I taught courses on this subject in the 70s. One of the diagnositc criteria was that the child is not a minority. The reason? because minority status is already a negative label and they don't need another negatvie label.
What is that about besides power?
At the time I taught (in Baltimore) about 15% of white boys in elementary school were classified as ADD or ADHD (they keep renaming it). I visited a (government) ADHD clinic. In a city that was majority black, there were no black children treated there.
The (black)principal of a local school (90% black) was a student of mine. She told me she knew nothing about it to start with and that none of the children in her school were on medication for ADHD behavior.
In the 90s I saw what I considered the result of this scheme. The young white men in my courses were often looking for information on their condition of ADHD. I hate to say anything mean, but what I saw was pathetic young men with no self-confidence, always aplogizing for themselves.
There are nice compassionate professionals involved in the ADD industry. It is hard to believe they are part of a power scheme, but if they were not in on the scheming, they are at least part of its execution.
Friends of ours have a son that the PUBLIC SCHOOL diagnosed as ADHD when he was in the first grade in the early 90’s. They were going to kick him out of school unless he was on medication. The parents complied and start giving their son Ritalin.
Their son went from a bright, active, talkative, inquisitive 6 year old to a now withdrawn, no confidence, recluse of a young adult. To me it is very sad they allowed to happen to their son. I also think it is criminal on the part of the school since they diagnosed the “problem” and essentially prescribed medication by using bully tactics. In retrospect, the parents know they were uniformed and should have sent him to a private school or home-schooled.
Makes “Patients” of Normal Children, Marylander wrote:
Psyhciatric diagnosis has always been a tool used to control political enemies. What is hard to believe is that anyone would use a political tool against children. But not all children are the targets.
I taught courses on this subject in the 70s. One of the diagnositc criteria was that the child is not a minority. The reason? because minority status is already a negative label and they don’t need another negatvie label.
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This is a very scary thread. Thank all of you who participated in this ADD/ ADHD discussion. I’m now completely comfortable that if I’m ever asked for advice about this, or get assaulted by the school system about this in any way, that I’ll just be saying “NO!!!”
There are some seriously criminal charges that should be considered here for the way the educational system is damaging America’s children.
Thanks again.
What a fascinating story. Amazing that race would play any role in this at all.