ADD & ADHD
Attention Deficit Disorder describes the characteristics
of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity
that may be present in some children and adults.
Although health professionals often state that ADD/ADHD is a brain-based biological disorder caused by a brain chemical imbalance, there is simply no reliable test to prove this — no physical or chemical abnormality validates ADHD as a medical disease.
Since there can be no diagnosis without a disease, what is there?
There is a description of behaviors — symptoms — that health professionals use as a checklist in deciding whether your child has an attentional disorder.
However, symptoms do not necessarily mean there is a disease. To determine disease, there must be an objective test (such as blood text, X-rays, CAT scans, etc.).
There is no independent valid objective test for ADD/ADHD. Instead health professionals rely on:
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a list of behaviors (primarily, inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, academic underachievement, or behavior problems),
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diagnostic interviews,
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anecdotal information from family and school staff.
ADD/ADHD behaviors are found in the The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision that forms the accepted guidelines for what are considered to be ‘mental illnesses’, or as they are more recently referred to, ‘mental disorders’. This reference text is the “bible” of the mental health industry. ADD was added to the DSM-IV in 1980 and ADHD in 1987. Read the American Academy of Pediatrics’ guidelines for diagnosing ADHD.
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