I came across this article today:

Unprecedented Reliable Data Proves That ADHD Is Overdiagnosed

So, to summarize, someone decided to go out and do research about the rates of ADHD diagnosis and test the common notion that ADHD is wildly overdiagnosed. They set out to determine whether therapists diagnose ADHD according to heuristic judgements (vague stereotypes of ADHD, basically) rather than established diagnostic criteria.

I have to say, I'm grateful that the reporters included the study's methodology:

"The researchers surveyed altogether 1,000 child and adolescent psychotherapists and psychiatrists across Germany. 473 participated in the study. They received one of four available case vignettes, and were asked to give a diagnoses and a recommendation for therapy. In three out of the four case vignettes, the described symptoms and circumstances did not fulfil ADHD criteria. Only one of the cases fulfilled ADHD criteria based strictly on the valid diagnostic criteria. In addition, the gender of the child was included as a variable resulting in eight different case vignettes."

The thing is, though, what's actually contained in those four case vignettes is important to the interpretation of this study. Presumably, at least some of the three "not ADHD" vignettes were chosen for the study because they did resemble ADHD prototypes. They were red herrings, in a sense.

But what about the opposite kinds of cases? What about cases that don't look like prototypical ADHD, but do fit the diagnostic criteria? I don't see how there could have been any room in this study's methodology to test those kinds of circumstances at all. That leaves us with no data about how often it happens that someone has ADHD, but gets told that they don't. So...if you're only testing prototypical cases, you cannot possibly be proving statistics of "over" diagnosis, only statistics of wrongful diagnosis...and even then, only one particular kind of wrongful diagnosis.

The Double ADD Relationship: Why It Can Work

I have ADD, and so does my husband.

What I have found this means for us is that none of the expert advice or standard conversations about ADD and relationships apply to us. All the books, articles, forum chats, stories, rants and related tales from couple's counseling I've ever seen deal mostly with the challenges of an ADD partner and a non-ADD partner figuring out how to reconcile their differences and come to terms with the challenges of the relationship. Most commonly, it seems, the challenges of a relationship for someone with ADD come from the basic caring=instant results misunderstanding we all know too well...you know, where someone close to you assumes that if you actually CARED about their feelings and circumstances, you'd be able to keep a job/get organized/remember birthdays/focus during a conversation, etc.

Alternative Treatments

So...have you heard about these alternative treatments for ADHD?

You know...exercise, high-protein diet, omega 3, magnesium, zinc, crawling therapy, music education therapy, neuroplasticity therapeutic approaches, cerebellum development exercises, meditation, medicinal marijuana, homoepathic treatments, chiropractic treatments, neurofeedback, gluten-free diet, or anything you may have heard of as being beneficial as a treatment for ADHD?

ALL LIES!! Scams! Snake oil!

Any positive effects you may have experienced with any of these treatments are purely a figment of your imagination.

/sarcasm

ADHD Medication: Things to Consider

Since I write a blog that's largely concerned with natural coping mechanisms for ADD you, might think I'm opposed to medication. I'm not, actually, but I do have some pretty strong feelings on the subject nonetheless. I thought I should write a post to clarify, and to use as a point of reference, later.

In truth, I believe that medication can be a very fine thing and an important part of many people's coping and recovery. I myself took two kinds of medication at different points in my teenage and young adult years; Ritalin for a couple years in high school and Strattera for a couple years in college. In addition to the extra boost of help these drugs gave me during critical times in my life, they taught me an important lesson about the differences between my brain and those of most people and what it could feel like to live with less disability. A lot of the positive effects of these drugs became permanent as I strove to achieve the same level of performance without them that I had with them.

A Completely Pointless, Unnecessary and Peevish Post

Dear ADD community:

ENOUGH ALREADY WITH ALL THE ADD PUNS!

C'mon...pleeeaaaase?

Sincerely,

Laurel