ADD and ADHD

Well, it's become the blanket diagnosis for kids especially if they are problems in school. I do believe that some are diagnosed improperly, and just need parents to take controll of their children. I will say though, that ADD and ADHD are completely separate issues. The inability to focus on one task and lack of the ability to concentrate for extended lengths of time is ADD. Those who can't sit still are disruptive, and cannot controll themselves, are ADHD. Many times, very young children are getting saddled with the ADHD tag. To answer your question, why it seems so many people have it now, I'd like to bring up Bi-Polar disorder. That is another one that went undiagnosed for many years because they didn't know what it was, or what caused it, it was just thought of as manic depression. I grew up with a mom that would have times when she would get severly depressed, cry over earthquakes in china, or floods in Japan, as if she knew these people and she would actually mourn and become unconsolable. She had ended up in the psychiatric ward of the hospital more than a few times when I was growing up. Finally in the 1980's they came up with a name for this condition... Bi-Polar disorder. It's a chemical imbalance in the brain. They had finally found a common trait in people, and they determined how to treat it. My mom now takes Lithium, and she is fine, hasn't ended up in the hospital in 21 years. The ADHD term had not been around 20 years ago. Sure we had Hyperactive children. We had kids who just couldn't do the work in school. I also know that kids who would throw things in class, be very destructive and such, would get suspended, or even paddled years ago. Now that is not acceptable. Those very same kids that got in trouble at school for that would most likely get spanked when they got home. It just wasn't tolerated. So many kids now lean on that ADHD tag and use it as an excuse to act this way. It's a crutch. KEEP IN MIND I MEAN THIS ON SOME KIDS WITH THE ADHD DIAGNOSIS, NOT ALL OF THEM!!! I have a son with ADD. That is so completely different from the ADHD problem. These people, while they have trouble completing a project, they don't become a disrtuptive type of person, they just move on to other things quietly. WAY different. But to answer your question, it did exist, they just didn't have a name for it.

You do hear about a lot more people having it now than you did years ago. I think one of the reasons is because some teachers think if a child is acting too wild or not concentrating enough in class then they say they have ADD or ADHD. Not all teachers are like that though but some are. I know they say some adults can get it too later on in life. I personally don't know any adults that have it though. But honestly I don't know why we hear of so many kids/adults getting it nowadays.

I think it's severely overdiagnosed. I think it's just a catchall diagnosis in order to medicate people and "calm htem down." It's easy to be hyperactive in modern day society, there's a LOT going on in everyone's lives. I think handing someone a pill is easier than dealing with it, learning life skills, and pushing through it. Guess what? Sometimes it's hard for me to concentrate. Sometimes I daydream at work. Sometimes I get antsy and just need to get out of my seat. Thats normal, and I think some people think they have a disease instead of realizing that life isn't going to be super easy to push through every day. I mean yea i believe some people truely have it, but no where near the numbers that are taking meds for it. It's always been around too, it just wasn't offically discovered/diagnosed. 50 years ago, a TRUE ADD/ADHD kid was just labeled a bad kid who wouldn't listen.

while I think it is a valid condition, I do think it's used to excuse badly behaved, badly brought up children who probably have a diet high in additives, and parents that don't give them enough time, rather than a disorder. this is not everyone, but if you look at the sort of families where it's most common, often they live on benefits, have lots of children, and have no real work ethic. the children are fed cheap, additive filled ready meals.

I've noticed that in a classroom setting the most outspoken student will usually use ADD or ADHD as a scapegoat for their bad behaviour. It is simply sickening that people use ADD or ADHD as a scapegoat for their bad behaviour when in relait they are just simply badlt behaved. However every single time a staudent uses this excuse the teacher backs off as they are aware of the gravity a genuine case of ADD or ADHD yields. I dont think think that there are more people developing it as much as there are people using it as a scapegoat for bad parenting. While there are obviously many people with these disorders, I really think there should be measures taken to diagnose ADD.

A disorder like that gives a person a different perspective on life. If they keep a positive attitude they will see opportunities that "normal" people don't see. I think that sickness in a sense can be a special gift if it's used correctly. It does make a person different though and it can be very hard to fit in anywhere.