Years ago, if a kid was bored and didn’t listen well in class, he was considered lazy, a daydreamer or perhaps a bit rambunctious. These days, he’s labeled with a mental disorder.
In fact, the CDC says 6.4 million kids ages 4-17 have been “diagnosed with ADHD” since 2011. And that stat doesn’t even include the 198,000 kids under age five who are taking ADHD drugs. Besides that, I guarantee you, these numbers are a lot higher today – because every year the rates continue to skyrocket.
In a DER SPIEGEL interview with retired Harvard psychologist, Dr. Jerome Kagan, he explains why he is critical of “fuzzy diagnostic practices” and the “over-prescription of drugs such as Ritalin for behavioral problems in children.” When SPIEGEL asked Dr. Kagan if he actually thought ADHD was just an invention, he said –
“That’s correct; it is an invention. Every child who’s not doing well in school is sent to see a pediatrician, and the pediatrician says: “It’s ADHD; here’s Ritalin.” In fact, 90 percent of these kids don’t have an abnormal dopamine metabolism. The problem is, if a drug is available to doctors, they’ll make the corresponding diagnosis.”
Source