ADHD Is a Fictitious Disease

My brother was diagnosed as ADHD before he was rediagnosed as Aspergers.

Not surprising, plus unless a kid gets enough sun and outdoor activity it'd be easy to qualify them as hyperactive when they drive their parents nuts and seems like the easier solution is to get them pills rather than changing lifestyle.

I fully agree with this. There may be limited instances where drugs like ritalin were really needed, but my guess is that it is less than 5% of cases and a crime is being committed against all the other children using it. Good for you for sticking with what you felt was true in the face of all that authority.

My sister just went through this with her son. She fought the government here for about 8 years to convince them that he was autistic, not ADHD as they insisted- even though the family doctor sent letters insisting he really was autistic. It took a trip to a major children's hospital for assessment to get an official diagnosis, and now suddenly there is government funding (the reason they fought the diagnosis) and help. They insisted on trying him on ritalin for a week, and he totally flipped out...it took months to get him back to normal.
On the other hand, one of my children is ADHD, and a very low dose of medication really worked wonders...so it is a real issue in her case, and treatment can work- but it is constantly being misdiagnosed, and the first thing the teachers and counsellors seem to want to try is drugs. Drugs should always be a very last resort!

frmthhrt wrote:On the other hand, one of my children is ADHD, and a very low dose of medication really worked wonders...so it is a real issue in her case, and treatment can work-

I'm glad to hear that things worked out and that it seems to help your child.

frmthhrt wrote:but it is constantly being misdiagnosed, and the first thing the teachers and counsellors seem to want to try is drugs. Drugs should always be a very last resort!

The real tragedy is that to even use the word "misdiagnose" is misleading when it is the VERY FIRST go to diagnoses and as a parent you have to kick and scream for months if not years to be listened to and get a correct diagnosis (or at least a second opinion). I know in the op I made reference to laziness and that is part of it, but after what we went through with AJ I can almost understand some parents, even if they disagree with their child being tagged ADHD, just caving to pressure. After all, you have teachers and doctors, who supposedly have more knowledge than you, repeatedly telling you this and refusing to consider alternatives.