Listening to a PBS show on ADD/ADHD and going crazy. So many people say words they don’t understand – or know you won’t. Other affirm things that deceive.
“ADD is a real disorder and it is treatable!” Okay.(: Disorder means … lots of things including psychological. It really means that it got in a list somewhere based on what some group of professionals think this year. Treatable means we have a convention about what to do for it medically. Treatable means we think we can improve the symptomatology some percentage of the time.
“It is not cause by food additives.” Okay.:( Genes are not quickly changed by food additives. However that doesn’t change that fact that 88% of people are affected by food additives and have AD.ADHD like symptoms because of those food additives.
We covered it on GSB. Three or 5% of people have “brain wiring” for AD/ADHD. That means 3-5% of people have either genes (or brain injuries very early on) that show a difference in how the brain works. This does mean that ADD is over diagnosed and it says nothing about food additive or allergies. It does not give guidance on how to child rearing.
It is good news to a family who has done everything right, who really needs professional help. Okay. But we also know that many doctors are tempted by the money and the parental demands top give a diagnosis an the medication. Many school nurses sell it on the black market. And neither one has the expertise or time to help parents learn to properly parent.
It is not good news if it is used for excuses for bad money or time management, or just plain poor people skills – or the increasingly common just not caring. Someone who is disrespectful, slovenly, and lazy can just say, “Oh, well, I’m ADHD.” That is bad in lots of ways.
There is such a thing as laziness, inattentiveness, and bad morals. These need to be addressed in any case. (Yes not by the medical industry… ER, except on themselves.) THAT is where GSB comes in.
We had an expert on ADD/ADHD come in and explain her personal dealing with it, and then the scientific understanding and how she helped teachers. Then we also had a series on a “mother’s protocol” : a list of what to try, in what order. And then what to ask your health care provider.
Science is an unfinished business. We relate to you in simple terms what we can tell from science. Standard of care, unfortunately is more about convention and money than about science. We hope that changes Parenting and teaching go on all the while, and won’t wait for a return to righteousness in medicine, or for final results in science. We hail science, we consult health care prudently, and we share encouragement for parents.