 |
 |
 |
           |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
ADHD: A Dialogue With a Non-Believer, part two
Dear Sir, It was with some interest that I read the article What You Should Know About Attention Deficit Disorder by Edward W. after having it handed to me by a member of our church. There were elements of the article that were insightful, helpful, and needed to be said in a public forum, especially the discussion of the moral and spiritual dimensions of behavior. For this part of the article I applaud Mr. W. However, Mr. W's discussion on the physiological/biological aspects of ADD ADHD was lacking to the point of being misleading to the readers. I am sure that Mr. Welch had no intention of misleading any readers, as that would hardly reflect the "biblical guidelines with which to understand ADD" that he seeks to communicate. Therefore, for the sake of clarifying some details, may I present the following evidence. Perhaps in the near future you would run an article that would present some of this information to your readers, so that they have an accurate understanding of the disorder. We continue the dialogue here in part two. "First, ADD is not a precisely circumscribed set of symptoms. The ever-present "often" in the diagnostic criteria betrays the loose boundaries of ADD, and it explains why Americans use the diagnosis so frequently. Almost anyone can squeeze into the parameters - at least on certain days." - p 59 This statement is also potentially misleading to the readers. "The ever-present 'often' in the diagnostic criteria?" is very similar to the "ever present" "nearly every day" in the diagnostic criteria for Depression. The "often" is simply a realistic description of life for individuals with ADD. It is not "always" as with a structural head injury. It is "often" because it is the result of neurological mechanisms being "often" under-aroused and "often" under-performing. ". . . and it explains why Americans use the diagnosis so frequently." Studies show that 3% to 5% of the population has ADHD. Over-diagnosis, if there is any, is not due to the diagnostic criteria, but rather to a lack of a comprehensive diagnostic work-ups by most physicians. "Almost anyone can squeeze into the parameters - at least on certain days." This is misleading to the readers, and simply not true. Remember, the DSM-IV also includes these important, and highly discriminating, criteria: The reality is that barely anyone can "squeeze into these parameters." But about 5% of the population can. It is careless to suggest that "anyone? at least on certain days" can meet the diagnostic criteria. It also conveys a negative picture of those who do actually suffer with the condition. Would you publish a statement that read, "Almost anyone can squeeze into the parameters of Alzheimer's - at least on certain days?" I would certainly hope not, and yet it is published in connection with ADHD. This is disappointing. "Second, ADD is a description of behavior, not an explanation. It tries to describe symptoms rather than explain the causes of those symptoms." - 59 Again misleading, and out of context. The authors of the DSM-IV themselves point out that they make no attempts to describe the etiology of any of the 300 or more diagnostic categories ranging from Alzheimer's to Trichotillomania. It is not the purpose of the diagnostic criteria to explain the cause of a disorder, only to categorize the disorder in a realistic manner so that it can (1) be treated successfully, and (2) be researched effectively. It is from the research that we find the explanation of the causes of ADHD, not from the diagnostic criteria. It is also disappointing that no research in the field was noted, as it would have been helpful to your readers. This leads to the next quote from Mr. Welch: "The reason it is important to distinguish between description and explanation is that the ADD literature typically does not distinguish between them. Most discussions about ADD assume that the list of descriptions is equivalent to establishing a medical diagnosis." The point is that the purpose of the diagnostic criteria is to establish a medical diagnosis. And the purpose of the diagnosis is for successful treatment and efficient research. "The popular assumption is that there is an underlying biological cause for the behaviors, but the assumption is unfounded. Although there are dozens of biological theories to explain ADD, there are presently no physical markers for it; there are no medical tests that detect its presence. Food additives, birth and delivery problems, inner ear problems, and brain differences are only a few of the theories that are? unsupported by evidence." There are, in fact, biological causes for the behaviors. Now, what are the "behaviors" that we are talking about? The "behaviors" of the diagnostic criteria. We are not talking about behaviors with a moral basis such as hitting your sister. We are talking about the specific behaviors of the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for ADHD which are described above. This is the end to part two of this discussion. You can learn more about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder by visiting the ADHD Information Library's family of web sites, beginning with http://www.ADD101.com.
Douglas Cowan, Psy.D., is a family therapist who has been working with ADHD children and their families since 1986. He is the clinical director of the ADHD Information Library's family of seven web sites, including http://www.newideas.net, helping over 350,000 parents and teachers learn more about ADHD each year. Dr. Cowan also serves on the Medical Advisory Board of VAXA International of Tampa, FL., is President of the Board of Directors for KAXL 88.3 FM in central California, and is President of NewIdeas.net Incorporated.
MORE RESOURCES:
Parenting - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Teach Your Kids to Cook Well, Eliminating Excessive Health Care Needs in the Future We are all aware of the child obesity epidemic that has not only attacked the United States, but internationally as well. To keep our children healthy and keep health care costs down, we must examine even the simplest angles to prevent this problem. Selecting and Hiring Childcare Employees In today's fast-paced society, many families depend on some form of childcare arrangements to help meet the demands of family and work. The majority of parents in America work outside the home, creating a need for dependable childcare. Growing Good People At age seven months in the womb, humans begin language coordination in response to what they hear through the mother's belly wall. Some 52 muscles learn to respond to the various phonemes (a basic language sound like 'b' in boy and 'm' in man) of the language surrounding that belly. Career Education: Does Not Mean the 6 Year College Plan Researching career education uncovered the following shocking statistic: The average college student takes 5.3 years to earn a 4-year Bachelor's degree. Developing a Fantastic Relationship with Your Child Here's a scene: A parent "might suddenly grab a happliy playing child and shower him with excited hugs and kisses without warning." What's wrong with this picture?I would say that, simply, the parent is not in synch with the child in the case described above. Is Your Child Having Trouble in School? Did you know that the school system is only able to meet 50% of student learning needs?That's right! - only 50% of the student population is in an environment at school which enables them to be successful learners.The reason for this is not because of bad teachers. Mom, Dad and the Big Brother Software for parental control is a useful tool, if applied right. Millions of parents in the USA alone do check their kids' online behavior. Exposing the Damage: TV and Kids There are millions of young children in this country who are being terribly mistreated by their parents.These parents aren't physically abusing their young children, and they may not even know that they're mistreating them. Paediatric Osteopathy All babies cry, but if yours cries a lot, isn't sleeping or is just plain irritable, many parents have found that a paediatric osteopath can help, particularly if the birth was difficult.By gently touching a baby, an osteopath can use manipulation to ease the tension and help improve the way baby's body functions. Give Your Child Life Skills for a Lifetime Many parents struggle with solutions to put their child on the fast track to success, and one such solution is not usually far from home. It is your local martial arts school. Who Are You When the Professional In You Meets Baby? Are you a professional?Notice how the questions differs from, "Do you have a profession?"To enter a profession, you invested an enormous amount of time, energy and money. Then you put great effort into earning the respect of clients and colleagues. School Issues: When Should an ADHD Child Be Held Back In School? This can be a very complicated issue, so I don't mean to suggest that my comments here are the definitive thoughts on the subject. For a parent to even consider the issue, things have to be pretty problematic at school. The Personality of a Virgo Child Your Virgo Baby.. Patterns For Plus Size Children Plus size children and overweight children need patterns and clothing that fit THEIR "larger than average" measurements. Sadly, neither ready made clothing nor commercial patterns address the real issue of children's measurements. How Being a Mom Makes You a Better Professional "Becoming a parent can make you a better worker," New York Times writer Lisa Belkins said in a recent column.I'd always heard that becoming a parent made MEN better workers. Is Your Child Learning Nothing? You send your child to school and the teachers teach them. If that is what you think, you could be way wrong ! While most teachers are good at presenting information to a class, learning happens ONLY if kids actually want to learn. A Guide To Help You Teach Your Children Positve Self-Image Through Fitness Raising a pre-teen or teenage daughter (or son) is not easy and can cause any parent a lot of stress. There's so much to worry about - dating, drugs, alcohol, sex, school grades, just to name a few. Americas Public schools --- Deteriorating Like They Did In Ancient Rome The citizens of the early Roman Republic enjoyed an education system similar to ancient Athens. It was voluntary and parents paid tutors or schools directly. Public Schools Can Cripple Your Childrens Ability To Read For many adults, reading a book or newspaper seems effortless. Yet reading effortlessly comes from constant use of basic skills learned at an early age. 6 Tried & True Fun Ways to Educate and Entertain Your Preschooler 1. New Word of the DayIntroduce your preschooler to a new word each morning at breakfast and define it for him.
|
 |