Reply to The rise of ADHD on elite campuses

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "The rise of ADHD on elite campuses"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]By definition, ADHD must be present by age 12. Parents and doctors get around this by claiming it was always there, but undiagnosed. However, go back to OP’s original comment. The trends, demographics, and clustering in private schools is statistically significant, which suggests a pattern of manipulation, not late diagnosis. Let’s be honest: this is a scam. [/quote]

That is a mischaracterization of adult ADHD diagnosis. According to criteria referenced in the Merck Manual (DSM-5): for an adult ADHD diagnosis, symptoms must have started before age 12, even if the diagnosis wasn't made then, with at least five persistent symptoms of inattention/hyperactivity-impulsivity causing impairment in two or more settings like work, school, or home. Your innuendo of a plot between parents and doctor is disingenuous at best.

Do you have ADHD or do you have DC with ADHD? If not, why would you post as if you have first hand experience? It does not appear that you are a mental health professional either, given the gross mischaracterizations.[/quote]

Consider the circumstances under which an UMC or wealthy person would have FIVE persistent symptoms of inattention/hyperactivity/impulsivity [b]causing impairment[/b] in TWO or more settings prior to age 12, but not have even been seen by a doctor. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but you're talking about people with health insurance, plenty of access to doctors, and funds for additional testing.

Yes, there have historically been some biases against diagnosing girls, or misreading symptoms in girls. So yes, among those diagnosed later in life, you'd expect to see more girls/women among them.

But realistically, you would expect the vast majority of people diagnosed outside of childhood to be people who grew up in circumstances that made it less likely they would be tested despite exhibiting multiple symptoms in multiple settings to the degree that it impacted their academic, social, or other functioning. Children growing up in poverty, survivors of child abuse and neglect, immigrant kids, and other children whose childhoods were disrupted in ways that would have made it easier to overlook and ignore these issues.

What you would not expect is for a significant number of late diagnoses to apply to people of above average wealth and comfort with access to regular medical care, and who are often part of elite education systems (well funded publics or private schools) that are much more likely to identify social and academic problems early on.

And yet... that's not what is being discussed here.

Many of these people are purchasing diagnoses in order to get access to drugs and accommodations that will help them "excel" in a highly competitive academic environment, and they do not have ADHD and had no significant impairments before age 12. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics