Many of our patients who come to us because they are addicted to drugs have one thing in common-they were diagnosed as having ADHD and put on drugs like Ritalin, Adderall or Concerta. Since these are Schedule II drugs and are molecularly very similar to cocaine, it is not surprising that many studies show that people taking these drugs are much more likely to abuse other drugs than people who have not taken them.
In a very well-researched and easily readable book, psychologist John Rosemond and pediatrician Bose Ravenel, M.D. trace the myth of the "ADHD Disease", the possible real causes for this behavior and the many non-drug alternatives.
IS THERE A SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR ADHD?
The authors answer this not by giving their opinion but by referring to facts. They cite the findings of the 1998 National Institute of Health Consensus Conference. This was a conference where "experts" on ADHD reviewed all of the available evidence and agreed that "...there is no compelling evidence to the effect that ADHD is caused by or significantly and reliably associated with physical or biochemical 'irregularities' (e.g., deficiencies in the left temporal lobe, biochemical imbalances) in the brain. They furthermore agreed that no objective test or set of criteria exists with which to accurately diagnose ADHD."
The authors point out that the 2002 textbook, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder-State of the Science, stated by its editors to be "...an up-to-date, state of the art review of what is known concerning the disorder by the world's leading authorities on each of the topic areas," concluded that the findings of the 1998 conference are unchanged.
The authors then point out that many of the most vocal proponents of ADHD contributed to the 1998 Conference Report and the 2002 textbook. However, many of them are receiving sizable amounts of money from the drug companies selling the ADHD drugs and see no problem in admitting the lack of a scientific basis in professional publications, but then advocate the existence of ADHD in articles and literature sent to doctors and the general public.
Many psychologists, psychiatrists and other physicians "believe" that ADHD exists and even without any verifiable scientific evidence assert that it is real. However, the point remains that there is no science-just opinion.
The authors point out that none of the supposed symptoms of ADHD are described with any precision. The authors state, "The word 'often' is used in every signal criterion." Does often mean they happen every few minutes or several times a day? They also point out that the number of symptoms required to diagnose ADHD is arbitrarily set at six. "Why six?" they ask. "Why not five? Why not seven?"
The authors point out that some ADHD advocates estimate that five out of ten of our children have ADHD. They point to interviews done with teachers who taught before 1960 who maintain that they hardly ever saw kids who fit the ADHD description. They ask the logical question, "Do you think it's possible that nearly half of America's children have something seriously wrong with their brains, some kind of inherited chemical imbalance?"
To read on, click here. |
