" but if a condition can be controlled with external means (drugs), then it can be controlled with the mind." Benjammin

Again, this simply is not true.

There are numerous brain chemistry and other brain disorders that cannot simply be "controlled with the mind", they require treatment by actual medical means.



JohnE

I don't think Benjammin was trying to suggest the drugs are useless but rather that way too many people seem to be diagnosed with ADD even if they might not have it or the symptoms are mild.

I mean, we all tend to forget and ignore stuff. People are lazy by nature and try to avoid hard work if possible (knowingly or subconsciously). My desk is pretty cluttered and I forget to pay a bill every now and then. But that doesn't mean I have ADD. It's just the kind of stuff that happens to everybody.

Now, I'm sure some people have a genuine condition that requires serious treatment. But the way things are right now half the kids are supposed to have ADD. Back when I was growing up in the 80's (heck, that's not even such a long time ago) we didn't even know it existed. I think it's way too often abused as a convenient excuse and there's the promise of an easy cure, just taking the right pill that will settle everying. But in a lot of cases, a more balanced lifestyle and taking personal responsibility would likely solve the problem for a whole lot of people whereas they pills might not.

It's called the corpus callosum. Sometimes they sever it surgically for uncontrolled seizure patients. makes for some really interesting clinical phenomena...

Thank you, that is what I remembered, but could not remember how to spell

About 25 years ago (more or less), dyslexia was the favorite excuse of the schools of why kids couldn't read or write properly. I read a while back that a teacher was talking to a doctor who diagnoses dyslexia (among other conditions), and he got a surprise.

Just curious, he asked the doctor how they diagnosed it. The doctor said that they would tell the parents to put the kids in a pure-phonics class for six months. If they improved, it wasn't dyslexia but the teaching methods the schools were using. This was years ago, and the schools are still using the same ineffective, archaic methods.

In truth, it is much more profitable for the schools to produce 'learning disabled' students, because they get more funds to deal with them. The fact that the schools are causing the problem obviously isn't an issue to them.

It's a good thing my mother taught me how to read, because the schools certainly aren't much good at it.

Sue

In the course of any year I see dozens of people inaccurately diagnosed with ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia, Major Depression, etc. While certainly there is great controversy regarding such diagnoses, more often than not what I see is inept diagnosis.

I have little regard for "rating scales" and checklists, regardless of who completes them. I have high regard for thorough psychological testing done by well trained practitioners using the proper instruments, properly. Such evaluations can be well done, and are well done all of the time. However, they take time and money. For instance, I don't see how a true, competent evaluation for Dyslexia (Specific Learning Disabilty)and/or ADD/ADHD could cost much less than $1,500. For some other diagnoses, $300 or more.

It is cheaper to use ADD/ADHD drugs and/or antidepressant medications to "diagnose". A wide range of non-specialist physicians can do so: If a person if given, e.g. Strattera, or Lexipro, and "gets better" this is somehow (IMHO unfortunately) considered diagnostic proof. To me, it proves little about diagnosis or specificity of the disorder. Plenty of people have them and don't respond much to medications. Some people who respond to the medications didn't have the disorders.

To me, the starting point is very careful evaluation using the best (granted, imperfect) tools we have at present. This is a self-serving post, I'll grant you: I make part of my living doing specialized psychological evaluations (including threat/risk assessments), treating people with the problems, and testifying as an expert witness. So I'm not pessimistic about what CAN be done to help. I'm often critical regarding what HAS been done. FWIW

At this point my son reads above grade level. Part of the diagnosis was a BUNCH of testing, not all of which I understood, but that 3 line test was among the tests

As for dyslexia, THAT I know a bunch about. My wife was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was a child. It actually turns out that it looks like she had dysgraphia, a similar problem but not the same. The interesting problem is that she basically can't hear the difference in pitch between 2 sounds - they can be 2-3 octives apart and she can't tell which is higher/lower in pitch. Mary has spent a lot of time research this, and being studied

I do have to be thankful that Mary had help when she was in Jr High. My best friend's mother was her writing tutor. My best friend actually brought her to a D&D session, where I met Mary, and the rest, as they say, is history

My friend's Mom became like a second Mother to Mary (Mary's mom was often semi absentee). We lost her this last September. We do have 2 great things to remember her by - her cats