How does the Blockland forum feel about ADHD?

[Acerblock]

Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/index.shtml
https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/

I'm currently writing a research paper in college Humanities on ADHD and my experiences and general research into it this year. This was after my own personal decision to go back on Ritalin for concentration and motivational help.

I've always seen a decent amount of controversy surrounding this diagnosis, its own existence, and the heated debate of parents and/or physicians doping kids up in school to help make them focus more.

So... be honest: what do you guys think about ADHD? Is it real or bullstuff? Be 100% honest, I'm genuinely curious about public opinion here.

[Ad Bot]

[Bisjac]

Doesn't exist. Common symptoms everyone can diagnose from. Sure some people have it "worse", but its learned behavior and you dont need to keep throwing mind altering pills at people.

[SeventhSandwich]

It's definitely real, but it's also misdiagnosed frequently. A lot of teachers and school psychologists push for a diagnosis because it's an easy way of reining in hyperactive male students. Probably about 25% of the male population of my elementary school was diagnosed, of which like half took medication.

My elementary school used scare tactics to try to pressure my parents into giving me ritalin, like telling them that I would grow up depressed, with no friends, and would commit Self Delete. None of which happened obviously.

[Bisjac]

Kids are a crapshoot to diagnose this type of stuff.
But my friend (33yo) just started taking ritalin because he was struggling with multitasking in life. But basically he just has horrible learned life habits and his family all enable him to not get his stuff together.

But now everything is about his victimhood (rolls eyes). He will now forever have this excuse as to why he doesn't have to succeed or try as hard as others.

[Acerblock]

It's definitely real, but it's also misdiagnosed frequently. A lot of teachers and school psychologists push for a diagnosis because it's an easy way of reining in hyperactive male students. Probably about 25% of the male population of my elementary school was diagnosed, of which like half took medication.

My elementary school used scare tactics to try to pressure my parents into giving me ritalin, like telling them that I would grow up depressed, with no friends, and would commit Self Delete. None of which happened obviously.

That's absolutely horrifying. I was lucky with my parents, because they took me seriously when I was asking to become independent from stimulants in 4th grade. Since then, I came back to them on my own.

Kids are a crapshoot to diagnose this type of stuff.
But my friend (33yo) just started taking ritalin because he was struggling with multitasking in life. But basically he just has horrible learned life habits and his family all enable him to not get his stuff together.

But now everything is about his victimhood (rolls eyes). He will now forever have this excuse as to why he doesn't have to succeed or try as hard as others.

My thought would be that if he doesn't try to improve life while on Ritalin, then yeah, most likely he could be just excusing bad habits. But Ritalin makes it easy for me to get over the hurdle of being overwhelmed/unfocused when starting projects or tasks that need to get done. I use it as a tool, NOT a cure.

[Red Spy]

if schooling was different 90% of adhd cases would disappear magically

https://www.reddit.com/

ftfy

[hootaloo]

if schooling was different 90% of adhd cases would disappear magically

different in what way

[SeventhSandwich]

The main reason I still say it exists is because I've met a few kids with a diagnosis who are like, visibly not operating with the same kind of brain function as the rest of us. You can talk to them and they literally cannot maintain focus for more than ten seconds. Otherwise normal social and intellectual function, just absurdly hyperactive and unfocused.

Then you get them on a small dose of an amphetamine and it chills them out just enough that they're balanced to just being normal. Whereas when you give a healthy kid ritalin, they're chilled out way too much (although they still take it, since it will help anyone focus, regardless of whether you have ADHD or not).

[Electrk..]

I mean there are physical differences in the brain for people with ADHD vs. without, so saying it doesn't exist is denying objective reality

There's a lot of misinformation out there, and a lot of people don't understand the nuances of the disorder and how it varies from person to person.

[mod-man]

My elementary school used scare tactics to try to pressure my parents into giving me ritalin, like telling them that I would grow up depressed, with no friends, and would commit Self Delete. None of which happened obviously.

my brothers elementary school teacher said the same thing about him, but he really did end up down that path. the whole situation has been a hard hitter for my family because my parents see my brothers problems as their fault because they didnt listen to the teacher because of that same mentality

which they totally could be. i wasnt around when that was happening and my brother was their first child so who knows. i just read your post and made me think of that

[SeventhSandwich]

I mean there are physical differences in the brain for people with ADHD vs. without, so saying it doesn't exist is going against objective reality

This too. People with ADHD show up on MRI as having clinical abnormalities in the cerebral cortex, which controls thought, cognition, voluntary motion, etc.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17985349

[Electrk..]

There are also different subtypes too, hyperactive and inattentive, each with their own symptoms.  Most people have a mixture of both.

[Darth C3P0²]

its definitely real, no doubt about it. im ngl im sure i have ADD because i have a really hard time when trying to concentrate on things and if someones talking odds are i will be thinking about something else someone said. probably gonna talk to my parents about it because its pretty hard for me just about anything

[Acerblock]

I mean there are physical differences in the brain for people with ADHD vs. without, so saying it doesn't exist is denying objective reality

There's a lot of misinformation out there, and a lot of people don't understand the nuances of the disorder and how it varies from person to person.

This too. People with ADHD show up on MRI as having clinical abnormalities in the cerebral cortex, which controls thought, cognition, voluntary motion, etc.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17985349

Absolutely correct, the prevailing hypothesis relating to deficiencies in the reward pathways of ADHD-sufferers (dopamine, norepinephrine). I was actually a rare care of getting an ADHD diagnosis alongside a brain scan as a kid. There's no question in my mind that I have ADHD, and I have no problems with using Ritalin to assist me in college and work in general.

[cHeEsEpIzZa2]

I think it exists.

If ADHD is like mild autism (which it pretty much is) then we can't provide chemical treatment. Instead, we have to provide therapy and social class (that are executed well).

This is the same for people with mild autism.