ADHD
Is ADHD real? The fact that there is not a diagnostic test that one can use to show that ADHD exists as a neurological disorder is not a good indicator that it is real (Armstrong, 2003). What is more likely to be going is a combination of external and internal factors—or nature and nurture combining to influence the child’s behavior. Thus, there could be some sort of stress, tension or anxiety in the child’s environment mixing with the child’s internal needs. So though ADHD might not be a real neurological disorder, what is called ADHD could be a symptom of some sort of relational issue that the child is having. In other words, it could indicate that something in the child’s environment is not sitting well with child—whether it is parental at root, peer-related, food-related, media-related or something else.

The fact that three million kids are on drugs because they have problems focusing is another frightening statistic (Sroufe, 2012)—that’s about 4% of all kids in the nation. If 4% of the childhood population is suffering from the same problem, it better be contagious—otherwise there is something suspicious going on. As far as anyone knows, ADHD is not contagious. If it is not contagious, what is happening that is making doctors and parents think that so many kids should be medicated? Could it be the same thing that caused so many doctors and adult patients to think they needed to use OxyContin to treat pain? The opioid produced by Purdue Pharma, now being sued by several states across the nation for failing to disclose the negative effects of its drug on patients, was pushed on doctors by the company’s sales agents and doctors in turn pushed it onto patients. What ensued was an opioid epidemic that has yet to abate. The truth is that just because a doctor prescribes it does not mean it is good. Doctors are often incentivized by the pharmaceutical companies to push their drugs—and it could very well be that this is what is happening with children who are diagnosed with ADHD. The manufacturers of Ritalin are surely not complaining. But do kids really need to be on Ritalin? Maybe there is something going on in the child’s environment that needs to be addressed.

One also needs to consider the side effect of drugs like Ritalin. They do not solve the problem. They simply allow a child to focus over the short-term. The drug is being used like a band-aid, and instead of parents and doctors discussing other factors that might be causing the child to have attention issues, they simply slap on the band-aid as...…doctors should be actually trying to help parents and kids by engaging in preventive medicine rather than by kowtowing to Big Pharma and helping the pharmaceutical industry push its drugs onto kids. The realities of this life are that human development requires nourishment and parents have to be able and willing to provide that nourishment. TV is not a good or healthy babysitter. Healthy active play and competition is actually good for kids. It is a way for them to work out their aggression, learn self control, and learn focus. Getting a kid enrolled in sports or involved in some sort of activity like martial arts can be a great way for kids to learn to focus and to become more socially and emotionally stable.

Kids need guidance and so do parents. Doctors should know better to provide this kind of guidance, but let’s face it: doctors are there to make money just like anybody else that is offering a service. If they are going to get incentives from Big Pharma to tell parents what they want to hear, which is that they can slap on the Ritalin band-aid and not worry about raising their child the right way, then they will do it. Not everybody is going to be a saint in this life.