ADD and thoughts on "mental disabilities"

[Evan]

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]

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.

[Evan]

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.

Originally Posted by Lalaru

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]

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.

[Evan]

How are you guys related?

[FDG]

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]

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]

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]

Originally Posted by FDG

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.

[colmena]

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.