I had a conversationg with my intro to Psychology professor.

During it she said the vast majority of people with ADD were white, school age, boys.

What do you think about this statistic?

My own opinion is that there is a less then honest motive behind it.

Don't get me wrong I'm not a Big Pharma conspiracy theory nutter. I'm a recovering Big Pharma conspiracy theory nutter.

But seriously, I also chock it up to various cultural factors aswell.

Also, to those involved in the mental health fields, I'm not here to knock you.

I think the majority of you are good people who just want to help.

I think that ADD is a trend disease that's diagnosed way too easily. It's a lazy man's option.. Don't worry about diet, sleeping habits, hobbies or any other possible reasons like lack of exercise or lack of discipline from parents.. Or the fact that he's just an energetic kid. Just put the kid on Ritalin and all your problems are solved.

I was diagnosed and prescribed speed for years before deciding it was bullshit. In retrospect I had trouble concentrating because I was A LITTLE BOY! When did it become beyond the pale of normal behavior for little kids to want to run around more than adults want them to?

I'm certainly no expert, but I tend to think that study aids are at best overprescribed.

Or were you talking about the other ADD that is influencing mostly white boys.. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons?

Or were you talking about the other ADD that is influencing mostly white boys.. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons?

The other gateway into a life of social isolation and academic underachievment.

To be fair most of the AD&D players I know were pretty much academic overachievers. Social isolation from the opposite sex? Mostly true. Except those that got into LARPing too. It seems that LARPing attracts loose teenage (age 16 is the limit in our neck of the woods) girls who are into the quiet, intelligent but very, very nerdy type.

Yeah I loved those girls.

I had a conversationg with my intro to Psychology professor.

During it she said the vast majority of people with ADD were white, school age, boys.

What do you think about this statistic?

My own opinion is that there is a less then honest motive behind it.

Don't get me wrong I'm not a Big Pharma conspiracy theory nutter. I'm a recovering Big Pharma conspiracy theory nutter.

But seriously, I also chock it up to various cultural factors aswell.

Also, to those involved in the mental health fields, I'm not here to knock you.

I think the majority of you are good people who just want to help.

I think a more accurate statement is the majority of people diagnosed with ADD are white, school age, boys.

On a side note related to big pharma conspiracy, the new treatment they're pushing (atomoxetine) is supposedly a non-psychostimulant alternative to methylphendiate or amphetamine. But, studies in the 90s suggest that it shares discriminative stimulus effects with cocaine (layspeak it can act like cocaine)

My wife has a Masters Degree in special education. She has told me that ADHD is WAAAAAY overdiagnosed. The way you can know for sure if a kid has ADHD you do this:
Offer them some reward for sitting still for five minutes ( a toy, a DVD, icecream ). A child with ADHD CAN NOT sit still no matter WHAT the reward is.

The kids who can sit still for a reward suffer from BRAT syndrome. It is these kids who don't need drugs.

My wife has a Masters Degree in special education. She has told me that ADHD is WAAAAAY overdiagnosed. The way you can know for sure if a kid has ADHD you do this:
Offer them some reward for sitting still for five minutes ( a toy, a DVD, icecream ). A child with ADHD CAN NOT sit still no matter WHAT the reward is.

The kids who can sit still for a reward suffer from BRAT syndrome. It is these kids who don't need drugs.

Not strictly true. It can be argued that some of the behavioural symptons i.e. hyperactivity are a consquence of the attention deficit, and relative control of behaviour can be acquired. Having said that - temporal resolution in ADHD is poor, so saying sit there is five minutes (a short time) has the same consequences (for a normal kid) as - sit there for 2 hours. The ADHD child is more likely to perform the task if a clock with a second hand is used.

I wonder if there's any negative correlation between (supposed) ADHD and how much parents read to kids and encourage them to read? Listening to / reading stories need and promote good concentration skills. Not sure how TV would figure in, though.

I wonder if there's any negative correlation between (supposed) ADHD and how much parents read to kids and encourage them to read? Listening to / reading stories need and promote good concentration skills. Not sure how TV would figure in, though.

TV = Instant Gratification = ADHD reinforcement.

At least, as I've seen it. Reading takes good concentration in kids with ADHD, something they suffer from, and generally, making them run themselves ragged is a good way to boost their concentration. In ADD, it's a bit different since they simply can't focus for too long.

Please don't ever forget that there ARE kids who suffer from this. They actually HAVE the deficit, and they suffer for it. Don't chunk them in with the ones who are just brats.

Physical fitness helps kids concentrate A LOT better, and recess and P.E. are important tools for working with kids with ADD.

I just usually think of them as:

jenky-ass boys.

****, most of the people on this site were that way at a young age.

I just usually think of them as:

jenky-ass boys.

****, most of the people on this site were that way at a young age.

Yeah, but you can tell those ones who are a LOT worse, normally. Those kids actually NEED the medicine.

There is a real fuzzy line when you are feeding kids treatments that are pretty much generic performance enhancers.

There are still not that many genuine MH treatments out there, so when all you have is a hammer...

It's not just the pharms, the schools also get more money for kids with diagnosed conditions.

Some random thoughts.

What were we talking about?

Yeah, but you can tell those ones who are a LOT worse, normally. Those kids actually NEED the medicine.

Yes there are, but they are in my opinion in the minority.