MeekAndMild
New member
I just got back from vacation to find the thread has drifted to one of my favorite rants.
By a conservative estimate 85% of what is called ADHD is purely learned behavior. It is produced by a combination of what we in the 'head game' trade used to call 'permissive parenting', lack of physical exercise, lack of enforced school discipline and prolonged TV watching.
The other 15% just happens to coincide (though not entirely overlap) with the genetic prevalance of bipolar mood disorder in the population. Bipolar mania in children presents as (surprise surprise) excessive activity and often the depression presents as inattention.
The sad fact of life is that nothing will actually cure the 85% except what they'll never get, which is the enforced learning of patient, diligent, longsuffering work habits. The 15% do need medication, but more in the direction of mood stablizers and major tranquillizers. Both groups need reduction of random stimuli which make them worse (IOW they need to be raised in a no-TV no-video game environment with lots of exercise and lots of discipline and physical labor to the point where text book learning becomes 'recreation'.)
Stimulant use makes life easier for caregivers, but it only treats the symptom and not the problem.
Roy, you used to be able to say the same thing about Southern kids. Forty years ago if you saw a brat out in public you could fairly well say he was raised by liberal yankees. Now Southern parents seem to have forgotten how to maintain discipline and order. Within the last 30 years I've met a lot of second generation Asian-Americans who are raising their children using liberal yankee techniques and their kids are getting just as snotty, lazy and burned out (and just as preoccupied with casual sexuality) as the rest of us.
By a conservative estimate 85% of what is called ADHD is purely learned behavior. It is produced by a combination of what we in the 'head game' trade used to call 'permissive parenting', lack of physical exercise, lack of enforced school discipline and prolonged TV watching.
The other 15% just happens to coincide (though not entirely overlap) with the genetic prevalance of bipolar mood disorder in the population. Bipolar mania in children presents as (surprise surprise) excessive activity and often the depression presents as inattention.
The sad fact of life is that nothing will actually cure the 85% except what they'll never get, which is the enforced learning of patient, diligent, longsuffering work habits. The 15% do need medication, but more in the direction of mood stablizers and major tranquillizers. Both groups need reduction of random stimuli which make them worse (IOW they need to be raised in a no-TV no-video game environment with lots of exercise and lots of discipline and physical labor to the point where text book learning becomes 'recreation'.)
Stimulant use makes life easier for caregivers, but it only treats the symptom and not the problem.
Roy, you used to be able to say the same thing about Southern kids. Forty years ago if you saw a brat out in public you could fairly well say he was raised by liberal yankees. Now Southern parents seem to have forgotten how to maintain discipline and order. Within the last 30 years I've met a lot of second generation Asian-Americans who are raising their children using liberal yankee techniques and their kids are getting just as snotty, lazy and burned out (and just as preoccupied with casual sexuality) as the rest of us.