5 ms·

If Calvin Took Ritalin (A Tragedy In Four Panels)

28 points by Trey-Jackson 16y ago

tkahn6 16y ago
Everything turns out ok though: http://www.joeydevilla.com/2008/01/09/calvin-and-hobbes-off-the-ritalin-and-high-on-life/ http://www.joeydevilla.com/2008/01/09/calvin-and-hobbes-off-...
- moultano 16y ago
  I wish I knew who made this one, but it gets even better. http://media.photobucket.com/image/calvinhobbeskidsc8/CaspianX/calvinhobbeskidsc8.jpg http://media.photobucket.com/image/calvinhobbeskidsc8/Caspia...
eavc 16y ago
This is cute and interesting, but it's grossly misleading, informed by a pervasive stigma that we would do well to be rid of. There's no reason he'd be less creative or imaginative. There's no reason he wouldn't decide to go play in the snow. Getting to work on a paper for school early is a sign that he's learning to enjoy school, not a sign that he's become some kind of little automaton as implied. The world would not go gray for poor Calvin. In fact, he'd be better able to entertain even more complicated fantasies, to even better ponder life's mysteries, and to savor the world around him more fully. I'm not saying that medicine is always the thing for everyone, but this comic implies that medicating children for ADHD is a tragedy. It implies that we'd be left with Calvin alone rather than Calvin and Hobbes. An imagination crushed and a childhood ruined. On the contrary, it would be more likely to become Calvin and Hobbes and Crusoe and Harry Potter and Native Americans and Beethoven and Newton. Because he would be able to read a wider variety of books more easily. And Calvin would finally be able to do math, complete his homework without it taking three times as long as it should, and to think about what he wants to say prior to actually saying it instead of lacking that capability. It doesn't wipe out the interest in or capacity for daydreaming; it prevents daydreaming from running unchecked and unintended over other valuable and interesting things that a kid can do.
- hartror 16y ago
  I have a different interpretation. I think Calvin is a pretty normal kid in the scheme of things and that the comic is a commentary on medicating our kids . . . not to be kids! I'm not a ADHD denier but my reading suggests that it is both over diagnosed and over prescribed for. A commentary on this over diagnosis is what I get from the comic. I have definitely met ADHD kids who you cannot doubt have behavioural problems and for whom medication should be an option.
  - eavc 16y ago
    Of course that's the intended purpose of the comic. It's a statement about over-medication, that we should let kids be kids, and so on. But it makes a slew of misleading implications on the way there, and in doing so, it perpetuates the stigma I mentioned before. Edit to add: My reading has been that it is both over-diagnosed and under-diagnosed depending on a variety of factors. Some social contexts lead to one, some lead to the other. One of the main reasons for under-diagnosis is that some popular beliefs about the brain, behavior, and medicine are off the mark, extending to parents, teachers, administrators, and even doctors. It's a very, very frustrating situation.
- silencio 16y ago
  Agreed. As depressing as this comic can seem to people only superficially aware of what ADHD is...that's not quite what being on stimulants makes me feel. On one hand, you do see a side of me that can sit down and get something boring done and you might think that it's turned me into an automaton (what an appropriate description). But what most people don't see is the lessening of a buildup of frustration, depression, disintegrating self-esteem, breakdowns when my coping mechanisms fail, the shame and anger from being called "lazy" or told I'm "lacking willpower". Add to that growing up with adults like the teachers/school counselors around me that were convinced I was just lazy because I was a "know it all" that clearly should be able to do whatever I was asked to do and I was not hyper so obviously my problem wasn't ADHD (I have inattentive-type ADHD), I just needed to get my shit together...apparently. Still to this day and no more a kid, people still say the same hurtful things to me, and add to that the sneer of either "you must be abusing those drugs" or "yeah right, who really has ADHD as an adult". Except, you know, my problems now are not my pre-algebra homework from 5th grade or who thinks what of me on the playground. They're the more serious relationships, bills, jobs, and other general adult responsibilities I struggle with and that I would very much regret if they went down the same path my pre-algebra homework went. I have some ways to cope with this without being medicated, but if I did not have my Adderall nowadays, my life would eventually become a disaster. I don't hyperfocus on something I know I hate doing, it just helps me improve focus on the things in my life that matter to me. It is exactly what you say...it may let me do my work in half the time it otherwise does, but it also means I can spend more time delving into things rather than running around everywhere (mentally speaking). My creative output increases as a result. There are plenty of stupid parents out there that abuse ADHD diagnoses and drugs so their kids have an advantage over others. There are plenty of older teens and adults that use them for whatever benefit they might get (see even the HN topics that pop up once in a while about various nootropics). There's definitely issues with abuse and misdiagnoses here. None of that discounts the fact that some people do have a problem, and that drugs like Ritalin can make a huge positive difference in their lives. Too bad people will stick with their stereotypical nonsense regardless.
india 16y ago
Just in case, it's not obvious to someone, that comic is built using panels from different actual C&H. The first time I came across it I was intrigued how I had missed this one and went out hunting for it's publishing date.

28 points by Trey-Jackson 16y ago

Everything turns out ok though: http://www.joeydevilla.com/2008/01/09/calvin-and-hobbes-off-the-ritalin-and-high-on-life/ http://www.joeydevilla.com/2008/01/09/calvin-and-hobbes-off-...

moultano 16y ago
I wish I knew who made this one, but it gets even better. http://media.photobucket.com/image/calvinhobbeskidsc8/CaspianX/calvinhobbeskidsc8.jpg http://media.photobucket.com/image/calvinhobbeskidsc8/Caspia...

eavc 16y ago

This is cute and interesting, but it's grossly misleading, informed by a pervasive stigma that we would do well to be rid of. There's no reason he'd be less creative or imaginative. There's no reason he wouldn't decide to go play in the snow. Getting to work on a paper for school early is a sign that he's learning to enjoy school, not a sign that he's become some kind of little automaton as implied. The world would not go gray for poor Calvin. In fact, he'd be better able to entertain even more complicated fantasies, to even better ponder life's mysteries, and to savor the world around him more fully. I'm not saying that medicine is always the thing for everyone, but this comic implies that medicating children for ADHD is a tragedy. It implies that we'd be left with Calvin alone rather than Calvin and Hobbes. An imagination crushed and a childhood ruined. On the contrary, it would be more likely to become Calvin and Hobbes and Crusoe and Harry Potter and Native Americans and Beethoven and Newton. Because he would be able to read a wider variety of books more easily. And Calvin would finally be able to do math, complete his homework without it taking three times as long as it should, and to think about what he wants to say prior to actually saying it instead of lacking that capability. It doesn't wipe out the interest in or capacity for daydreaming; it prevents daydreaming from running unchecked and unintended over other valuable and interesting things that a kid can do.

hartror 16y ago
I have a different interpretation. I think Calvin is a pretty normal kid in the scheme of things and that the comic is a commentary on medicating our kids . . . not to be kids! I'm not a ADHD denier but my reading suggests that it is both over diagnosed and over prescribed for. A commentary on this over diagnosis is what I get from the comic. I have definitely met ADHD kids who you cannot doubt have behavioural problems and for whom medication should be an option.
- eavc 16y ago
  Of course that's the intended purpose of the comic. It's a statement about over-medication, that we should let kids be kids, and so on. But it makes a slew of misleading implications on the way there, and in doing so, it perpetuates the stigma I mentioned before. Edit to add: My reading has been that it is both over-diagnosed and under-diagnosed depending on a variety of factors. Some social contexts lead to one, some lead to the other. One of the main reasons for under-diagnosis is that some popular beliefs about the brain, behavior, and medicine are off the mark, extending to parents, teachers, administrators, and even doctors. It's a very, very frustrating situation.
silencio 16y ago
Agreed. As depressing as this comic can seem to people only superficially aware of what ADHD is...that's not quite what being on stimulants makes me feel. On one hand, you do see a side of me that can sit down and get something boring done and you might think that it's turned me into an automaton (what an appropriate description). But what most people don't see is the lessening of a buildup of frustration, depression, disintegrating self-esteem, breakdowns when my coping mechanisms fail, the shame and anger from being called "lazy" or told I'm "lacking willpower". Add to that growing up with adults like the teachers/school counselors around me that were convinced I was just lazy because I was a "know it all" that clearly should be able to do whatever I was asked to do and I was not hyper so obviously my problem wasn't ADHD (I have inattentive-type ADHD), I just needed to get my shit together...apparently. Still to this day and no more a kid, people still say the same hurtful things to me, and add to that the sneer of either "you must be abusing those drugs" or "yeah right, who really has ADHD as an adult". Except, you know, my problems now are not my pre-algebra homework from 5th grade or who thinks what of me on the playground. They're the more serious relationships, bills, jobs, and other general adult responsibilities I struggle with and that I would very much regret if they went down the same path my pre-algebra homework went. I have some ways to cope with this without being medicated, but if I did not have my Adderall nowadays, my life would eventually become a disaster. I don't hyperfocus on something I know I hate doing, it just helps me improve focus on the things in my life that matter to me. It is exactly what you say...it may let me do my work in half the time it otherwise does, but it also means I can spend more time delving into things rather than running around everywhere (mentally speaking). My creative output increases as a result. There are plenty of stupid parents out there that abuse ADHD diagnoses and drugs so their kids have an advantage over others. There are plenty of older teens and adults that use them for whatever benefit they might get (see even the HN topics that pop up once in a while about various nootropics). There's definitely issues with abuse and misdiagnoses here. None of that discounts the fact that some people do have a problem, and that drugs like Ritalin can make a huge positive difference in their lives. Too bad people will stick with their stereotypical nonsense regardless.

india 16y ago

Just in case, it's not obvious to someone, that comic is built using panels from different actual C&H. The first time I came across it I was intrigued how I had missed this one and went out hunting for it's publishing date.