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A Million Kids Misdiagnosed with ADHD?
Jamie was one of several people who submitted links to a story proclaiming that as many as a
million kids were misdiagnosed with ADHD simply for being the youngest and therefore least mature in their classes. Worse still, I wonder how many of those kids are permanently put on drugs.
I advocate abstaining from the medication, at least anything they'll prescribe you. Once one reaches an age of self-medication there's an herbal drug that is highly effective for ADD, ADHD, SAD, PTSD, and a whole range of other acronymized disorders. Until then it would be stupid of me to make a recommendation.
Anyone else notice that the Ritalin epidemic followed the Methamphetamine epidemic, which followed the USA's use of amphetamines in WWII?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
In This Thread: Express your superiority over straw-man parents with pat condemnations, supported by anecdotal evidence! Cast aspersion on the motives of medical professionals! Espouse cult-like belief in naturalistic practices! Argue small-mindedly with the parents of ADD-affected children! Make everyone get off your lawn!
Or, alternatively, shut your mouth when it comes to things you know nothing of.
When someone uses their personal experience to bolster their point, they make that experience subject to question. If they don't like that, they're attempting to use their opponent's politeness to shield their claims from question, which is a tactic I don't care to respect.
>>Friend of mine is Doctor working for the UK National Heath Service and he's told me about how they can be offered cash incentives for prescribing certain drugs, particularly antidepressants.
Wait, comrade, wait!
I thought nationalized health care was supposed to eliminate greedy doctors working for profit? How can this be true?
But seriously, a lot of times the motivation for a diagnosis is from parents who simply don't want to deal with the high levels of energy coming from their kids. ("Youthful exuberance is at a all-time low, well done, Skinner!")
But I'm sure the drug companies have done longitudinal studies as to what dosing kids with meth for 20 years will do to them. Right?
Just remember that ADHD is within the spectrum of normal childhood behavior. It is not a disorder.
A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
Oh, sorry, I forgot: whenever free market screws up, it's actually the fault of the sheep population who didn't have sufficient faith in the Invisible Hand, and instead seeked shelter from the Satan Government.
Hey nobody blames the sheep, we all put it where it belongs: squarely on the shoulders of Satan Government.
Sheesh.
Doctors, just like everyone else, work for a wage. I'm not sure where you got your ridiculous strawman from.
Well, you just destroyed your whole argument, because that is completely false.
You obviously have no idea how the medical industry works, or at least the vast majority of it. Very few doctors work for a wage. The vast majority of doctors are effectively one-man businesses. They get paid by the task, they don't make an hourly wage.
That bill your insurance company gets? Yeah, that goes directly to the doctor, and the doctor pays the hospital for things like nurses and medical supplies. They get whatever is left over, which is why the bill tends to be high. They don't get a salary, they don't get paid by the hour, they get paid by each bill they send out.
That's also why when an insurance company dicks around with payment for the procedures that were performed, doctors get really pissed off. They may not get paid for the job for months afterward in those cases, and they may be stuck having to go after the patient just to be able to pay their bills, all because the insurance company is a piece of shit.
Pharmaceutical companies effectively expand that to "paid by the prescription" by offering all-expense paid conference trips to those who sell a lot of their products.
Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
He said they were paid. That is completely unbelievable because it is illegal and can be traced. Your suggestion of coke and hookers on the other hand is much more believable, and since the parent poster didn't mention that idea, where did it come from?
Ahh, I guess that explains it. And here I thought doctors were only bribed by thinly disguised reeducation-programs to expensive holiday resorts.
mine, thank you very much. To those of you with NO DIRECT EXPERIENCE in this (i.e. childless, or "my friend's kid" or just willing to spout on whatever) let me say this: I accept your comments, but please be willing to change your thinking should you ever have kids with ADHD or similar developmental problems. I have a 10 year old son with ADHD. The most important thing I've learned is that every kid is different and talking about them in the aggregate is wrong. What works or doesn't work for my son and our family may or may not work with the next family. Raising kids is tough, and raising kids with ADHD/etc is harder still. I've heard the clucking of hens like all the blowhards I'm reading here. I've seen the stares and the looks from the ignorant who question my parenting and my choices. My message to you all: STFU! To those of you ignorant childless ones, a word of advice: if you have a friend or relative who has a child with ADHD or similar, try compassion. Try to understand that they have their hands full and that you really don't know shit about their situation. And try to keep your mouth shut and your ears and eyes open. If you think they are getting railroaded into medication then support them, encourage them, but stay out of their business. No matter how smart you think you are, understand that raising an ADHD child (or any child for that matter) is a humbling, though infinitely rewarding, experience.