It seems that the question “What is ADHD?” is not very easy to answer, despite the plethora of studies, research and tests of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in the last decades.
When asking the question “What is ADHD?”, it is easier to answer by describing what ADHD is not. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder testing and research has not shown that ADHD is a medical condition. There is no concrete research to support that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a genuine disorder or disease.
What we do know is that attention deficit disorder and ADHD are becoming a modern American plague. It is the fastest growing diagnosis given to children and adolescents, often based on subjective evidence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder from parent ratings and physician observations.
Physicians use a standard checklist of features when performing an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Test to make a diagnosis and prescribe a standard course of stimulant drug therapy in the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity.
Symptoms of ADHD commonly include aggressive behavior, constant activity, easily distracted, impulsiveness, and/or an inability to concentrate. These symptoms of ADHD can include restlessness or fidgeting, excessive talking, and difficulty engaging in “quiet” activities like reading.
Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder always seem to be on the go. They run, move, wriggle, fidget and talk nonstop. They are whirlwinds that leave masses, throw tantrums, start fights and become obstinate.
ADHD is hard to miss in children, but if the signs are missed by parents, the child’s teacher will certainly make sure to point it out clearly to the parents.
The most prevalent and controversial treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is pharmacotherapy. The main drugs of choice are Ritalin, Adderall, Dexedrine and Concerta.
Now here’s the scary part; These drugs commonly prescribed in the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder fall into the same category of drugs (Schedule II) as cocaine, methadone, and opium.
Just a decade ago, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder testing and treatment were virtually unknown.
The 1987 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which touts 50,000 entries and modern definitions, doesn’t even include the word “hyper” or “hyperactivity.” The American Psychiatric Association did not name Attention Deficit Disorder as a disorder until 1990.
Young boys naturally have higher energy levels than their female counterparts. Boys are diagnosed at a rate three times higher than girls.
When did active, spirited, strong-willed, and often uncooperative children go from children who were children to children with a mental disorder? If you use ADHD drug sales as a marker, this shift started right around the time the American Psychiatric Association named this set of characteristics a disorder.
Since 1990, prescriptions for ADHD medications have increased fivefold.
As Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder testing and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder treatment reach all-time highs and continue to rise in this country, other countries around the world seem relatively unaffected by this “disorder.” This is the plague of America.
This country uses 500% more Ritalin than all the rest of the world combined.
It is rare to find an Asian child being tested for ADHD, let alone receiving treatment. European children are diagnosed at a rate about 10 percent of their American counterparts.
Either America has some very excited kids, or American doctors are overdiagnosing attention deficit and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Some people argue that attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are not disorders at all, but simply personality types. Some people are able to sit still, pay attention, focus on specific tasks, and exhibit competent social skills. Others get nervous, jump from project to project, or just don’t fit into the social “norm.”
The argument is that people with ADHD are not “sick” and in need of dangerous drug therapy, but simply have a different way of dealing with the conventional world.
Sure, these energetic, on-the-go kids can be incredibly irritating for teachers, drain energy for parents, and cause general problems at the grocery store, but they’re also unique, creative, expressive, and full of life. And boy, are they full of life!
Perhaps we as a society should encourage some of these free-thinking traits rather than expect these children to sit quietly.
After all, if Albert Einstein, Lugwig Van Beethoven, Frank Lloyd Wright, Pablo Picasso, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, and Henry David Thoreau had all grown up in today’s society, they probably would have been slapped with the Attention Deficit Disorder label and prescribed medication. to make them conform to social norms.
Should we stifle the natural enthusiasm and fervor of hyperactive people with medication? Would we have the genius of these incredibly unique minds if we stifled them by altering drugs?
You have to ask yourself…
In the conventional treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, the goal is short-term, as are the effects. The goal is to make the child more compliant (usually so she can sit quietly in school), and ADHD medications work effectively for most children.
However, the price paid for obedient children can be detrimental to the child’s mental and physical well-being and is high.
You want your child to be able to focus, maintain attention, and behave calmly and appropriately on his own rather than relying on medication to do it for him. We don’t want a generation of kids to automatically grow up thinking drugs are the answer.
Treatment should address the root of the problem rather than temporarily mask the symptoms, and should produce lasting changes rather than “fix” the problem for a couple of hours.
A large body of research indicates that environmental factors (nutritionally deficient diets, lead poisoning, food allergies, and the like) cause ADHD symptoms.
By ruling out environmental toxins, food allergies, and other possible causes, and by increasing the body’s strength and well-being through a healthy diet and nutritional supplementation, attention deficit problems can be addressed gently and effectively without the hassle. use of dangerous drugs.
We also believe that ADHD should mean “absolutely lovely, strong, and sassy” young children who will one day become good adults if they are raised in a stable, loving, and accepting environment.
So what is ADHD? Nothing to fear, nothing to fear, nothing more than a label placed on the wild children of society who need a little extra love and a lot of patience.