ADHD is not real

Just a point before we begin, you say: "By not admitting that children with ADHD have a known disorder we are letting them go back to being the badly behaved kid in the classroom. By diagnosing them and telling them that they are not alone we are preventing discrimination. It is the attitude of denial that creates discrimination, not recognition of the difference." If your way is right, why do you also say that: "This school was K-8 and even after nine years children still had severe ADHD" and: "Even in schools for children with ADHD the children do not become calmer or more able to focus. In my experience they are still medicated and they still have the hyperactivity." So it seems this method of labelling them and segregating them, medicating them and treating it like a genetic predetermination, doesn't work very well. Would you agree its not working? it doesn't sound like it too me. So anyway, your argument: You say: "Then why are certain people all over the world exhibiting a specific set of symptoms or "behaviors." Well, they are not, this is what I have been saying all along. 'Difficulty focusing on schoolwork' 'high energy levels' 'Fidgeting' (in school I remind you) are hardy 'specific' traits are they? I would even go so far as to say they are common, or even predictable in the circumstances. You say: "And what about other disorders? Are they also just behaviors? What about Autism and Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder." Well I say pretty much the same thing, schizophrenics and bipolar sufferers are far more likely to have has traumatic experiences in childhood or even extreme circumstances. Genes do not determine behaviour, the predispose only, this is not predetermination. I do not know enough about autism to comment, though I am aware of people who have been 'falsely' labelled with it and I am not wholly convinced by its determination. Skitzophennia however I have some experience with and from this I believe that it is environmental. Also courses like (Human behavioural biology, Robert Sapolsky) explain in detail how schizophrenia, bipolar and even perhaps autism are largely environmentally determined. But this debate is about ADHD and this is most certainly not predetermined, at best it is predisposed but I don't believe its this simple at all. You say "Personality is influenced by environment, but it is all based off of genes." Well not exactly. For example, a particular gene that is more common in the most violent people. However, the carriers of this gene had to of been abused as children, if they had this gene but where not abused, they where actually less violent than average. Violent people without this gene where not always as violent as the ones with it though. So its not like "genes set the basis" and "experiences goes from there" its far more subtle, beautifully complex and counter-intuitive. You say: "Some babies are more calm than others, some play better with other babies. These are just the genes that they were born with," I have explained this, we are 9 months old when we are born! We have evolved to 'evolve', in the safety of the womb, to the world we are about to enter. There is a lot of research showing the effects of the prenatal environment on the unborn baby, showing stress for example to make babies more prone to addiction, mood swings ect. So how much more subtle personality shaping is going on in there? You say: "We are born with some personality traits that cannot be changed." Not true. If you abuse a child he/she will change. So with that as a factual basis, we can assume everything effects your personality to some degree, even if only slightly. Also, to illustrate the power of the situation on the individual, I ask you to think about the numerous hypnotists that can make people think they are a chicken from merely effecting the environment. Our minds our powerful things, not in our control, we can convince ourselves of almost anything and self fulfil it until it feels natural. You say: "after nine years they still have ADHD. If their "personality" cannot be changed after nine years than I think that that is a clear indicator that this is something that cannot be influenced by environment" Well not if their environment hasn't changed in a way that would change this behaviour. The people who run these schools are still not fully aware of what it is (I am not saying I am). Also its factors in the outside world that cause ADHD as well as school, so I imagine that ADHD school isn't worlds apart from a normal school, and thus its no wonder the 'condition' continues. You say: "By not admitting that children with ADHD have a known disorder we are letting them go back to being the badly behaved kid in the classroom" I am not saying put them back into the classroom, I am saying the classroom 'caused' it! I am saying we need to rethink our idea of education, we need to understand children and human beings in general more and fit society to their needs. It is not engaging children properly that has spawned this epidemic, along with bad diets, poor role models and a frankly confusing society. Also I would like to add to my first point: If the current method of dealing with it is working, why is ADHD become more common, and why does that correlate with the increase of medication. Surely the more medication, the less ADHD, and surly if us being aware and labelling it is helping, it should be on the decrease. No, it will never change until the underlying societal factors are fixed. And this is testament to the fact that it is avoidable and not a life sentence inscribed at birth. Also, the reason why labelling people is more like eugenics than not labelling is because it gives no way out. It says to anyone not conforming that you are a problem person who should be delt with through medication of punishment. If we understand these people, we will find that they in fact have as much to offer as the rest of us. Recognizing the difference, too you means, labelling a person as a disease. I recognize the difference and I attempt to avoid it and combat it, because I would of said to a sufferer of ADHD that he is not permanently bad because he was born that way, I would say he is misunderstood and I would ask them what it was they wanted to do.