3 ms·

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 ta

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?
TeMPOraL 9y ago
That's a good point. A trait might be normally distributed, but (trait × some environment factor) may have a bimodal distribution (or multimodal, or something else entirely). Haven't considered it, thanks!

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?

TeMPOraL 9y ago

That's a good point. A trait might be normally distributed, but (trait × some environment factor) may have a bimodal distribution (or multimodal, or something else entirely). Haven't considered it, thanks!