3 ms·

The theory of disease for ADD/ADHD in children has explanatory power, which means that the understanding must be at least partially correct. It's impressive tha

The theory of disease for ADD/ADHD in children has explanatory power, which means that the understanding must be at least partially correct. It's impressive that many children outgrow their ADD, and that temporary use of amphetamines during development can help them outgrow it, so they don't regularly take drugs as adults. Some kids don't outgrow it, and continue to medicate as adults. That's also fine, if it helps, it helps. What doesn't add up is people with new problems with executive function that start as adults, and suspiciously as they have more control over their screen time, and more money to spend on technology and apps. They get an amphetamine prescription, which definitely helps, but they also get a bad explanation. Something like: genetics, or a story about how their brain was better in the ancestral environment or whatever. Doesn't explain the onset of the condition, doesn't explain why it became a problem completely after development.

ericrallen 1y ago
This seems to completely ignore, and maybe even dismiss, the lived experience of all the kids who weren’t diagnosed or treated but who developed coping mechanisms to survive school and adolescent life, then found those mechanisms incapable of dealing with the ever-increasing burdens of adult life and finally sought diagnosis as adults after years of struggling to understand things that have been complicating their lives all along. This kind of dismissive rhetoric increases the stigma around seeking a diagnosis as an adult, which is already hard enough because an entire system of caregivers, teachers, and institutions already failed the undiagnosed person throughout their life and navigating the health care system, especially for mental health, is extremely frustrating - and challenging from an executive function perspective.
- esseph 1y ago
  This also dismisses the medical literature itself that just keeps getting more and more refined on this topic.

ericrallen 1y ago

This seems to completely ignore, and maybe even dismiss, the lived experience of all the kids who weren’t diagnosed or treated but who developed coping mechanisms to survive school and adolescent life, then found those mechanisms incapable of dealing with the ever-increasing burdens of adult life and finally sought diagnosis as adults after years of struggling to understand things that have been complicating their lives all along. This kind of dismissive rhetoric increases the stigma around seeking a diagnosis as an adult, which is already hard enough because an entire system of caregivers, teachers, and institutions already failed the undiagnosed person throughout their life and navigating the health care system, especially for mental health, is extremely frustrating - and challenging from an executive function perspective.

esseph 1y ago
This also dismisses the medical literature itself that just keeps getting more and more refined on this topic.