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Why I believe ADD is a Myth.
- Oct 5, 2009 at 3:45 PM
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- Comments (8) Total Views (118) Everyone can see this journal post.
When parents hear me say that attention deficit disorder is a myth, they sometimes become very upset. They think I'm saying that their kids aren't jumpy, distractible, forgetful, impulsive, or disorganized. That's not what I'm saying at all. It's quite obvious to me that our nation's children have probably never been so hyperactive. The question is, what accounts for this? Is it a medical disorder called ADD (or ADHD as it's sometimes called)? I think not. I think instead that what we've learned to call ADD is instead a number of things all jumbled up together under this simplistic label.
Kids can be hyperactive for any number of reasons: because they're anxious or depressed, because they're allergic to milk, because they're bored with school, because they have a different kind of mind and aren't being challenged, because they're over-stimulated from television and video games. I could go on. The point is that the ADD label makes is too easy to ignore what might be going on beneath the surface of things. "Oh, he has ADD? Whew! Glad we know what the problem is now." But perhaps we don't really know at all.
Although there is a great deal of support from the medical and scientific community for ADD, once one looks into the literature, things become less clear. Nobody can actually tell you, for example, how many kids have ADD. Though the literature traditionally says 3-5% of all children have ADD, I've seen statistics in textbooks that have ranged from .019% (in England where its far less common) to 10% and above. ADD is in the eyes of the beholder.
Many of the "tests" that are used to diagnose ADD are flawed. The behavior rating scales that ask parents to rate their kids on a scale from I to 5, for instance, in terms of hyperactivity, impulsivity and so forth, are very subjective and parents and teachers often don't agree on what they see in the same child. The continuous performance tests that are often used to diagnose for ADD are a joke. One of them is a box that sits on a table. The child is told that random numbers will appear in a screen on the box. They are instructed to press the button below the screen whenever a 9 is followed by a 1. What a stupid task! Yet on the basis of this, children are being diagnosed and having their medication levels adjusted.
As the textbooks themselves declare, "there is no blood test (or other objective test) to tell when a child has ADD." If this is so, then how do we really know for sure if he or she has it? I've seen studies showing that the symptoms of ADD disappear or lessen under several real life situations: when the child is doing things that interest him, when he's engaged in one-to-one interaction with someone he trusts, when he's being paid to do something, and when he can control the outcomes of his activities. If ADD can disappear under these conditions, then how can ADD really exist as a medical disorder?
Many parents tell me that they don't medicate their ADD-labeled children on weekends or holidays. Why? Because they're not in school and they have more opportunities to behave in active ways. If this is true, then it's clear to me that at least in those instances, we're using Ritalin and other drugs to control children in specific environments (i.e. restrictive classrooms). I realize that Ritalin is very effective and for some kids it can make a big difference in their lives. But it shouldn't be the first thing that parents and physicians turn to at the sign of problems. On Ritalin, research suggests that kids begin to attribute their actions to the pill, not to their own internal effort. Studies suggest that many child hate taking Ritalin, yet you don't see this reported anywhere in the ADD literature. For kids who have that wide-focus attention span (e.g. paying attention to lots of different things rather than one single stimulus), Ritalin can close them down to a fine point of attention, which is great for doing a math page, but can hamper more divergent forms of thinking associated with creativity.
Probably the thing that bothers me the most about this ADD Phenomenon is its emphasis on negatives. We're talking here about disease and disorder; we're talking about a psychiatric illness. Do we really want to be handing these labels out so freely? In the 1950s, only a very few children were labeled as having these problems by the American Psychiatric Association, and they were grouped under the category: "organic brain syndromes." This was a serious category, that included kids who'd had accidents and illnesses (like encephalitis) that had dramatically impaired areas of the brain important for attention and behavior. However, over the past four decades, more and more children have been drawn into the behavior and attention disorder web, kids who back then might well have been regarded as "fireballs," or "daydreamers," or "bundles of energy," but would have been seen basically as normal (or even better than normal).
I'm very concerned that the literature on ADD has so much to say about what these kids can't do, and virtually nothing about what they can do. In my own informal research, I've seen countless examples of kids labeled ADD who are musicians, dancers, athletes, leaders, and creative in many other ways. Why don't we see these kids as basically healthy and creative individuals who may not function as well in certain kinds of environments (for example, the worksheet wasteland of many classrooms), but do great when given a chance to learn in their own way. Many kids labeled ADD in fact do great when they're fixing an automobile, or doing experiments in their nature lab, or performing in a theater piece. Many kids with behavior difficulties grow up to become great individuals. People like Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill, Sara Bernhardt, Louis Armstrong, and Albert Einstein. Why don't we start using models of growth to describe our highly energetic kids and throw this ADD disease label in the trash basket where it belongs?
By Thomas Armstrong Ph.D.
Comments:
this is pretty flat out insulting and ignorant to people who suffer from REAL add or have children who do. yes it is wayy overdiagnosed and misdiagnosed. this is true. but it is NOT a myth. and people who suffer from ADD or have children with REAL ADD/ADHD can tell you that.
are there things that cause some kids to have a misdignosis? sure. too much television, internet, computer games, candy, soda, etc can all cause SIMILAR SYMPTOMS SHORT TERM in chidlren AND in adults. but when it is LONG term, all day, all night, all the time. when you remove the things that MIGHT be causing the symptons and the symptoms are still there?
it is not a myth and a post like this helps add to the belief that it is. I am sorry if i feel this was very insensative and IGNORANT to post
Well, I didn't write this.
Just strongly agree with it, I would Never allow someone to label My daughters (Or sons if I have any) ADD.
I don't believe that it is real, I think it is a way of targeting those who don't learn the same way as others!
Not all Kids Learn from read, and Doing Paper work (I know I don't)...Personally I did HORRID in conventional school...I couldn't Concentrate on the "Homework" and was disinterested...
I was put into another class (More geared "Right Brain" learners) and did Amazing.
What is Ignorant is saying
"You dont know..Blah blah blah"
You want to bet I havent dealt with people who have been diagnosed Severe ADD? They can concentrate JUST FINE...
Show me ONE case where the kid/person Cant concentrate on things they enjoy!
If it was truly a Mental issue they wouldnt be able to consentrate on ANYTHING...
The simple fact is that there is absolutely no reliable test that accurately distinguishes between children that are supposed to have "ADHD" and those that are not. The simplest way to counter this statement is to ask for a medical test to prove that your child has "ADHD." Many physicians will respond to your request by saying that the test is too expensive. You must persevere and ask that your insurance company pay for those tests. The truth is that there is no such test. If the doctor recommends one, ask him for the research article that establishes the validity of that test.
Interesting. I think a lot of it is just kids being kids. They're also used to everything being fast paced--computers, video games, tv...so workbook activities or reading seems boring & they become distracted. My husband disliked school except for the hands-on classes, drafting-auto shop-wood shop, which carried over into his profession.
Regardless of the labels, children are needing help and support learning certain life skills, they need to be taught how to; get organized, stay focused, manage emotions, controlling impulses and being flexible and creative, goal directed. And it is troubling that way too many children are being medicated rather then having specialized support in learning these skills.
I completely ahree with you! The three adults in my household were all diagnosed with ADD/ADHD as children. My mother refused to medicate me, and I did well in school- because I went ahead of the other children and learned at a faster pace. My boyfriend was medicated for 2 years, and said it helped little if any. My roommate joined the military where his "hyperactivity" and non-linear thinking saved his life. People keep saying they think my son has ADHD, I don't buy it. He's 2! 2 year olds are supposed to run and jump and play! All children have tons of energy. My cousin at 10 was diagnosed with ADHD, and he was a little eccentric for a child, but I never saw a difference between his behavior and that of other children.
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I think you did a great job of putting this idea out there.
I agree that ADD and ADHD are vastly over diagnosed. I do not know if perhaps there are some cases where it could apply, for some kids. But I think it is terribly sad how many children are assigned this TITTLE from such early ages and put on such harsh, mind altering drugs as little children. I don't see the benifet.
My oldest is almost 7, it is a pain to get him to concentrate on his homework but I would rather work harder on my patience than make him pop a pill. Not that I think it's even a possiblity that he could have ADD. I think he's a 7 year old boy who has Legos to play with and tons of energy and would ismply rather not do his homework sometimes!
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