It wasn't around when I was a kid because it's only recently been recognized as a disorder. As medical technology progresses, we're finding lots of things that were always around, but were either misdiagnosed, or never recognized.
Based on what I recall of my youth, always getting in trouble, disruptive in class, inattentive, etc. I suspect I was/am ADD. And I've searched the internet for info on adult diagnosis and treatment of ADD, and found nothing.
Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD" >>> To reply, remove the TRABoD!
The thought of Chris actually breeding isn't one I'd like to contemplate. I think prolonged Usenet sessions are a *good* thing for some people, in a Darwinian sense....
While my inner Bubba has ranted like Boomer, I think he and I are both fortunate that we don't have any kids with this particular challenge. While I too get the feeling that there's too much nannying going on in today's world, I've learned that ADHD is a real condition and not just culture du jour.
I was listening to a radio show on ADHD the other day, and I learned that many of those hyperactive kids do not outgrow it, they simply learn to compensate, never completely mastering it. I heard testimonials from adults who had finally begun treatment and were elated with their new found freedom.
And, since tobacco is actually a stimulant, I've wondered if many smokers became addicted because the nicotine provided some measure of relief for ADHD.
It was and BTW I'm pretty much in agreement with your assessment of the state of ADD diagnosis today.
Why are things like this ??? As usual, following the money shows that Ciba-Geigy Corporation, the multinational manufacturer of Ritalin, are the dominate leader ina SEVEN HUNDRED MILLION ADD market (!)
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In other words drug company board of directors are getting filthy rich while many of *your* children suffer. You don't have to be a "liberal" or "conservative" to see the connection.
Just think critically and ...READ ...
Other interesting links:
Ritalin is Deviously Promoted by Manufacturer
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Ritalin Proven More Potent Than Cocaine - Nearly 10 Million Kids Drugged
The only response I would make for that is that they are manufacturing a commercial product with considerable preparation and manufacturing costs. Mostly GOVERNMENT REGULATORY costs and delays. If it is so bad they they might want to charge a price for the PRODUCT THEY MADE AND SELL, that offsets those costs plus a fair profit for investors (20% is obviously fair, just ask your cerdit card company), then perhaps the solution is not to complain about them but about the GOVERNMENT regulations that add years or even decades to drug releases. That is silly.
Maybe right. But in this case they are selling ADD medicine, right?
Most of the problems with medicine distribution and costs can be traced back to government regulations.
I cite my own business as an example. I make rocket motors that cost me about $11 a pound to make and I sell them for upwards of $100 a pound. Appproximately 50% of the $11 is associated with regulatory burdons of various types (DOT, Hazmat, Building codes, etc, etc) all for a product that tests and is in some ways regulated as a NON-EXPLOSIVE.
Drugs are far worse. Believe me. So whatever the ethic of the company and it may be bad indeed, that is not at all mitigated by very high costs and LONG time delays of product introduction and approval by the U.S. Government.
I'm sure that has something to do with it....but these multinational pharmaceutical orgs have been known to repeatedly fudge results in order to gain approval on drugs which were later proven to be life threatening and eventually removed from the market. In fact in several of these cases the manufacturer had been found to have known about the situation and attempted to cover it up.
Whereas I agree with you that government regulations can be onerous, it is also the case that the big business pharmaceutical industry will sacrifice the health of people in order to turn a profit.
My son was diagnosed ADHD early on. One of the weirdest things to see was him sitting down and watching TV and instantly (and I mean *instantly*) pop to his feet and then look around, confused as to how he got to be standing up.
They give the kids speed so the brain keeps up with the body (crude description).
His medication regimine escalated from Ritalin to Dexidrine as he grew up, always the minimum needed to function at school. Homework was a nightmare because he couldn't stay focused. We stressed self-control daily.
He took himself off the meds in high school when the Navy refused him enlistment until he was clean for a year. He almost didn't graduate. He still struggles sometimes, but he manages. He's serving on a sub now.
FWIW my comments were not meant tom indicate that everyone diagnosed with ADD is a sham but rather that there is significant concern out there that there may be too many cases of faulty diagnosis and treatment due to manipulation of the perception of this disease and it's treatment by the large pharmaceutical houses.
Some indications of testing fraud mixed in with stories of incompetent research and lots and lots of conjecture.
Same cite as above. Not allowed :)
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Bayer won this one. Hardly support for your case.
Both from the plaintiff's attorney's website; both about rezulin. Not very objective.
From reading the story, it sounds like the gov't warned users of the risk and allowed them to make the call. I call that freedom. Two Iranian girls died in Singapore this week after being in similar circumstances. I felt bad for them, but I respect their right to make the decision.
As for the Bergen woman, ff anything, it was the doctors misprescribing it; it was intended for the treatment of obesity, not for people looking to drop 20 lbs.
I never like to see stories like this, true or false. But from what I saw, the signal to rhetoric ratio was pretty low, real low. And the amount of factual corruption was only consistent with human behavior, but not indicative of institutionalized crime. I firmly believe that any drag company exec's who knowingly put out bad products would be prosecuted just like the Enron folks.
Maybe my remark was in bad taste, but I'll leave it up to the lurkers to judge the context of your message.
You wrote: "I think it's a line of %$#* from parents that don't know any better that their kids need their asses beat sometimes." And you wrote: "...when we grew up, if we acted inappropriate, we got our butt beat or a smack up side the head, just like everyone else in previous generations."
What else was I to conclude? Do you come from a long line of child beaters or not? Are you teaching your children to continue the tradition or not? I sure hope not.
I believe hitting children is *rarely* ever justified - too many other options like time outs etc. And I certainly do NOT want some stranger to have that capacity.
Basic standards of discipline should not be the school's responsibility - *ideally* it should be the parents responsibility.
Too many parents would rather, imho, abrogate their responsibilities to a doctor, a drug, or a school teacher.
I agree, but obviously you've not raised kids. To your first point, yes, hitting kids is 'rarely' justified. But rarely does not mean never. And unfortunately, it's necessary for some stranger to have that capacity, if I'm not there. Further, there are some parents who coddle their kids so much that the kids are dangerous. I'm reminded of a kid that we knew (when he was quite young) who in kindergarten would attack other kids, shout "FU" to the teachers, etc., but his mom couldn't understand how sweet little so-and-so could have acted that way, it must have been made up by the mean old teacher (when everyone in the neighborhood, and the school, knew the kid needed a swift kick in the butt). He's now much older, and has become a rock-solid juvenile delinquent. A similiar situation with a family that liked to have their daughter 'express herself', right up to the time she went wild with a pair of scissors in the classroom, and attacked the teacher and several students.
In both those cases the school should have had the authority to administer corporal punishment. However, in today's world, the kids did not even get a suspension (the school equivalent of a 'time out').
Yes, discipline should be the parents responsibility. But if the parents DON'T discipline the kids, then the school MUST have the authority to take action. Again, in one of my daughter's classes, there was a kid who was always 'expressing' himself (according to the parents). He would have a complete, total tantrum at least once per day. This would mean that the teacher would have to stop teaching for quite some time in order to get the kid calmed down and get the class back on track again. This was not related to me, this was something I witnessed myself, as I helped this particular teacher out once a week in the classroom.
To your last, many parents may want to abrogate their responsibilities, but their are many others who don't. The problem is that society has torn down the family to the point where we are now. It used to carry some kind of stigma to be a single parent. That's no longer the case. Guess what? That has repercussions. In the 'nuclear' family, if one parent is busy/tired/ill, the other parent is there to take over. Plus, the yin/yang of the mother/father relationship generally helps to keep the kids on an even keel. Today, with not just so many single parent families, but kids born not even knowing who their father is, some moms are forced to throw up their hands (at times) and let the kids run rampant, because they just can't take it anymore. And there is also the problem of parents who are now worried that if they even look cross-eyed at their kids, that the Dept. of Children's Services will come in and ruin everyone's life (don't laugh, I've seen it happen).
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