ADHD and Neurodiversity

Joseph Paxton

Joseph Paxton

Member
Location
Haywards Heath
Country
England
I don't think I had really heard of it 10 years ago although I had heard of hyperactivity in children and experienced that.

However, nowadays diagnosis seems to be soaring, particularly among the white-collar classes and their children, fuelling a massive boom industry in ADHD 'Clinics' where for a 2k fee they rarely fail to make a diagnosis of ADHD. I am very skeptical and watched the Dr Max Pemberton Chan4 doco and pretty much agreed with what he said in that: that it is not a true biological neurodevelopmental disorder.


It just seems to have become awfully faddish with the chattering classes or am I being harsh?
 
I agree with the Tories, no benefits for these people, but we should spend the money supporting them back into work, with treatment where possible.

Once the gravy train dries up I expect the numbers to fall dramatically.

We are all Neurodivergent to some extend.
 
I won't comment about adhd but i myself was diagnosed with autism a few years ago whilst in my 40's.

I should've been diagnosed a long time ago but because i'm seen as "high functioning" (a term not used anymore), able to hold a conversation, have a part-time-job, myself and many others were missed. They now realise we suffer/struggle in many other ways especially with senses overload and mentally.
 
With an apparent 10 year NHS waiting list for assessment in England, I can at least perceive why people are finding themselves in the waiting rooms of the Private Clinics but I had no idea how much these clinics are now raking it in with a neurodivergency scramble akin to a goldrush. NHS clinicians have obviously dropped out of the NHS to start their own private 'neuropsychiatry' clinics and are making off like bandits, ahead of a Government review which will bring in a clampdown.

What i find weird, talking to a number of average southern middle-class friends is how they see no stigma in this diagnosis and actually want their kids to be diagnosed to gain special accommodations with exams/school university, work, benefits etc. One good mate paid for the assesment and has an ADHD diagnosis but he now wants to upgrade it to an AuDHD (autism) because he thinks he is a really bad case?! Had a hard word with him about it because he smokes 8-10 spliffs a day and is frequently spannered while working from home and I said I could not agree he had a concentration crisis (of ADHD) until he got off the weed and saw what benefit that gave him 😵 🤔Go figure!
 
Joseph Paxton said:
With an apparent 10 year NHS waiting list for assessment in England, I can at least perceive why people are finding themselves in the waiting rooms of the Private Clinics but I had no idea how much these clinics are now raking it in with a neurodivergency scramble akin to a goldrush. NHS clinicians have obviously dropped out of the NHS to start their own private 'neuropsychiatry' clinics and are making off like bandits, ahead of a Government review which will bring in a clampdown.

What i find weird, talking to a number of average southern middle-class friends is how they see no stigma in this diagnosis and actually want their kids to be diagnosed to gain special accommodations with exams/school university, work, benefits etc. One good mate paid for the assesment and has an ADHD diagnosis but he now wants to upgrade it to an AuDHD (autism) because he thinks he is a really bad case?! Had a hard word with him about it because he smokes 8-10 spliffs a day and is frequently spannered while working from home and I said I could not agree he had a concentration crisis (of ADHD) until he got off the weed and saw what benefit that gave him 😵 🤔Go figure!
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An interesting and astute diagnosis. Something similar happens with alcohol - anything more than 8 pints and a few shorts and things get a bit wobbly. I'd guessed at some sort of inner ear balance related problem but you might be on to something here. That being said if abstinence is the solution I'll just have to live with it.
 
Teddy Eagle said:
An interesting and astute diagnosis. Something similar happens with alcohol - anything more than 8 pints and a few shorts and things get a bit wobbly. I'd guessed at some sort of inner ear balance related problem but you might be on to something here. That being said if abstinence is the solution I'll just have to live with it.
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My mate: diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed Ritalin (or analogue) and claims he needs to smoke the weed to counteract and mellow him out?!

The fact he was smoking ganja for years before he sought out the ADHD diagnosis and had the short-term memory and awareness of a gnat while in a permanent weed haze is apparently not to be pointed out or even teased about - because he is 'neurodivergent' pal! I tread on eggshells every time I have a chat with him.
 
Joseph Paxton said:
My mate: diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed Ritalin (or analogue) and claims he needs to smoke the weed to counteract and mellow him out?!

The fact he was smoking ganja for years before he sought out the ADHD diagnosis and had the short-term memory and awareness of a gnat while in a permanent weed haze is apparently not to be pointed out or even teased about - because he is 'neurodivergent' pal! I tread on eggshells every time I have a chat with him.
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Just start every conversation with - "so what do you think about the last conversation we had"? That should buy some time anyway.
 
This is a challenging subject as ADHD is both over prescribed to force kids into becoming little robots while at the same time under prescribed as some kids who could actually use the help. A significant portion of the kids who couldn't settle down when we were younger even after their parents beat them probably had ADHD. These issues are not new, we just have medical terms instead of the catch all terms like retard or trouble maker.

Some Dr's push it, as I dealt with this with one of my kids. My wife and I had planned that he would cycle off it once he matured enough to control his impulses. We purposefully kept douses low so when it came time t get off it wouldn't be an issue and he was able to get off of it within three years. His Dr was a pill pusher and kept trying to up his med's and even got to the point where we switched to a different practice. I've also seen first hand what the high dose can do to a little kid as I watch a 5th grader lose 40 lbs and completely 180 his personality in months as he lost all of his personality.

So I view it like any other prescribed drug, it has a purpose and misused, it can have catastrophic life consequences for these kids. For example, you cannot join the US military if you have utilized ADHD medicine within the last two years. Too many parents are causing future harm to their children for a the convenience of a more compliant child today.
 
syd snot said:
That's how I ended up cauliflower eared but happy as a pig in s*** mate.
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Makes you wonder how many teachers in the past had undiagnosed PTSD or other problems because with hindsight a few in my experience were clearly psychopathic and the opportunity to batter kids was treated as an open invitation.
 
Mark B said:
This is a challenging subject as ADHD is both over prescribed to force kids into becoming little robots while at the same time under prescribed as some kids who could actually use the help. A significant portion of the kids who couldn't settle down when we were younger even after their parents beat them probably had ADHD. These issues are not new, we just have medical terms instead of the catch all terms like retard or trouble maker.

Some Dr's push it, as I dealt with this with one of my kids. My wife and I had planned that he would cycle off it once he matured enough to control his impulses. We purposefully kept douses low so when it came time t get off it wouldn't be an issue and he was able to get off of it within three years. His Dr was a pill pusher and kept trying to up his med's and even got to the point where we switched to a different practice. I've also seen first hand what the high dose can do to a little kid as I watch a 5th grader lose 40 lbs and completely 180 his personality in months as he lost all of his personality.

So I view it like any other prescribed drug, it has a purpose and misused, it can have catastrophic life consequences for these kids. For example, you cannot join the US military if you have utilized ADHD medicine within the last two years. Too many parents are causing future harm to their children for a the convenience of a more compliant child today.
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Good post.

Although I suspect that the beaten kids are more likely to suffer from PTSD than ADHD
 
My son is currently in titration for ADHD medication and it seems to be helping. It most certainly doesn't turn children into little robots. But it's always quite funny reading stuff like this.
 
It doesn't necessarily make kids more compliant for the convenience of their parents. Methylphenidate is the most common first course of treatment which takes around 8 hours to completely leave the system. This means that most children will come home from school with no enduring effect. If anything, it can make some children more difficult and more manic in the evenings after a day having been on it. In the three weeks of my son on this, there have been three evenings where this has been the case (I got a surprisingly powerful punch in the gonads one evening!). The other 12 evenings he has been absolutely the same as before he tried meds (i.e. a pretty well behaved kid but noisy like kids of his age are!)

A zombie effect, or a making a person into a robot come from a dosage that's far too high, which means due diligence hasn't been followed during titration. They aren't an expected side effect, they are indicative of a dosing error. What the drugs actually should do is raise dopamine and norepinephrine to combat anxiety and impulsive behaviour, i.e. making a person able to be their real self and focus.

I think downers have been prescribed to people who haven't benefited from uppers, but they aren't the first line of medication, they are a last resort. Perhaps they might zombify someone, but it's unlikely anyone would be prescribed these without having tried a variety of stimulants at different doses.

My experience so far involves having to track every change to my son's behaviour on a daily basis and if there are significant negative effects that's exactly what titration is for, to adjust or change medicinal treatment.

Sad to hear that some people seem to have experienced a process whereby that due diligence hasn't been followed.

If I experienced anything like this with my son, or any hint that meds were suppressing his personality then I'd pull the plug pronto!
 
Most of the great inventors & explorers of History ? All nuts.

Madness can be a good thing. Einstein....defo autistic. Marie Curie. Leonardo da Vinci....dyslexia.

Isaac Newton....mad as a brush.

www.psychologytoday.com

The Neurodivergent Brilliance of William Shakespeare

Personal Perspective: As a young girl, I became obsessed with Shakespeare's King Lear. Now I realize it taught me the truths of transformative madness and pernicious sanity.
www.psychologytoday.com www.psychologytoday.com
 
PalazioVecchio said:
Most of the great inventors & explorers of History ? All nuts.

Madness can be a good thing. Einstein....defo autistic. Marie Curie. Leonardo da Vinci....dyslexia.

Isaac Newton....mad as a brush.

www.psychologytoday.com

The Neurodivergent Brilliance of William Shakespeare

Personal Perspective: As a young girl, I became obsessed with Shakespeare's King Lear. Now I realize it taught me the truths of transformative madness and pernicious sanity.
www.psychologytoday.com www.psychologytoday.com
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Are neurodivergent disorders the same as being nuts?

Perhaps in presentation 😂
 
It's all more or less a racket, as are most things these days.
 
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