 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ADHD
|
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder |
|
|
 |
|
besides “the strap”, detentions, extra homework, and some other easily tolerated punishments, none of which curbed our “enthusiasm” for long, there wasn’t much teachers could do to shut us up or slow us down. Yet despite that lack of treatment for our hyper ways, or maybe precisely because of it, every one of us grew into a successful professional, and (I presume), a pretty normal and happy adult (no jokes, by the way, about how “normal” I seem to you; I feel normal, and that’s all that matters to me).
.... These days, however, my friends and I would undoubtedly be put on drugs to slow us down. Why the change? Two important reasons, I believe:
1) our social structures have altered drastically and most organizations that deal with kids (schools, teams, group activities, etc.) no longer abide much deviation from behaviour standards that border on near placidity, and just as important,
2) social scientists seem to have defined the often very narrow limits to “normal” behaviour, so any kid unlucky enough to step beyond those arbitrary norms is now considered by many to have pathology that requires intervention, which is always pushed on the child not because it improves the ability of adults to control him or her but rather because, it’s argued, it’s ultimately much better for the kid to slow down and shut up.
.... So, that’s my admitted bias about ADHD – that it’s both over-diagnosed and over-treated - although I will try to be as objective as I can in. |
| |
 |
.... I must confess that I start this column about ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder with a strong bias, namely that because times have changed, we are now treating behaviours that we once used to tolerate much more readily, so I firmly believe that these days, a vast number |
|
of kids, mostly still boys but increasingly girls (see below), are being over-diagnosed with and over-treated for ADHD.
.... I believe this, you see, because of my own story since, as a kid, I just couldn’t stop moving or acting up or talking ceaselessly or making endless, stupid kid-type jokes that always regaled my classmates, although in my very weak defense, I must add that I certainly wasn’t the only loud, active boy in my class. In fact, several of my friends were also what our principle called “trouble-makers” or “boomers”, the latter a reference not to the fact that we were post-war babies but rather to the fact that we were always making loud, inappropriate noises and comments, although to be honest, I was the loudest and mouthiest.
.... As proof, by the way, that you never escape your roots, a lifelong friend recently introduced me to a new acquaintance as “the talkative class clown” even though we haven’t been classmates for nearly 50 years. Also, it’s a curious observation that what got me into so much trouble as a kid – being talkative, loud, opinionated, and funny (according to my wife, I should also add “often obnoxious”) - has also led to a pretty good career in the media.
.... Anyway, luckily for me and my friends, back then, there was no ADHD nor were there any drugs to alter rambunctious behaviour, so |
|
|
WHERE PEOPLE COME
FIRST
