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ADD and thoughts on "mental disabilities"

redacted

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So I have ADD. I take medication for it, because I suck ass at school without it. Well, I suck ass at school with it, too, but I suck ass a little less...

Anyways, it's easy to think of ADD as bullshit. I know that I technically fit the definition of someone with ADD, but I still feel that I get some sort of unfair advantage for it. They offered me extra time on my SAT; I can get extra time on tests in college, etc. But I've never accepted the extra time. Why should I get that advantage?

Here's my problem. We've defined this set of symptoms as ADD, as a mental disability. But what about other people? What if they're just stupid? Why can't we label them as "stupid", a mental disability? Why shouldn't they get extra time on tests?

If there was a drug to make "stupid" people a little quicker, I think they should be able to take it. I think that people without ADD should be able to take ADD medication too. The only reason ADD is unfair is because I get access to advantages that other people don't. I don't have "stupid" disorder, and other people do. Honestly, I think they're more handicapped than I am.

Thoughts?
 

Lalaru

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Everyone thinks I have ADD, except for my teachers who paid no attention to me in class. I do not really need any medication though, I think "having it" makes me faster at taking tests and getting things done, except for my artwork. If I was granted more time to take tests or complete work, it would just be more time for me to procrastinate and waste time. Personally, I think most of the people diagnosed with ADD nowadays are just lazy children with no discipline and more interest in watching TV or playing video games. I know there are legitimate cases, in my family a few older people struggled with it in their younger days when there was no name for it other than "crazy" or "troublesome." They all turned out quite fine, my father is actually very successful and conquered his problem all on his own with hard work. He says he was just like me and had trouble concentrating on maths and homework and such, but eventually he started a few of his companies and now works as an administrator in a hospital, the only medicine he takes is for his heart.

I think counseling and learning how to deal with the problem would be better than just taking a pill. I would not want to be dependent on medicine to keep me going, I would rather adapt to my issues than try and solve them by swallowing some foreign chemical. But that is just me. :whistling:
 

redacted

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Obviously, developing coping mechanisms without drugs is the best route for the long term. Therapy too. I have no problem taking medication on top of that right now, though, since it makes me more productive and therefore happier. When you literally can't sit through any class, even 50 minutes long, without wanting to run around screaming, you'll understand what I mean. When you can't take notes without 20 minute gaps, you'll see what I mean.

I do definitely have ADD; I'm not just lazy or unmotivated. Again, I don't think anyone deserves extra time on tests, whether they have ADD or whatever else.

I think everyone should have the option of taking ADD medication or any medication. As long as the playing field is even.

Lots of people in my life (psychiatrists, etc.) have told me that other people have advantages that I don't have. And it's true. But everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. And if I have access to tool that other's don't, it's unfair. I've gotten 99th percentile on every standardized test I've ever taken before and after I've taken ADD drugs. So I could think of it as, well, I have an unfair advantage over 99% of the population. If there was a label to describe them, they'd have just as much a disability as I. And that's the real issue. ADD has a socially accepted label, other kinds of mental slowness do not.

He says he was just like me and had trouble concentrating on maths and homework and such

Everyone has trouble concentrating on things. If you think of a spectrum of how hard it is to pay attention, there is some threshold where the definition of ADD lies. It's not like ADD cases have traits that no one else has, it's just that those traits are stronger than most people. Also, a part of the diagnosis is that it has to affect normal function in an extreme way.

ADD is a legitimate thing. Yes, it is often misdiagnosed, especially in the cases of rich parents throwing money at doctors because they can't deal with their children. And that takes away from the validity in most people's minds. But that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

My point, though, is that, yes, ADD is legitimate. But it should not be an excuse, and either everyone should have access to the accommodations that ADD cases currently get, or no one should.
 

kyuuei

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ADD was just coming to light when I was growing up, but right after I had graduated had it become something talked about in school systems, on the news, and such. My father has it, and I have it, but as Lu said we both found our own coping mechanisms for it. I don't take medication, either does he, and we still slip up sometimes putting things off that we could have had done already, etc. It seems to me we are normal people that can concentrate a bit less than some, but I TOTALLY feel you on the stupid thing. I really think people should have accurate IQ tests and such. Being ADD doesn't make unintelligent, it makes you less able to concentrate on demonstrating your intelligence. That's not really a disadvantage in comparison to someone who cannot truly grasp the concept of Algebra.

But then again, it's impossible to distinguish stupid from lazy.
 

FDG

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ADD is of course a fake disease. It is not written anywhere that humans "should" be able to concentrate on particular tasks for very extended periods of time.
 

Jack Flak

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A little speed makes everyone a little smarter. By speed I mean amphetamines and substitutes like methylphenidate.

I also see ADD as a made up illness, though some do have more trouble concentrating than others.
 

ajblaise

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If you want to call "lack on concentration" a disease, then fine. That's a pretty weak disease though.

The problem with drugging people who have trouble concentrating is that they often have other talents, like being good at sports, music, art..etc. How are these drugs effecting those things?

I took adderall come finals time before. I can't believe people take this stuff so they are "high" on it 24/7. You only really need it while studying I've found.
 

563 740

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ADD is of course a fake disease. It is not written anywhere that humans "should" be able to concentrate on particular tasks for very extended periods of time.

But you should be able to go down cellar to take out the laundry, take a piss along the way, and then remember that you were going to get the laundry when you come out of the bathroom. And I don't mean "Wait, what was I down here for?", I mean standing in the kitchen with absolutely no recollection of the intent to get your laundry. :doh:
 

colmena

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I can sit quietly for hours.

But some days I take in nothing. Read a book and not know what's happened. Watch a film and not know what's been said.

It might even be most days.

I'm interested in academic subjects, but am useless at that style of learning.

And because I'm not interested in anything else, I see little point in doing much at all.


I really need that one year's hard labor.
 

Not_Me

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We've defined this set of symptoms as ADD, as a mental disability. But what about other people? What if they're just stupid? Why can't we label them as "stupid", a mental disability? Why shouldn't they get extra time on tests?
The theory is that a bit of accommodation will substantially enhance your ability to achieve a high level of success in your life. A stupid person would not have the same potential.
 

redacted

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Bah everyone misunderstands what I'm saying. I want to pull a nocapszy and call half of you idiots.

I'm not talking about the legitimacy of ADD. I'm talking about the implications of diagnosis, and the unfairness.

Every time I say ADD, you can replace it with "some arbitrary threshold on the spectrum of being able to pay attention to random things".
 

563 740

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Bah everyone misunderstands what I'm saying. I want to pull a nocapszy and call half of you idiots.

I'm not talking about the legitimacy of ADD. I'm talking about the implications of diagnosis, and the unfairness.

Every time I say ADD, you can replace it with "some arbitrary threshold on the spectrum of being able to pay attention to random things".

Thread drift, imo.

I don't particularly feel like the advantages are as big as you think they are. If someone is in fact "stupid", extra testing time isn't going to change anything; they either understand the problems or they don't.
 

Usehername

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ADD is of course a fake disease. It is not written anywhere that humans "should" be able to concentrate on particular tasks for very extended periods of time.

Not to derail the thread, but true ADD is pure physiological chemical differences. An absurd amount of doctors misdiagnose it, which makes people think it's fake. True ADD can be recognized with a brain scan, they just aren't going to scan a whole bunch of six-year-old boys who can't sit still in class. Much easier to medicate them, and hope it does the trick.
 

Kanamori

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I think withholding the drugs has more to do with their controversial nature, and they're only prescribed because they've been shown to relieve the negative symptoms...

If people being unequal in ability is an okay thing, then I see no reason why people who get add meds are being treated unfairly or those who aren't are being treated in a bad way. I wouldn't want to be responsible for coming up with some way to determine who deserves how much of an advantage in order to bring them up with everyone else. The reason it's treated is probably more like, "we know how to help people in these situations, so we're going to." I understand feeling unokay with getting those advantages.

On the validity of add as a disorder, it's definitely real, and the most extreme cases are from obvious brain damage.
 

FDG

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Not to derail the thread, but true ADD is pure physiological chemical differences.

Right, but why does it need to be a disease? Why should somebody perform well in school in long tasks that require concentration?
 

redacted

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Who used the word disease? Not me...

A little speed makes everyone a little smarter. By speed I mean amphetamines and substitutes like methylphenidate.

I also see ADD as a made up illness, though some do have more trouble concentrating than others.

That's basically my point. All mental illnesses are made up...

So either everyone should be able to take speed or no one should... I give mine away all the time for that reason. I find it unethical that I should have access to something that others don't have access to.
 

LostInNerSpace

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I've been diagnosed with ADD. My own opinion is that people with ADD are just very high on the N scale. We have very poorly developed Sensory function. An intuitive will see a tree and think of a dog because he saw a dog peeing on his favorite tree. A sensate person will see a tree and think of the colors, what it must feel like--all the physical characteristics of the tree.

It's not hard to see how in the class room this might be a problem for a student. The teacher is trying to teach something but the student's mind keeps drifting off topic. This was me in school. I was and still am "a dreamer".
 

563 740

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That's basically my point. All mental illnesses are made up...

Ummm.... What?? Schizophrenics are just "extra imaginative", then? Manic depressives are just "hella emo"? :shock:

So either everyone should be able to take speed or no one should... I give mine away all the time for that reason. I find it unethical that I should have access to something that others don't have access to.

I'm sorry you feel guilty about your meds, but I'm pretty damn sure most people would forgo "extra testing time" for "the ability to remember doctor appointments/be on time for things/not go through life as a total space cadet"...

If your core issue is that not everyone can get the controlled substances that you do, then just switch to something that isn't regulated like Strattera or rock it old school with coffee & cigarettes.
 
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