It would seem like if Traumatic Brain Injuries were a primary cause of ADHD that the incident of both should be decreasing. 50 years ago when I was a kid we were much more active than children are today. At least where I lived we spent most of our time playing hard outside.
Protecting kids from absolutely every hazard didn’t seem to be the priority that it is these days. Of course back then we were still in the middle of a baby boom and a favorite saying from my dad was, “If you kill yourself doing that, your mom and I will just make another one that looks just like you.”
My mother once told my wife how I kept riding my tricycle down the concrete steps to our front porch and landing on my big head. At that time the porch was over 6ft high. My wife asked her if she put up a child gate or something. My mom said, “No, we figured he’d learn.
I grew up with horses and we rode which ever one we could catch “bare back” most of the time. Despite being knocked unconscious several times after falling off of horses who were acting up... no one in my family ever thought about wearing a helmet while riding a horse. I don’t know if helmets for riding horses were even available. We also didn’t wear them while riding bicycles, mini-bikes, go-carts, motorcycles, or riding home on top of the hay truck.
No joke. My 8 year old daughter today isn’t getting hurt like my sister and I were at that age. Growing up in the 1970s, riding bikes down big hills, we’re lucky to be alive. And we weren’t deterred even after some pretty gnarly crashes. I’ve got a few concussions and knock-outs under my belt, I was a Navy nuclear technician, and I’m an aerospace engineer with a master’s degree in that now. I’m not trying to be a braggart about my achievements, I’m just not buying this link.
ADHD is a manufactured ailment and the doctor that invented it and made a boatload of money off of it admitted as much before he died.
There was a study I read a few years ago that showed that the more padded kids were, the more head injuries went UP.
Turns out that unpadded and kids without head protection learn fast what their limitations are. The kids with helmets and pads have a false sense of security and take greater risks.
Ski Helmet Use Isn’t Reducing Brain Injuries
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/01/sports/on-slopes-rise-in-helmet-use-but-no-decline-in-brain-injuries.html?_r=0
A Bicycling Mystery: Head Injuries Piling Up
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/29/business/a-bicycling-mystery-head-injuries-piling-up.html
What evidence is there that cycle helmets reduce serious injury?
http://www.cyclehelmets.org/1013.html