Chapter Seven

Post ADHD Angst

I have, I hope, made it clear that ADHD is a mythical diagnosis, invented by doctors who, perhaps, hoped that by so doing, they would restore an embattled profession to respect in the eyes of the general public. They made an expedient choice, not a scientific one. The ironic thing is that, instead of accomplishing their end, these doctors have provided the public with yet another reason to mistrust psychiatry. It was ever thus. The people had figured Freud out long before the Freudians got the message. The analysts just soldiered on until they became more of a laughing stock than some of them deserved to be. And, while they were figuring that all out, many people bought into a lot of useless treatment, and expensive training.

This time the situation is worse because the victims are children, and there are so many more of them. Must we wait until a whole generation of ADHD/Ritalin youth explode upon the social scene before the professionals get the message? Or are they here already?

Already it is recognized that Ritalin is being grossly over-prescribed. Soon people everywhere will begin to question the competence of the doctors who have been responsible for tossing out Ritalin prescriptions like confetti at a wedding. I wouldn’t be surprised if deceived parents took to the courts in large numbers. My advice to doctors is this. Take a complete history. Do a proper clinical examination of the children, as persons, not just as small bodies. Never prescribe Ritalin, or, if you must, at least not until a determined attempt to solve the problem through remedial parenting has been tried and has failed. That action you can defend.

This brings us to where the child-rearing buck always stops, on the kitchen table where parents meet to shuffle their daily worries into some kind of scale of urgency. I know that it is comforting to believe your child’s behavior problems are not your fault. That’s what the ADHD diagnosis sells, isn’t it, that it’s not the parents’ fault? That, and a quick fix treatment that zonks children but doesn’t do a thing about their growing up problems.

My advice to parents is this. Forget whose fault it is. Dump the Ritalin into the toilet. Wade into your child rearing responsibilities. Ask yourself, “who does that boy think he is, trying to make the rules and copping out on his responsibilities?” Don't clobber him. Just make sure he treats you, and his brother, and his sister, like human beings, or that he pays the price.

Re-rearing a difficult child is hard, but it is not impossible. There are ways, and they work. Don’t blame yourself. Just get in there and pitch. The society you build will be theirs to live in. Help make it better for them, and them better for it.

The last chapter of this little book is optional reading. If you have a cat you may want to delve into the pages. Or, if you just enjoy it when people poke a bit of fun at other people when they overstep the bounds of logic, it might be your cup of tea.