistic" doctors (more quackery). She is pressing him to endure these same treatments and medicines and its driving the poor kid crazy. As he gets older he will develop this same unnatural concern for his health that she has. When he figures out that he's not really sick he will explode.

I had ADHD in the 60s as a child and was one of the first to get Ritalin and it helped me a lot. I could not even focus for 30 seconds or sit still at all. I basically lost 1st through 3rd grade, but once I was on Ritalin I could focus extremely well. I stopped taking it about the age of 10.

When I look back at how I was and see kids today that are suggested to have it I shake my head because they are not even close to the way I was back then.

reply to post by Xtrozero


Would you mind elaborating on what you see as true ADHD. I'm not opposed to medication in extreme cases when all other options fail. It may very well help acelerate the growth of neural circuitry to catch up with their peers. I can see it being of use for a developing brain for a few years or so. If it's true ADHD, it seems this would be a temporary fix, rather than just giving someone speed for the rest of their lives.

Thanks!

ADD and ADHD are real things. I've worked with kids who actually had them. It causes a range of behaviors from the kids who just literally cannot hold themselves still to kids who just about seem to be catatonic because they are so distracted inside their own minds. It's legit, but it's also way, way over-diagnosed, too.

My husband worked for a few years on an army base hospital pharmacy and saw the flip side. He saw the glut of new Ritalin scrips that always came in right about the time that schools recessed for the summer from all the base wives who suddenly had to parent again and discovered that little Johnny or Suzie was a *gasp* child and not a little drone who quietly sat in the corner all day like a living doll.

I also think that there is a big problem with tending to forget that boys and girls are indeed different with different needs. How many schools have open recesses where actual vigorous play is allowed anymore? And how many PE classes do the same - allow vigorous play? Little boys need to get up and MOVE their little bodies regularly or they will tend to be on the hyper side just naturally. Girls are just usually quieter that way. But then, boys develop their gross motor functions much earlier and more dramatically than girls do; it's a natural difference. I think too many teachers expect a classroom of little people who all behave exactly like proper little girls.

webedoomed
reply to post by Xtrozero

 

Would you mind elaborating on what you see as true ADHD. I'm not opposed to medication in extreme cases when all other options fail. It may very well help acelerate the growth of neural circuitry to catch up with their peers. I can see it being of use for a developing brain for a few years or so. If it's true ADHD, it seems this would be a temporary fix, rather than just giving someone speed for the rest of their lives.

Thanks!

True ADHD is when the condition limits one's ability to function, and in this case to be able to concentrate for any period of time. I would first look at the child's diet and try to improve it first that way, then I would include extremely small doses of Ritalin. I don't think ADHD ever goes away, but the mind copes with it and today I can function normally and successfully without any drugs to help and I have been that way since I was 10 or 11.

As I said, I completely missed 1st through 3rd grade because of my total inability to concentrate. Today, it seems that drugs are quickly prescribed as the first step to any issue while including a much wider range of issues/non-issues for treatment.

The problem is we do not use very subtle approaches for extremely sensitive minds that do quite well with subtle corrections. Today we go nuclear right off the bat and prescribe drugs that dull the kids. I love it that anti-depressant drugs have suicidal tendencies as a side effect...what is up with that?

I can tell you that 90% of the problems are diet related, if you watch an older documentary called Super Size Me they go to a school for kids with behavior problems and the vast majority become normalized by only the school's diet program.

I know of a child diagnosed with this. Only about 7 years old.

Personally, I think this is all a result of societal changes. We went from being a farmer-type society to a manufacturing-type society to a service-society. All during that time we went form putting kids to work to putting them in schools. Diet also changed. People probably get less sunlight. So basically it seems to me kids have much higher academic expectations placed on them and this shift has resulted in weaknesses being exposed that were formerly less visible.

Male children have something like 4 to 10 times more ADHD cases versus females. My theory is this is related to how males were used in lots of physical work in the past. Now that physical work is less important and school is more important, they're showing weaknesses because their genes are geared for physical work.

I think this is also behind the higher (almost 2x) rates of depression in woman. Perhaps it's tied to less mothering or something else that has changed.

If I went through school in the modern period I'd probably be diagnosed with aspergers or something on that spectrum since I had many problems growing up. Like my dad, I don't seem to get on with others easily. My computer became a way to escape all of the stresses I had in school. I can certainly work with people as I have worked with them before. It's just that it's harder for me and computers are a temptation to escape. It's always a struggle to get myself to be social.

What's happening is a form of natural selection, except the (natural) effect is partially reduced because humans are 'controlling' their evolution more. People who show problems are being put on medications and on therapies and in various programs to fix their problem, but in many cases they still live their lives with their problem. I believe hte problems impact their ability to have children and succeed as a parent and worker. Evenso, humans will continue to control their problems and to engineer their genes and body to suit their environment. Sometimes the choices we make will work in the long run and sometimes they won't. Broadly, evolution is still in control. Essentially, humans are controlling things and we will live or die by the choices we make, just as how a person who uses a sword will live or die by the sword.

xuenchen
Here's something interesting about MSG in foods....

Decreased Levels of dopamine have been recently linked to ADHD:

The link between MSG and ADHD now becomes even clearer - since glutamate in animal studies decreased dopamine.

In the December 2003 issue the Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, it was reported that researchers found increased levels of glutamate in the brains of children who suffered from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In those same children, levels of Gamma Amino Butyric Acid (GABA), were decreased.

source

I don't know about that. I am not arguing a study but just observing where I live which is a majority Chinese. I have eaten many times at authentic Chinese seafood restaurants. They serve MSG like it is salt and pepper. Chinese seem to eat a lot of that crap and it seems to me by the way things are going it is like they are the ONLY ones paying attention....