ADHD: IS IT REAL, OR THE RESULT OF OUR MODERN CULTURE?
It is common today for very active kids to be labeled with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder and given drugs to calm them in order to make them more manageable. It is claimed that these drugs will benefit the hyperactive child, but it is my opinion that it is really of more benefit to the parents and/or teachers who are at their wits’ end in trying to figure out how to control them or just plain “keep up” with them.
There is no genetic or biological proof of a chemical imbalance in the brain to cause ADHD, despite what medical doctors will tell you. Read a college-level textbook on psychology, psychiatry, or sociology and you will probably discover this. One that I have recently read (in 2011) that was the required text for a sociology class at our local public community college is SOCIETY – THE BASICS, written by John J. Macionis. In this book are quotes from several well-respected psychiatrists and psychologists who say that ADHD cannot be correctly labeled as a disorder or a disease because there is no biological or chemical proof that it even exists. A positive diagnosis of ADHD is purely a matter of opinion. Drug companies claim there is a chemical imbalance in the brain, and medical doctors accept it as fact when it has never been proven!
Dr. William James, the ‘father’ of modern psychology stated, “There is nothing so absurd but that if you repeat it often enough people will believe it.”
Psychologist Dr. David Stein calls the alarming rate at which American children are being medicated for ADD/ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder / Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder), ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder), and CBD (Childhood Bipolar Disorder) the “diseasing of America’s children”. His books are worthy of consideration – RITALIN IS NOT THE ANSWER and UNRAVELING THE ADD/ADHD FIASCO: SUCCESSFUL PARENTING WITHOUT DRUGS.
There are many extremely active (”hyper”) kids, sure! But, haven’t there always been? In Grandma’s day, these kids were called “full of life”, or if the child was male - “all boy”. The difference between then and now is that back then, these kids were not drugged to control them. Instead, kids had plenty to do to burn off their extra energy. They were so busy working, that they didn’t have time to get into much trouble. In Grandma’s day, having a kid with lots of energy was actually an asset to the family. Kids did chores at home before going to school. They walked to school. Usually, kids spent all day with one teacher, who knew her students’ strengths and/or weakness very well. Sometimes the kids would have another teacher for “gym” or home economics or “shop”, but all of their core subjects were taught by one teacher. Kids did not have to change classes until they reached high school, and in many country schools of earlier eras, every kid of every age level were all in one room together! The older kids would even help teach the younger ones. Kids at school had several “recess” periods when they could go outside to run and play. Kids were required to help keep the classrooms clean and neat – carry in coal for the stove, clean erasers, sweep, clean windows, etc. Kids walked home from school and had more chores waiting for them when they got there. Kids fed the chickens, milked the cows, worked in the garden, etc. Most kids had no t.v. in their homes, and certainly no video games. As a matter of fact, most kids had few, if any store-bought toys. Parents were so busy trying to keep their families fed and clothed that they didn’t have time to “entertain” their children. So, the kids entertained themselves by using their imaginations. Old rags became a doll. A long stick became a sword or a rifle. Flat rocks became plates. Mud pie, anyone? Lots of discoveries were made when the kids hiked through the woods or played in the creek. If all of these activities were not enough to keep down mischief, there was always the tried and true “ whippin’ ” that quickly got the child’s attention and helped him focus on the activity expected of him (or her). Oh, and let us not forget that kids of the past ate very little junk food. The families couldn’t afford to buy it! So, the kids were exposed to very little, or few, artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives.
Fast forward to today…Most kids do very little work at home. Very few families raise and slaughter their own meat or grow their own food. Junk food is eaten daily. Modern conveniences make what little work there is to do much easier than before. Kids today ride a bus or car to and from school. Most of their time at school is spent sitting behind a desk or at a table. For the most part, recess has been done away with, unless you want to count ‘gym’ for 45 minutes a day, 3 days per week. Very active kids in the lower grades don’t have very many positive ways in which to use up their energy during the school day, so they begin “bouncing off the walls” and getting into trouble, driving their parents and teachers crazy. The older kids have a different sort of attention deficit problem beginning to take root. They begin changing classes in middle school (grade 5) and sometimes even in earlier grades. They no sooner begin one lesson, than it is time to gather everything up and rush to a different room, to a different teacher, to begin a different lesson despite not having finished the previous one. Kids are conditioned from a young age to be in a rush and never give anything much in-depth concentration. There is no time to finish anything at school, so they must take their work home and spend up to 4 hours (as claimed by many parents of public school kids) of their “after-school” time on lessons that should have been done at school. If the kids are involved in sports, then homework is often but on a back burner and their grades begin to slip. These kids begin to feel frustrated and overwhelmed. Is it any wonder that they begin acting out? So, what’s a parent or teacher to do?
Well, it should be obvious that not all kids are suited to learning in a public school environment. The ideal situation for each child is that the environment in which the child learns be adapted to the individual child’s learning style. A more active child needs more “hands-on” work where he can build, take apart, experiment, get messy, and make noise if he wants. An active child learns more by “doing” as he is being instructed, not simply by listening to a lecture. Active children are easily bored and if forced to sit still in class will frequently be caught staring out the window tuning out the teacher, or picking on the kid sitting in front or to the side of him. The problem with public schools today is that it is a system that expects all children to conform to a certain way of doing things without regard to the personality of the individual. Each kid must perform a certain task or lesson at the same time and in the same way as the other 25 plus kids in the class. If a child catches on quickly, he is forced to sit and wait for the others to catch up or he is given “busy” work, which is just more of the same thing he already knows, and so he becomes bored. If a child is having a hard time learning a concept, he will get behind the others in his class and then he will be viewed as “dumb” by the other students. Teachers must stay on a schedule, so they cannot pay any special attention to those who are “gifted”, nor do they have time to give extra help to those who are struggling. In either case, if the child is also “high-energy” then trouble will soon begin.
The modern-day “system” of public schooling changes for no one. It cannot or will not be “fixed” to suit the needs of a very active or frustrated child, therefore, “the powers that be” resort to “fixing” the child instead, so that the child will fit in with the system. The easiest and quickest solution is to give the problem child a mind-altering drug. Parents have one less “worry” and teachers are relieved. There is less stress in the classroom. The sad thing is that the child isn’t really benefitting at all. He has no need to learn self-control – the drug is doing that for him. He is being raised to be dependent upon a drug, and will not know how to deal with life’s challenges without popping a pill. The drug used to calm him will alter his normal thought processes as well as his emotions. What may have excited him before, or brought him pleasure, he may now look upon with detachment. A child who is given mind-altering drugs for his supposed “ADHD” or “depression” problem may not be able to learn as easily or retain knowledge as well as before. He may even become suicidal or homicidal.
I have worked very closely with many young children (birth to age 8 years old) for the past 32 years. I have a certification in Occupational Child Care & Development. I have been trained to work with young children in group settings. Since 1980, I have worked in child day care centers, Primary Sunday School and Vacation Bible School classes, and ran a child day care business out of my home. I have raised and successfully educated (homeschooled) to adulthood my own three children, and I am grandmother to three young ones.
In all of my years of experience in working with numerous and various children, I can truly say that I have come across only 2 or 3 kids that could even remotely be considered to be ADD or ADHD, and it is my firm belief that IF there is such a thing as ADD/ADHD, then it is rare, indeed! I also believe that kids such as the ones I encountered do not have to be drugged to be brought under control (these weren’t). There are other ways of dealing with these children, to help them learn and focus, without resorting to drugs. It takes more effort on the part of parents and teachers, but the results are worth it, as well as amazing!
I prefer to call these extremely active children “KINETIC (in motion) LEARNERS”. My own pre-school age grandson is a kinetic learner. Were he to attend public school, I am sure someone would want to label him as ADHD simply because that someone would not be inclined to have the time or energy to devote to him and his needs. The following website explains the concept of kinetic learning and how to be of help to “hyper” children without the use of drugs: http://homemade-school.blogspot.com/2010/03/kinetic-learners.html?spref=fb
Sometimes children are mistakenly labeled as ADHD simply because they are overly emotional, inattentive, and even violent at school. Some of these kids are more than likely experiencing a traumatic and unstable home life. When they misbehave or lash out at others they are reacting to the negative circumstances in their life that they cannot control, but the teachers and the doctors cannot see that. The “professionals” don’t know, or can’t prove, what is going on at home. The parents can’t seem to associate their own degenerate behavior with their child’s (re)actions. Instead of the child’s emotional turmoil being addressed; instead of the parents taking responsibility for the pain they’ve caused their child and trying to straighten up their own life… the child is drugged – as if HE were the cause of the problems and not they. I know of such a child…
This is a true story. I will call her “Kim” (not her real name). Kim was an all A’s student during her first couple of years of school. She was naturally calm and very well-behaved. She was the apple of her father’s eye – her father’s little princess. Then, her mom began cheating on her dad. Kim’s mom brought another man into their home while Kim’s truck driver dad was away during the week driving long-haul. The parents split up and Kim reacted explosively. (Because Kim’s father’s job kept him away from home during the week, primary custody was awarded to her mother.) Kim soon became violent at school and began stealing.
A teacher suggested to Kim’s mother that Kim may be ADHD. Perhaps Kim should be taken to a doctor and “diagnosed’? So, Kim was taken to a doctor, and the doctor prescribed Ritalin. Later, Kim’s grandfather told me that after being put on Ritalin, Kim began “just sitting around like a zombie – lifeless”. Over the years Kim’s father has suspected that she was also involved with older boys and illegal drugs, but because he was not home much due to his job, and because he did not have primary custody of her, he could not prove anything.
When Kim was 16 years old, she was taken into police custody for living in another state (not her home state) with a 30+ year old man (that she’d only known for about 2 months) and for having illegal drugs in her system. Kim’s problems did not originate with any ‘disorder”. Ritalin did not help her problems. Kim’s emotional or psychological problems and insecurities were the result of the behavior of her mother within their home, and the breakup of the family unit. Kim did not have ADHD. She was (and still is) simply reacting to her home environment, and that is something that drugs cannot fix.
