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The science is not on your side for this view. I suggest you read up to get a more informed view, Dr. Russell Barkley is a great resource, has videos all over y

The science is not on your side for this view. I suggest you read up to get a more informed view, Dr. Russell Barkley is a great resource, has videos all over youtube. In the meantime, here's a quote from "International Consensus Statement on ADHD" (Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, Vol. 5, No. 2, June 2002) > We cannot overemphasize the point that, as a matter of science, the notion that ADHD does not exist is simply wrong. All of the major medical as- sociations and government health agencies recognize ADHD as a genuine disorder because the scientific evidence indicating it is so overwhelming.

taneq 9y ago
I'm not saying ADHD doesn't exist or that it's not a genuine disorder. I'm saying that there's a huge no-mans-land between "you're fine" and "woah yeah you clearly have ADHD and we should fix this."
- TeMPOraL 9y ago
  Indeed there is, and the way psychiatry approaches it in terms of diagnosis isn't really good, either. There is a long but very insightful article on this topic that was recently featured on HN, by Scott Alexander, who's a practicing psychiatrist: http://slatestarcodex.com/2017/12/28/adderall-risks-much-more-than-you-wanted-to-know/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2017/12/28/adderall-risks-much-mor... Key quote for this topic: > But “ability to concentrate” is a normally distributed trait, like IQ. We draw a line at some point on the far left of the bell curve and tell the people on the far side that they’ve “got” “the disease” of “ADHD”. This isn’t just me saying this. It’s the neurostructural literature, the the genetics literature, a bunch of other studies, and the the Consensus Conference On ADHD. This doesn’t mean ADHD is “just laziness” or “isn’t biological” – of course it’s biological! Height is biological! But that doesn’t mean the world is divided into two natural categories of “healthy people” and “people who have Height Deficiency Syndrome“. Attention is the same way. Some people really do have poor concentration, they suffer a lot from it, and it’s not their fault. They just don’t form a discrete population. (Emphasis mine - pointing out the sentence which, in original article, is basically one big collection of links to references backing it up.)
  - rwnspace 9y ago
    I would argue that there is a discrete population with the 'disease' of ADHD, in the same way that doorways are a discrete difficulty for people who are very tall. One must either move into a house with very tall doorways, or learn to stoop. In any case, you'll probably often bang your head. This analogises to ADHD because failure to meet social and societal expectations often has real (and occasionally very painful) consequences. 'Attention' is normally distributed, but the environments that smoothly manage different degrees of attention are not.
    - TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
      > 'Attention' is normally distributed, but the environments that smoothly manage different degrees of attention are not. Does that mean we should be prescribing amphetamine to those who don't function well in the available environments?
      - pbhjpbhj 9y ago
        Perhaps "making available" is better than "prescribing"?
      - sgentle 9y ago
        That is the current basis for prescribing them: > A. A persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development [...] > B. Several inattentive or hyperactive-impulsive symptoms were present prior to age 12 years. > C. Several inattentive or hyperactive-impulsive symptoms are present in two or more settings (e.g., at home, school, or work; with friends or relatives; in other activities). > D. There is clear evidence that the symptoms interfere with, or reduce the quality of, social, academic, or occupational functioning. (DSM V: https://images.pearsonclinical.com/images/assets/basc-3/basc3resources/DSM5_DiagnosticCriteria_ADHD.pdf https://images.pearsonclinical.com/images/assets/basc-3/basc...) In one form or another, person X environment has been central to the definition of mental health for most of modern psychology, going back at least as far as Freud(maybe)'s "to love and to work". Or, to put it another way, does that mean we should be prescribing glasses to those who don't see well in the available environments?
golemiprague 9y ago
So how come in the US kids are diagnosed with ADHD 10 times more comparing to France? if it was so clear cut it should be equal all over the world.

taneq 9y ago

I'm not saying ADHD doesn't exist or that it's not a genuine disorder. I'm saying that there's a huge no-mans-land between "you're fine" and "woah yeah you clearly have ADHD and we should fix this."

TeMPOraL 9y ago
Indeed there is, and the way psychiatry approaches it in terms of diagnosis isn't really good, either. There is a long but very insightful article on this topic that was recently featured on HN, by Scott Alexander, who's a practicing psychiatrist: http://slatestarcodex.com/2017/12/28/adderall-risks-much-more-than-you-wanted-to-know/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2017/12/28/adderall-risks-much-mor... Key quote for this topic: > But “ability to concentrate” is a normally distributed trait, like IQ. We draw a line at some point on the far left of the bell curve and tell the people on the far side that they’ve “got” “the disease” of “ADHD”. This isn’t just me saying this. It’s the neurostructural literature, the the genetics literature, a bunch of other studies, and the the Consensus Conference On ADHD. This doesn’t mean ADHD is “just laziness” or “isn’t biological” – of course it’s biological! Height is biological! But that doesn’t mean the world is divided into two natural categories of “healthy people” and “people who have Height Deficiency Syndrome“. Attention is the same way. Some people really do have poor concentration, they suffer a lot from it, and it’s not their fault. They just don’t form a discrete population. (Emphasis mine - pointing out the sentence which, in original article, is basically one big collection of links to references backing it up.)
- rwnspace 9y ago
  I would argue that there is a discrete population with the 'disease' of ADHD, in the same way that doorways are a discrete difficulty for people who are very tall. One must either move into a house with very tall doorways, or learn to stoop. In any case, you'll probably often bang your head. This analogises to ADHD because failure to meet social and societal expectations often has real (and occasionally very painful) consequences. 'Attention' is normally distributed, but the environments that smoothly manage different degrees of attention are not.
  - TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
    > 'Attention' is normally distributed, but the environments that smoothly manage different degrees of attention are not. Does that mean we should be prescribing amphetamine to those who don't function well in the available environments?
    - pbhjpbhj 9y ago
      Perhaps "making available" is better than "prescribing"?
    - sgentle 9y ago
      That is the current basis for prescribing them: > A. A persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development [...] > B. Several inattentive or hyperactive-impulsive symptoms were present prior to age 12 years. > C. Several inattentive or hyperactive-impulsive symptoms are present in two or more settings (e.g., at home, school, or work; with friends or relatives; in other activities). > D. There is clear evidence that the symptoms interfere with, or reduce the quality of, social, academic, or occupational functioning. (DSM V: https://images.pearsonclinical.com/images/assets/basc-3/basc3resources/DSM5_DiagnosticCriteria_ADHD.pdf https://images.pearsonclinical.com/images/assets/basc-3/basc...) In one form or another, person X environment has been central to the definition of mental health for most of modern psychology, going back at least as far as Freud(maybe)'s "to love and to work". Or, to put it another way, does that mean we should be prescribing glasses to those who don't see well in the available environments?

golemiprague 9y ago

So how come in the US kids are diagnosed with ADHD 10 times more comparing to France? if it was so clear cut it should be equal all over the world.