Is ADHD a Real Disease?
By Joel Turtel (02/21/06)
The vast majority of Ritalin and Adderall is given to school children to treat an alleged disease called ADHD. Children who suffer from ADHD are said to be inattentive, impulsive, and hyperactive. They often get bored easily in class, squirm in their seats, are always on the go, or don’t get along with other students or the teacher.
In other words, many children diagnosed with ADHD may simply be bright, normal kids, full of energy and bored out of their minds sitting in public-school classrooms.
In his testimony to the Pennsylvania House Democratic Policy Committee, Bruce Wiseman, National President of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, stated that “thousands of children put on psychiatric drugs are simply ‘smart.’ He quoted the late Sydney Walker, a psychiatrist and neurologist, as saying,
“They’re hyper not because their brains don’t work right, but because they spend most of the day waiting for slower students to catch up with them. These students are bored to tears, and people who are bored fidget, wiggle, scratch, stretch, and (especially if they are boys) start looking for ways to get into trouble."
Boredom is not the only reason children can exhibit symptoms of ADHD. Perfectly normal children who are over-active (have a lot of energy), rebellious, impulsive, day-dreamers, sensitive, undisciplined, bored easily (because they are bright), slow in learning, immature, troubled (for any number of reasons), learning disabled (dyslexia, for example), can also be inattentive, impulsive, or hyperactive.
Also, many factors outside the classroom can stress or emotionally affect children. Some of these factors are: not getting love, closeness, or attention from their parents; if a parent, friend, or sibling is sick or dies; if the parents are divorcing and there is anger, shouting, or conflict at home; domestic violence at home; sexual, physical, or emotional abuse by parents or siblings; inattention and neglect at home; personality clashes with parents or siblings; envy or cruelty directed at a child by classmates or by siblings at home, and many other factors.
Also, many other medical conditions can cause children to mimic some or all of ADHD’s symptoms. Some of these conditions are: Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), allergies, learning disabilities, hyper or hypothyroidism, hearing and vision problems, mild to high lead levels, spinal problems, toxin exposures, carbon monoxide poisoning, metabolic disorders, genetic defects, sleeping disorders, post-traumatic subclinical seizure disorder, high mercury levels, iron deficiency, B-vitamin deficiencies (from poor diet), Tourette’s syndrome, Sensory Integration Dysfunction, early-onset diabetes, heart disease, cardiac conditions, early-onset bipolar disorder, worms, viral and bacterial infections, malnutrition or improper diet, head injuries, lack of exercise, and many others.
Because these medical conditions can cause some or all of ADHD’s symptoms, it becomes next to impossible for any teacher, principal, or family doctor to claim with any certainty that a child has ADHD. To be certain, a doctor would have to test the child for all these other possible medical conditions. Since parents or doctors rarely do this, every diagnosis of ADHD is suspect, to say the least.
Any of these medical conditions, normal personality variations, emotional problems, or outside-the-classroom stress-factors can disturb a child’s attention, natural enthusiasm, or desire to learn in class, and make the child exhibit symptoms of ADHD. Yet, as psychiatrist Peter R. Breggin, author of "Talking Back To Ritalin," and director of the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, notes, “These are the types of [normal] children who get diagnosed as suffering ADHD and who get subdued with stimulants and other medications.â€
Many reputable authorities, such as Dr. Breggin, deny that ADHD, the disorder for which Ritalin is most commonly prescribed, even exists. Researchers have found no valid physical evidence of the disease or laboratory medical tests to prove it exists.
Parents, do not fall for the ADHD propaganda that public school authorities are now attempting to force on you and your children. In many cases, ADHD turns out to be a bogus disease. Many public schools now use this bogus disease as a convenient excuse to pressure parents to give their normal but bored-with-school children mind-altering drugs. I also urge you to read Dr. Breggin's book, "Talking Back To Ritalin."
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