> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of > Ronn!Blankenship
... > I have to wonder how many of those kids diagnosed with ADD/ADHD today are > really just like I was then: bored out of their minds and restless. You and many of them might really "have" ADD, but that's why I'm uncomfortable with calling it an illness, or anything else that implies that the appropriate response is to "fix" it. If we did that to everyone who is restless and easily bored, the rate of innovation and creativity would grind to a halt, I suspect. I get annoyed at the ignorance of "experts" who describe kids diagnosed with ADD, who were helped, as you were, by teachers and others who accomodated the difference, who jump to the conclusion that there is no such thing as ADD, since these kids did well without medication or other therapy. I was somewhat flabbergasted by the recent hearings in Congress on this subject. Neil Bush and Lisa-Marie Presley got press about their testimony. Bush talked about how his kid just needed more interesting and engaging activities in order to learn -- as if that somehow proves that there's no such thing as ADD. To me, it proves that his kid *is* different and the school system wasn't dealing with it. Seems to me that the greater concern was about labeling kids with a disorder than really figuring out what to do about it. Pretending it isn't real is no better than using medication in lieu of improving education. As for Presley, she was representing an anti-psychiatry lobby established by Scientology. Enough said? I'm not especially happy about taking ADD meds. But if they help me to avoid the incredible frustrations I've had in the past when trying to do things the way I was always told I *should* do them, then it's worthwhile. If there's one thing that people with ADD hear over and over, it is, "You could just do this if you'd try." My answer comes from Yoda: "There is no 'try,' just do." > Again, I recognize that some people, both children and adults, > have genuine > problems which may be helped by these medications. Based on my own > experience, though, I have to wonder if there are not a lot without a > genuine illness who are being medicated to get them to "behave." To the extent that schools, in particular, could accomodate those kids that would remove the need for medication, I agree whole-heartedly. The community technology center where I'm on the board, (www.pluggedin.org) is like a school for people with ADD, I often think. I wish the public schools could do more of what we do there, but I don't hold much hope that it'll happen soon, and perhaps not at all until the whole system implodes. Nick _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
