Additional ADHD related article published recently: http://searchwithmylife.com/the-hidden-price-of-adhd/

However, I think there were other options other than chemically rewriting my sister’s personality. Many of the most creative and interesting people in history probably exhibited symptoms very close to ADD and ADHD. People like Einstien, Da Vinci, Henry Ford, Beethoven and even modern giants like Bill Gates are or were considered to have ADD or ADHD. The creative drive and impulsiveness and energy that is inherent in many that have been diagnosed are characteristic of many of the most successful people around. I really think that sometimes changing the manner of teaching should come before changing the personality of the child.

Wow.. I had always assumed you were male. Perhaps I wasn’t paying close enough attention.

Nextly, defining unfavorable and functionless are entirely up to the one perceiving the person’s worth. This is surely where people conflict at. “Over perscription” may simply be a difference in opion over this quality.

With that in mind, the ability to provide chemicals to medicate away certain undesirable traits is not impossible given the mechanics of the body. So to debate if these medications “work” is dependent on one’s opinion of the results in reflection to the previous state. In that I would debate that people have the right to decide if they want to change a unfavorable trait, because they do that when they raise a child anyways. However, parents should be aware of the potential risks these alternatives have, much like other tools used to raise their child. For those old enough to make their own decisions, well, they are old enough to make their own decisions heh. However, this is not to say that they should not be given all the information available on the supposed treatments being offered to them.

The ability of the drug companies and doctors to “push drugs” is limited only by our ability of critical thinking. Just because someone does not agree with your personal choice, it does not give them the automatic right to make it for you. For instance, I see two people that are dumb, ugly, and simply unpleasent to be around. I dont feel they are capable of having/raising a child and polluting the population with their seeds. Does that mean I get to chop of the dude’s balls and sew shut that skank’s legs? No, they have the right to make babies and be happy in whatever retarded way they want. Of course, this is subplanted should they be trying to muscle out the liberties I have extended to them. That is however, another debate over civil behavior.

Ultimately, the deicions of usefulness these drugs have for each individual is a per case situation, as well as a per person perception (say that five times fast). So to not draw lines in the sand, I just suppose that each person has only an opinion on the question of their usefulness and not neccessarily the answer as perception will surely alter the conclusion.

While I was in school it was hard for me to concentrate even when I wanted to listen because I knew the information was important for a grade. I would be listening for a while and then something that the teacher said would trigger a memory or thought and then that thought would turn into another and i would spiral off on a tangent for about 10-15 minutes before i would realize that i wasn’t paying attention. I found that if i was doing something to occupy my hands like doodle on a piece of paper or write a note to my friends that i could concentrate on what was being said. My teachers would always get frustrated when they would call on me for an answer to a question they asked thinking that i was fully absorbed in my note (hoping to make an example of me to the other kids to pay attention) and i would give the correct answer every time.

Taking the medication really did help me to just sit still and listen but i found that it took away from my personality. My friends had come to know and love me as scatter-brained, so i stopped taking it and resolved to just deal with it as i always had. It’s a lot harder for me to get things done but I do.

Medication can help and i really believe that some people wouldn’t be able to get by without it but i encourage anyone diagnosed with ADD or ADHD to try to find ways they can help themselves before resorting to drugs.

Whiterasta, the Citizens Commission of Human Rights (CCHR) is a Scientology front group. They don’t believe any psychological problems are real, and think everything can be cured with vitamins, an E-meter reading, and a donation to their organization. See here:

Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) – Scientology Front Groups
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c119.html

The credibility of the CCHR isn’t just “debatable,” it’s pathetic.

As for ADD, my when my brother was younger he had that along with epilepsy, and he was much better off when he was taking his medication than when he wasn’t. That’s anecdotal evidence to be sure, but we could usually tell when he hadn’t taken his medication.

I have found that there are many things that I don’t know and the more I learn, the more I know that I don’t know. Everything ranging from the existence of God to why people just can’t get along to the nature of atoms to what the inside of a womans bathroom looks like. These mysteries plague me and everytime that I delve into one of them, I come back only asking more questions. Though I have not come back with any difinitative answers yet, I still have hope and look under every rock and in every crevas for the answer. BUT, for all that I do not know there is one thing that I know for an absolute, infalible, undeniable fact:
None of these questions will be answered on an interenet chat board.>>
Au contraire, moi petite..
1. The existence of God. God exists else we wouldn’t have the software to speculate or yearn for it. Or the ferocious need to disprove.
2. People can’t get along because each is hardwired with the need to have their genes passed on, and other people are the competition.
3. The nature of atoms. The link to the infinitely small.
4. The inside of a womans bathroom looks like the inside of a womans bathroom.

I can attest to this firsthand. Seems to me that it may be used in lower doses, seeing as they mentioned the other anti-depression drugs worked at lower than normal doses. I’m still annoyed they added guaifenesin to just about every cold medicine on the market. Dextromethorphan hydrobromide makes for an interesting and quasi-legal experience, and now all the semi-safe sources of it include that particular vomit-inducing chemical. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for having my butt carted off to jail if I endanger the public by attempting to drive while on the stuff, but I should be able to stumble around my own home if I so desire.

Anywho, I think it’s a great idea to work towards treating any symptoms that so adversely affect someone’s social life. As if it weren’t bad enough to be confined to a wheelchair, and the stigma that’s attached to it, you have to appear utterly socially incompetent to boot. Sad.