today's flavor: S L I G H T D Y S P H O R I Aanxiety : 0.5
agitation : 2
today's unwanted guest: a short fuse
Why is it that too many kids "have ADHD" nowadays?
While I don't at all doubt that some of those children really do have the condition, I kinda think there are doctors here and there who have been careless about their diagnoses. For one thing, it's not extraordinary for children to lack focus and be hyperactive, and that doesn't necessarily mean they "have ADHD". For another, what we call ADHD might even be more common than we think it is, and it might not even be a disorder (in the commonly perceived meaning of the word) but just a psychological attribute.
Furthermore, whenever a mom says her kid has ADHD, I want to ask whether the kid was actually tested or if the mom came to that conclusion herself. I believe it has become fashionable for young mothers these days to say "my child has ADHD", even without an official diagnosis, to make an excuse as to why their kids are bratty. I think some moms use it as another way of saying "My child is undisciplined because I don't bother disciplining him". A friend of mine who has this annoying eight-year-old comes to mind; she let the kid harass other diners at this restaurant and ... But let's not go there.
Anyway.
On a different but slightly related note, I just saw this segment on GMA News TV - it's about a celebrity mom whose child was diagnosed with ADHD. It was presented in such a way that stigmatizes the condition, blowing it up into unnecessary negativity. Words like "burden", "sadness", "misfortune" and "problem" were used in the mournful pa-awa voice-over, as if ADHD was a deathly, unconquerable disease worthy of the charity of GMA Kapuso Foundation. I feel sorry for the kid already - not because he was diagnosed to have a mental condition, but because from now on the public would think of him as that poor, nutcase kid who can't function normally and who will forever be a burden to his celebrity mom. That carelessly-produced segment misinforms viewers that all people with ADHD are similarly pathetic though they might just be lucky enough to be successful. Props for citing Michael Phelps as an example, but that doesn't quite balance it. I feel outraged enough to want to send GMA News and Public Affairs an e-mail, or at least an emphatic Tweet, but I probably won't bother to, at least not about that, since there are more urgent concerns I would rather write them about.
And that is today's arbitrary commentary.
Cheers,
m
