Is ADD a made up disease

I do not believe ADD or ADHD is 'made-up', but i do believe children are being increasingly misdiagnosed in many cases...The educational system is placing more demands on children, and at younger & younger ages...The length of class-time for Kindergarden has doubled in many places, children are given less recess time to be able to get their 'energy out'.. The majority of children diagnosed with these conditions are boys...Well, boys learn more through physical play as opposed to girls being more verbal -in the younger years, and that all catches up later with time..Studies have been done to prove this. While kids are being made to sit longer and longer, their ability to concentrate and get restless would naturally increase. Also, excessive television watching is not healthy, as kids get absorbed into sitting and watching activity rather than participating in activity. When the t.v. goes off, they don't know what to do with themselves. Children learn naturally through play...So my personal opinion is that ADD and ADHD are real disorders, yet i feel many are diagnosed with it while not truly having the disorder. What's going to be next? Will we have to place speakers on a pregnant woman's belly and play not just music, but also instructional studies for the unborn fetus? Will babies be required to know certain words and identify colors just after they are born? More pressure steadily upon them is unhealthy..and while the rest of the world advances, others are made to feel they have to 'Keep up with the Jones'.. When i was in Kindergarden, i was just learning to spell simple words, tie my shoes, zip & unzip a zipper, and identify colors and simple shapes...My 4 year old learned those things in his first year of preschool, when he was 3...He can count to 100, read sentences, and do simple addition...And he is also very hyperactive and easily distracted~

No ADD is not a made up disease. (It's not a disease, by the way, it's a disorder) It's very real. Medication is not always necessarily to treat it, but in some cases it is the only way that it can be controlled. It is not caused by diet or discipline problems, although sometimes children with such problems, may be incorrectly diagnosed as ADD, if the diagnosis is not done properly.

I think kids will be kids...and they will act up and get out of control...but all of a sudden they have ADD and need to be medicated. Many of these kids like you stated in your post just need a lifestyle change..or to be disciplined...and they are not getting that...so of course they will act out...because they can...They don't need to medicated just disciplined!

No i know that there are some children whop really do suffer from this dreaded disease .My daughter being one of them . sHE WAS DIAGNOSED WHEN SHE WAS TWO AND BELIEVE ME THEYE WAS NO tv NO SUGAR AND NO JUNK FOOD INVOLVED IN MY CHILDRENS LIVES .t had four other children at the time and none like her .We tried everything except medication until she was six but because her school life and that of the other students were so badly effected we decided to then medicate her for her school hours only . This ment she was ferral after school ,weekends and during holidays . So you see there are geuninecases out there .Yes the dr`s will over diagnose this condition .But as a parent i definately didn`t want my child medicated so it was only for education purposes

Kids with energy. That's what add is all about. Cutting sugar and tv out of their schedule should do the trick but there are cases when the kid can become normal again, only after a visit at the psychologist. I am happy to hear yours turned out just fine. ADD does not exist and indeed it's a made up disease.

This is now becoming an age old argument, but certainly many kids respond very positively to the ritalin family of medication, so I think that in many but not all cases, there is definately truth in the ADD thing. Also brainwave tests have shown abnormality that coincides with up to 7 behavioural indicators.

I think it's such a well know disease that the first sign of a child getting out of line at school, these teachers jump up and say that the child has ADD. There are some people who truly have it, but I think there are fewer then they say. I know a 2 year old who his doctor says he is ADD and they put him on medication that just makes him sleep! A two year old!! How can anyone say a 2 year old has ADD, they haven't developed enough to have a long attention span... UGH! I think the parents just don't want to have to watch him.

ADD is NOT made up, though it IS extremely overdiagnosed, which causes many to doubt its existence, though a brain scan does show the difference between a legitimately ADD person and a "normal" person. The sugar itself can make a change, just because of the hyperactivity it causes, and the development of ADD has been linked to the audiovisual stimulation of TV by at least 1 study. A lack of discipline can also produce "ADD" symptoms in a child, since the child isn't used to restraint. External restraint teaches the child internal restraint (among other things), which helps teach him how to pay attention in class. Most boys also aren't ready for school at the same age as girls, which is why a lot of boys have problems in early elementary. Do noise or motion help your son learn? I know they help my brother (who yo-yos to study), and motion, at least, helps me. (I learned early on to bounce my foot rather than enough to shake things, so not many people notice.) I will repeat that ADD IS NOT MADE UP. Brain scans have different results for ADD people. And stimulants such as caffeine have the reverse effect on the brain—taking a thermos of coffee to school has done wonders for my brother. (Soda has too much sugar for the caffeine in it to be similarly effective, though.) -'Dee

To say that ADD is a made up disease is ridiculous. The disorder does exist. The diagnosis by a teacher or principal is total garbage, who are they to tell you somehthing like that. If a psychologist diagnosis it, it does have a little more weight. Psychologits are also not perfect and your child might not have had the disorder to begin with. Every case is different annd your son could have just been going through a stage of some sort. It might also be possible that something in your sons classroom or the teacher himself triggered a behaviour in your son. All I am saying is that ADD is not a made up disorder. I have a family member that suffers from this disorder. I know that sugar and lack of attention are at the root of it all.

I think the disease is misdiagnosed a lot. There are talks that ADD is just a form of Austism. Now there are some children that are diagnosed with the disease that do need a change in their enviroment and will benefit greatly from it. Then there are children who exhibit ADD like symptoms that actually have a mental disablilty that medication will help eleviate. Unfortunately nowadays when a child acts up in school the school system is very fast to label them with ADHD. They sometimes force a parent into getting their child on medication when things could be fixed with some work on both sides. Not being able to sit still and concentrate is not a reason to put your child on medication.

This is amazing. And good for you! After hearing your story I do believe that it is a made up disease. Our dependency on doctors is so much that many a times we dont question. Many a problem like lack of concentration and disciple are just problems and not diseases. But teachers and doctors hype it so much that we too succumb in the name of early intervention.

I do not think it is made up. I have ADD. The problem is that doctors want to medicate the problem. My shrink also has ADD and he learned how to control it through behaviorial changes. I have found that ADD was one of the causes of my social anxiety. It's not that I was afraid of being in public as much as there was too much for me to pay attention to. Too much input to process because I was trying to pay attention to it all at once. It's not made up, it is a very real problem, but medication is not the answer. The extra attention and discipline you gave your child helped him learn to cope with it. Doctors are just too ready to medicate any problem.

Some people really do have ADD. But some people, mostly kids, are just hyper and easily distracted. Doctors put kids on ridilin way to easily if you ask me. Sometimes, the kid just needs to grow up a little. Or even when they go home from school, they need to go play outside instead of sit on the computer or in front of the tv.

ADD is not a made up disorder. It does exist but there are different degrees to it. In a severe instance, a prescription may be necessary but probably in ur child's instance, such severe measures were'nt required. Most times, a behavioural therapy should help the child - where one-on-one attention and reinforcements, etc are given to the child and this helps them improve. Thereby, it would be wrong to say that ADD does not exist.

ADD/ADHD is definitely a real disorder. I will admit that there are children who are wrongly diagnosed, however much of a doctor's diagnosis may be based on input from the parents. This is not to say that it's the parent's fault a wrong diagnosis is made, however it can play a major role in the diagnosis. For many children with mild ADD/ADHD lifestyle and diet changes can be enough. However there are many children (and adults)who truly suffer with ADD/ADHD and their parents shouldn't be blamed for their condition or accused of poor parenting.

It could be possibly made up. years ago we never heard of ADD.

ADD isn't made-up. It is 100% real. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (sometimes referred to as ADD for those without hyperactivity) is thought to be a neurological disorder, always present from childhood, which manifests itself with symptoms such as hyperactivity, forgetfulness, poor impulse control, and distractibility.[1] In neurological pathology, ADHD is currently considered to be a chronic syndrome for which no medical cure is available. ADHD is believed to affect between 3-5% of the United States population, including both children and adults.[2] Much controversy surrounds the diagnosis of ADHD, such as whether or not the diagnosis denotes a disability in its traditional sense, or simply describes the neurological property of an individual. A wide body of evidence has shown that stimulant medication is the most effective way to treat the disorder. According to a majority of medical research in the United States, as well as other countries, ADHD is today generally regarded to be a non-curable neurological disorder for which, however, a wide range of effective treatments are available. Methods of treatment usually involve some combination of medication, psychotherapy, and other techniques. Some patients are able to control their symptoms over time, without the use of medication. Other individuals who meet the diagnostic criteria of ADHD do not consider themselves to be handicapped by the disorder and therefore may remain undiagnosed or, after a positive diagnosis, untreated. ADHD is most commonly diagnosed in children and, over the past decade, has been increasingly diagnosed in adults. It is believed that around 60% of children diagnosed with ADHD retain the disorder as adults.

ADD and ADHD are both extremely real disorders (not necessarily a disease). Unfortunately, a lot of times these disorders aren't taken seriously because they tend to be very over-diagnosed and used as a "scapegoat." Cutting back sugar/adding discipline/etc. can't always "cure" children with ADHD. This does not mean that your child has it - just because he can't sit still in school doesn't mean anything. If you want to try and get him diagnosed, you should ALWAYS get a second opinion; and I do not believe on placing him on medication unless the ADHD is absolutely uncontrollable and also used as a last resort. You say this started in kindergarten. Naturally, young kids are hyper, and some more than others. Just because he may be having trouble sitting still in school doesn't mean he has a disorder. If I were you, I'd continue doing what you are doing - cut back sugar, and also processed foods such as american cheese, hot dogs, and other foods with artifical flavors; keep a strict, decent bedtime everynight, EVEN on the weekends; and don't let him watch more than an hour of TV a day. The teacher may not see any changes in him, but it doesn't mean it's not working. It might take some time for it to set in effect. If the teacher continues to complain about this, but your son seems to be doing well in school otherwise, I'd consider changing teachers. Some teachers just can't seem to handle naturally hyper children. Also, is he like this at home? Because if not, then it is most likely not ADHD. To fit the criteria for this disorder, a child does not have the ability to choose when and where he shall be hyper at. If he is doing really drastic things at school that seem really abnormal, or he can't seem to focus on his school work, then you may want to get him checked out again. Take him to a doctor, get their opinion, then take him to another doctor to get a second opinion. Steer clear of any doctor who wants to throw him on medication right away - because there are other, better ways to treat ADD/ADHD, and medication should always be used as a last resort.

ADD/ADHD are real diseases (although I hesitate to use the word disease). I do believe though that it is WAY over diagnosed in children today. It seems that if a kid acts out they are labeled with it and put on meds. For some children it is other things that are affecting them (like too much sugar, tv, etc), other kids really do have it. Also, some of the kids that have it can be treated without meds. I saw how my mom struggled to get my brother diagnosed with it in the early 90's late 80's. He required special attention on things like test and homework assignments. His problem was that he knew the material in his head, but somehow lost it between his head and writing it down. He used to have to take test orally and would ace them, but would fail the same test on paper. Medication really helped him while he was growing up. Now he is an adult and in his thirties. He still has ADD/ADHD, but has learned to treat it without meds. It seems like you solved your problem with a different diet and some restrictions. Your child may very well have ADD or may just be a hyper child. I do wish you the best of luck with your son and hope that the diet and restrictions continue to work because none of us want to see our kids overly medicated (at least I hope not!).

hi, i dont think add is a made up disease. my son was recently diagnosed and im glad to have a name. the medication our doctor put him on has made a huge difference in his attitude towards everything from the way he feels about himself to his schoolwork. we too have put him on a strict schedule, cut his sugar intake by half and he is a totally different kid. it took 6 years to get a diagnosis. the psychologist we took him to basically said it was our fault and that he acted the way he did and that we were bad parents. i told him to shove his psycho bable. good luck to you.