Debunking The Add Myth

We've all heard of it, we might even have children that have been diagnosed with it but how much do we truly know about ADD?

ADD and ADHD have been around since the 1960's or more accurately since 1968. At this point in time psychologist believed it was a form of brain damage or a sever learning disorder as the first few names implied, Minimal Brain Dysfunction, Hyperactivity Disorder, and Minimal Brain Damage. By the early eighties the disorder assumed the name Attention Deficit Disorder and started to become one of the most commonly diagnoised childhood illnesses of the time.

As these children were diagnosed they were put on medications and placed in behavioral therapies to combat the disorder. More children were on than vitamins. To top it all off, most of these medications had ill affects that were never released by the manufactures. People were seeing children who used to be happy become, literary, zombies. The reasons for this was in the drugs and in a drug manufactures secret. Ritalin was a drug designed for adults, which means, that a proper dose for a child was never created. In other words, every time a child takes Ritalin they are receiving an adult dose of the drug.

After the initial medication rush of the eighties and nineties the psychological community realized they had made a mistake. Because of this mistake they decided to make a revision to the DSM or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The DSM is the psychological handbook of diagnosis. Every certified psychologist knows that to diagnose a disorder the person being diagnosed has to meet the criteria that are featured in the DSM. So in the year 2000 the psychological community released a new revision to the DSM containing new diagnostic procedures for ADD.

One of the most extraordinary revisions and most unknown was the alimentation of the Attention Deficit Disorder. Instead ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is now the only disorder of its kind recognized in the DSM. The average person has no idea that ADD no longer exist.

The reason for this is simple. The state of Texas and many other states do not regulate the word Therapist, this means anyone who calls themselves a Therapist does not to be a certified psychologist, they, literarily, can just pretend. Because of this, the uninformed citizen can unknowingly be diagnosed or have their children diagnosed by an untrained individual.

Since these Therapists are not regulated and are not required to obtain proper credentials they can scam their clients by diagnosing them with disorders such as ADD that no longer exist. These diagnoses can lead to improper medication use and more importantly improper, if not false, diagnosis. Even if the Therapist acknowledges the fact that ADD does not exist they can still over diagnosis children by not following the criteria for diagnosis of ADHD.

Contrary to popular belief, according to the DSM ADHD cannot be diagnosed until the age of approximately seven years. Any diagnosis before then should be taken with a grain of salt. On top of that a child has to present true symptoms of the disorder for over six months in many different areas such as school, at home, with parents, with grandparents, and any other place/person the child happens to be. Truth be told, it is very hard to actually be diagnosed with ADHD today.

Still what if your child is diagnosed? Do they need Ritalin or another dangerous drug? In short, no. There are many different means of controlling ADHD, the first and probably more important being discipline. Most children in today's society are not taught discipline, respect, or self-discipline. Remember when you were a kid and you wanted to scream in the restaurant, I bet your mother did not allow you for even a second. You would have been taken outside, perhaps spanked or given a time out.

A child that has ADHD has to learn to control the impulses they have, this is called behavioral therapy in the psychology world or self-discipline. Teaching children this self-control can help them to identify when they are doing something impulsively, if they can learn to identify it they can learn to control it. You have to keep in mind, on the other hand, that self-control and self-discipline come with age and maturity. A three year old should not be expected to have the same control as a nine year old. If you expect your three year old to behave perfectly all the time you will set them up for failure. As parents, you have to understand child development and what you should expect from your three year old verses a nine year old. Still never underestimate a child, never think they are to young to learn to scream in the restaurant, a child is never to young to learn self-discipline and a child with ADHD will benefit highly from learning it.

To help teach self-discipline to your child think about enrolling them in a sport that promotes it such as soccer, baseball, any form of martial art, or other outdoor activity. These kinds of activities help teach focus, teamwork, self-control, and will build healthy supportive relationships.

Another important means of controlling ADHD is exercise. Parents tend to believe that their children get enough exercise in PE at school or at recess. Thus, when their child gets home they allow him/her to sit in front of the TV or play video games. On average children receive very limited exercise in their PE classes at school. For a child to be healthy they need to get between twenty to sixty minutes of exercise a day. To wear a child out they should get double that amount of exercise everyday. If a child does get to do PE every day of the week (Monday through Friday) then they are probably receiving about forty-five minutes of boring exercises that consist of running and doing pushups.

So what can you do about this? The best means is to turn off the TV, shut off the game, sacrifice a little bit of your time and do an activity with your child or take them to one. Yes, this might cost a little money and yes it will take up your time but the benefit for your child, especially one with ADHD, will be outstanding. An hour in the park, on the tennis courts, at your local YMCA or recreation center, could be just the thing your child needs to get the right amount of exercise. At the same time you can teach your child self-discipline by enrolling them in a sport that teaches it, while exercising. Karate is probably one of the best sports to accomplish this in. Not only does it teach self-control but it also gives your child a good workout that is fun at the same time. Other great sports are basketball, baseball, T-ball for young kids, soccer, and football. There are even skateboarding classes that promote fun exercise and, if your area permits, snowboarding or skiing. You can even look into golfing, bowling, or swimming. The truth if there are lots of things you can enroll your child in and there are several sports that will do child and parent classes so you and your child can stay fit together.

Another important thing to control ADHD is proper diet. A lot of parents in the United States today do not monitor their children's sugar intake like they should and few actually have enough time to donate to cooking home cooked and healthy meals. Unfortunately, this might be the most important thing any parent can do for their child whether he/she has ADHD or not. Studies show that a high sugar diet can lead to over energized or hyper children. When a child has ADHD this can be amplified. Therefore, carefully monitoring a child's sugar intake can help control and possibly prevent ADHD symptoms from showing in a child. At the same time a healthy diet is vital. Children who do not get enough vegetables, fruits (a natural but good sugar), protein, or fiber can have a bad reaction in their digestive system. This imbalanced diet can cause many children to act out because of a lack of nutrients in the body or can even cause headaches, stomach aces, and other ill health symptoms. If a child feels bad he/she is liable to act bad just as many adults do. Therefore, a simple change in diet can help control, prevent, and keep healthy a child with or without ADHD.

So, remember ADD is a thing of the past and ADHD is something that can be easily controlled without using risky drugs. It all comes down to diet, exercise, and learning discipline of the self and of the parent. Funnily enough, these are all things we have been told for years. If we could just get back to the old ways, then perhaps, no one will have to worry about it anymore.


Copyright (c) 2009 James Holan