A plea for the abolition of ADHD

A plea for the abolition of ADHD.

(20.09.2010) A representative survey conducted by the social research institute Forsa on behalf of the journal „parents“ undertook a frightening result: to the question: „What kind of health problems do you most fear that your child might get??“ By far, most parents - namely, 44 percent - named the attention deficit (hyperactivity) syndrome AD (H) S (parents 2009). So far, it has come in the meantime with the completely unsubstantiated uncertainty, even frightening parents in terms of fashion sickness ADHD! Uncertain, frightened parents are of course worse educators, so that one has to fear that the fear of ADHD fosters Erziehungsfehler, which in turn „ADHD“ can lead. The cat bites its own tail, so to speak, a classic self-fulfilling prophecy. What should I do?

The psychotherapist Hans Reinhard Schmidt now subjects the construct ADHD to a radical critique in a book that has just been published by Centaurus. He comes to the conclusion that the construction of this disease brings more harm than blessing and should be abolished or overcome.

Parents are well advised to doubt an ADHD diagnosis.
This advice, the Hüther and Bonney in their bestseller „News from the Zappelphilipp“ (Hüther 2008) is by no means meant to be provocative, the author emphasizes. Rather, it makes a lot of sense, if you hear over and over again, experienced and read that parents are dissatisfied, if in their child, this diagnosis despite thorough investigation is NOT asked. The current popular "literature", the advice in relevant Internet support groups and the "helpful" Ritalin effect experienced in the circle of friends tempt many worried parents to rash self-diagnoses and to the pseudo-security, their child also has this "disease". In the collection pot "ADHD" fits almost everything that children, adolescents and adults show behavioral difficulties.

When parents describe their problems in the relevant Internet forums, they have rarely read anyone telling them that their problems could mean anything, much more likely the expression of relationship difficulties than an alleged brain dysfunction, stresses Schmidt. Instead, they are almost always advised to seek specific medical attention for "ADHD", the address of a suitable doctor will be supplied immediately. It is then mostly a doctor who has talked about the fact that he likes to diagnose ADHD frequently. People are often even warned to go to another specialist who may be critical of ADHD. Such a doctor or psychologist would then simply be incompetent for ADHD, is often spread.

But one knows, Schmidt points out that diagnoses are not always valid and reliable, but strongly dependent on the diagnosis, especially in such unclear "diseases" as ADHD. Whether I go to a psychoanalyst, a critical or uncritical psychologist or an ADHD convinced doctor decides the diagnosis. And parents also choose the expected or desired diagnosis through their deliberate choice of diagnostician. In the sense of "self-fulfilling prophecies", the circle then closes and everyone seems satisfied.

Here is the diagnosis „ADHD“ extremely unreliable. A clear biological or morphopathological marker for the alleged disease ADHD does not exist, otherwise one would not have the problems with the unreliable and ambiguous, purely clinical behavioral diagnostics. There is still no specific ADHD test, neither psychological nor medical.

In view of the certainly high level of misdiagnosis, given the inadequacy of the diagnostic tools for ADHD, given the serious stigmatizing psychosocial long-term consequences of the diagnosis, especially for children (alleged genetic inheritable brain metabolism disorder) and the uncertain long-term effects of administered psychotropic drugs in young children, given the In reality, lacking scientific clarity of the syndrome ADHD parents would first have every reason to doubt this diagnosis.

Quite apart from the fact that there is no scientifically objectified, valid and undisputed ADHD diagnosis, most diagnoses do not even meet the minimum standard of medical diagnostic guidelines. An Angold study found that 75% of children treated with stimulants did not meet the DSH-IV diagnostic criteria for ADHD at all. Almost 60% of the diagnoses were simply wrong (Angold 2000, Lehmkuhl 2002). Looking at the abundance of possible differential diagnoses, it quickly becomes clear why so often inaccurately diagnosed: are mentioned in the diagnosis manuals as exclusion criteria profound developmental disorders, disorder of social behavior, seizure disorders, adaptation to extremely stressful family circumstances or school overload, emotional disorders such as anxiety disorder, agitated depression, mood disorders. If these diseases were always carefully screened out, probably a number of 1-2% of „ADHD“-Diagnoses remain.

Basically, nobody knows what is reliably and validly measured in this diagnosis. Is a medical illness measured, or just more or less normal behavioral variations or well-known psychoreactive behavioral disorders of various causes? When three professionals talk about ADHD, probably each of them means something different. In the face of such incredible diagnostic and therapeutic ills, many of which are often treated with psychostimulants for years, there is no need for the power of many ADHD studies based on such arbitrary diagnostics.

Dipl.-Psych. Hans-Reinhard Schmidt is Psychological Psychotherapist sund works among other things in the family u. Educational counseling in Brühl u. Wesseling. (PM Conference ADHD)

Also read:
- Schmidt, Hans-Reinhard: I learn like a zombie. Plea for the abolition of ADHD. Centaurus 2010, 320 pages.
- ADHD: Prescription of Ritalin is restricted
- Cannabis effective in ADHD?
- Environmental factors hardly investigated in ADHD