ADHD Syndrome Doesn’t Exist
According to a famous American neurologist, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) does not exist in nature. He believes that this diagnosis conceals less serious problems, and children and adults do not need to be stuffed with dangerous drugs.
According to pediatric neurologist Dr. Richard Saul, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, in fact, is a collection of different symptoms. The syndrome does not exist as a separate specific disorder, but the term is often used to call less serious problems of development and consequences of unhealthy lifestyles.
According to official statistics, 7-10% of the children in the UK and the US suffer from attention deficit disorder. Many of them are prescribed various medications, which should help to increase their concentration at school. Dr. Saul is convinced that all these children are misdiagnosed, and the syndrome should be excluded from the disease list of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders compiled by the American Psychiatric Association.
Dr. Saul says that the diagnosis of ADHD greatly simplifies life for doctors and psychologists. They do not need to understand more thoroughly the problems of their young patients. It is enough to write this mythical diagnosis into the history of the patient’s disease, and everything is fine. By the way, the patients, especially adult ones, like it. It is a perfect excuse for their disorderly conduct. Many people do not like to be engaged in some boring affairs, so they invent ADHD to diversify their life.
In his practice, Dr. Saul has always been looking for other causes of the patients’ symptoms. For example, one girl who already had been diagnosed with ADHD was miraculously cured of this syndrome in a few days. It turned out that she could not sit at a desk calmly just because she needed glasses. A 36-year-old man with the syndrome was drinking too much coffee and could not sleep enough. Many patients turned out to be taking stimulants, like Ritalin, which did not help them. And all their symptoms disappeared after they had followed the doctor’s advice, quit taking drugs and began to be involved in sports.
Ritalin can cause severe side effects, such as weight loss, liver toxicity and the development of suicidal thoughts. The doctor reminds that in the short-term perspective, these drugs may inhibit growth during the puberty period.
