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> the diagnostic criteria for ADHD and many other disorders require that the deviation amount to a disorder rather than not interfering with someone's life. >

> the diagnostic criteria for ADHD and many other disorders require that the deviation amount to a disorder rather than not interfering with someone's life. > interfering with someone's life The specific phrase used in the DSM-V is: "symptoms interfere with or reduce the quality of social, academic, or occupational functioning". Schooling started to become compulsory in the USA in the mid-to-late 19th century, and really only became universal in the early 20th century. By the late 20th century we had decided that children whose normal behavior "interfered with or reduced [...] academic [...] functioning" had a disorder. We created a system that does not accommodate everyone, then turned around and said that those who are not accommodated are definitionally disordered. The logic is clearly backwards. Similar story with labor.

GavinMcG 4y ago
That's a convenient explanation, but it doesn't account for the emotional dysregulation that accompanies ADHD. And it's historically dead wrong: symptom clusters associated with ADHD were described as early as 1798, and were identified in the 1800s outside the school context. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3000907/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3000907/
kqr 4y ago
I am very close to someone who suffers from this disorder. Their inability to function in terms of personal care, family, social life, occupationally, etc. goes way beyond "normal behaviour in a system that does not accommodate everyone". Try imagining a literal five-year old in a grown-up body. That's what this person is like when it comes to anything that does not have immediate (< 5 minutes) consequences. I say this with love, to be clear. They are the most wonderful person. But I could not live with them without support. Any system that accommodate this type of problem needs an external support structure to offload the burden on many other people. In our society, we call it mental healthcare, and we use diagnoses to help triage.
- Doxin 4y ago
  There are extremes to any condition. By far most people with ADHD manage to survive just fine. That survival could be changed into thriving for a big number of them if only society would get their collective head out of their collective arses and not tilt at the slightest sign of "different."
  - GavinMcG 4y ago
    In a lot of areas, thriving has nothing to do with society's reaction. Leaving kitchen cupboards open and then ramming your head into them isn't something that society blames or stigmatizes someone for, it just hurts. Having a difficult time pursuing one's own goals isn't about how someone fits into society's expected roles—it's about not having the executive and organizational skills to design a path forward and then (remember to) stick with it.

GavinMcG 4y ago

That's a convenient explanation, but it doesn't account for the emotional dysregulation that accompanies ADHD. And it's historically dead wrong: symptom clusters associated with ADHD were described as early as 1798, and were identified in the 1800s outside the school context. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3000907/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3000907/

kqr 4y ago

I am very close to someone who suffers from this disorder. Their inability to function in terms of personal care, family, social life, occupationally, etc. goes way beyond "normal behaviour in a system that does not accommodate everyone". Try imagining a literal five-year old in a grown-up body. That's what this person is like when it comes to anything that does not have immediate (< 5 minutes) consequences. I say this with love, to be clear. They are the most wonderful person. But I could not live with them without support. Any system that accommodate this type of problem needs an external support structure to offload the burden on many other people. In our society, we call it mental healthcare, and we use diagnoses to help triage.

Doxin 4y ago
There are extremes to any condition. By far most people with ADHD manage to survive just fine. That survival could be changed into thriving for a big number of them if only society would get their collective head out of their collective arses and not tilt at the slightest sign of "different."
- GavinMcG 4y ago
  In a lot of areas, thriving has nothing to do with society's reaction. Leaving kitchen cupboards open and then ramming your head into them isn't something that society blames or stigmatizes someone for, it just hurts. Having a difficult time pursuing one's own goals isn't about how someone fits into society's expected roles—it's about not having the executive and organizational skills to design a path forward and then (remember to) stick with it.