The Technodrome Forums - Mikey's ADHD/ADD

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Mikey's ADHD/ADD

I thought I start a thread on this as alot of people here don't know the full details about ADHD/ADD and keep blaming the writers on treating Mikey badly and think that ADHD/ADD is just an excuse.

First off the writers are doing a great job, they are doing their homework on ADHD and other things that link with ADHD.

They are trying to get the message out there to the world that ADHD is a metal disorder and that millions of children do suffer with it. People who don't know about the condition, blame the parents and think it's a stupid excuse.

Seriously people, you need to do your homework and read up about ADHD/ADD.

Here's few things that connect Mikey with ADHD, I posted this a few months ago in another thread.

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“zoning out” without realizing it (I’m pretty sure we’ve seen him do this at least once)
extreme distractibility; wandering attention makes it hard to stay on track
tendency to overlook details, leading to errors or incomplete work
poor listening skills; hard time remembering conversations and following directions
hyperfocusing (we’ve seen him do this a little with pizza and comics)
poor organizational skills (his room is very messy and cluttered)
constantly losing or misplacing things (we’ve seen this happen at least once IIRC)
blurt out thoughts that are rude or inappropriate without thinking (being brutally honest while under pressure to keep the truth a secret)
have addictive tendencies (pizza)
act recklessly or spontaneously without regard for consequences
sense of underachievement
hypersensitivity to criticism
low self-esteem and sense of insecurity
getting bored easily
trouble sitting still; constant fidgeting
We’ve seen Mikey struggle with this (and start to admit defeat a little, IMO, considering how increasingly noticeable his low self-esteem has become), and try to desperately improve himself to impress his brothers. But they aren’t paying attention because they’re still stuck with their tunnel vision of him.

posted this in the Casey Jones vs The Underworld thread to explain Mikey's behavior in the episode.

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Mikey's behaviour in this episode was due to eating the Cheese balls and he became really hyper. Why? because of Red Dye 42 was in them. Red Dye 42 is mentioned in the episode and it was on the Cheeseball package too.

Red Dye 42 is actually a reference to Red Dye 40, it's a food colouring. Apparently it's mentioned a lot in health news sites they say Red Dye 40 causes health problems and cause hyperactivity in kids especially kids with ADHD and experts want FDA to ban foods containing them.

So thats why Mikey was acting so hyper in the episode because of the Red Dye in the Cheesballs and I applaud the writers for doing there homework on this.

Just put Red Dye 40 in the search engine you come up with results.

So you need to pay attention to the little details in the show, they can end up being really important.

Sorry, couldn't finish the post.

Got distracted by a dime. :P

Sorry I'm adding another post to show some of the amazing things Mikey has done.

(have to put under spoilers as they are big posts.
Also I did not write these, someone put them on Tumblr a few months back, they are not updated either)

He’s compassionate/has a big heart

Spoiler:

He’s really strong, brave, and pretty protective of his brothers/family:

Spoiler:

He’s a hellava lot smarter than his brothers (and a lot of the fans it seems) give him credit for:

Spoiler:

It seemed liked they cooled down a lot on the ADD/ADHD thing, though since season 1, so seeing it pop up again at full force can be disheartening to see at times...but I'm surprised I didn't catch or even think about the red dye thing or the food chemicals affecting his behavior. It was more over the top than usual and I usually make associations like that when something is off as not everything can be viewed as black and white. Good catch.

Boy, I really am distracted by my work and visa predicament...

I highly, highly doubt the people behind the show have put 1/10 as much thought or research into it as you have. It's a throw-away, catch-all phrase that the writers can lean on in order to make Mikey more of a Spaz, because "that's funny". Not that the condition itself isn't real, BUT, it's seriously over-played, over-diagnosed, and it's become a trendy "buzzword" used to describe any kid who's goofy.

I know it's real, because I have friends whose kids have it. There's also degrees of it, as far as some cases being more severe and others more benign. But I'm sensitive to this; my wife was misdiagnosed with ADHD when she was a teenager, back when every kid who talked back or "couldn't concentrate" in school was suddenly "miraculously" discovered to have ADD/ADHD. My wife had, and does NOT have, any symptoms at all of ADHD. Just to be clear. But, she was diagnosed by an "allegedly" trained doctor, and put on medications that caused serious problems including sleep disorders, depression, and suicidal thoughts. God knows what would have happened if she hadn't stopped taking that garbage they put her on. But anyway, she wasn't diagnosed because she had it, she was diagnosed only because it was "hip" and new at the time, and getting your kid hooked on Ritalin is a convenient way to get them to do what you tell them to.

So, anyways, I've seen the whole "ADHD" thing from both sides, and I highly doubt the writers were serious in any way when they first stuck that tag on Mikey. I promise, it was as simple as, "Well, nowadays when kids act like morons, we blame ADHD; Mikey's kind of dumb, so let's use that to explain it." Maybe more recently, they've retroactively put some superficial "symptoms" of it onto him, but I swear that wasn't their original intention; it was a gag, and a lazy one.

I've still seen nothing from Mikey that comes close to anything like the behaviors of my friends' kids of similar age. And as I've said, I'm aware there are degrees of severity. But I maintain, Mikey doesn't have ADHD; he's just stupid. The writers don't want to own up to that, thus, the "miracle diagnosis" used by so many parents, teachers and "doctors" beforehand. It's dumb. Anyone who thinks they're trying to "keep it real" or raise any kind of awareness, or even just make Mikey more sympathetic, is giving this show's writers way too much credit. We've seen how many episodes so far? Frankly, the show's writers aren't that clever, to have even put as much though into it as you'd like to give them. We've seen ample proof of that. :lol:

I just think they make Mikey act like a retard because little kids find it funny. I mean, they're the target audience for this show no matter how you look at it.

I agree with that assessment. Mikey in other versions has NEVER been ADHD or ADD. In Mirage, he was laid-back and a bit lazy at times, told jokes sometimes, and was out-going and friendly, compassionate, and even a bit creative. But NEVER had attention or hyperactive issues. In the OT, he was laid-back, lazy, and a bit goofy at times, told jokes and was "obsessed" with pizza and comics, but still- no ADHD or ADD, just a chilled-out, slightly silly personality.

In the movies, he was very much the laid-back guy like in Mirage, who liked to sit back and relax, was a little lazy (his trying to "cheat" at the punishment in SotO), and liked to annoy Raph. He was fun-loving, told jokes, and had a thing for junk food, but NO ADHD. He was even a bit introspective at times in SotO and TMNT III. He wasn't hyper, didn't have any issues paying attention, and at times even understood Donnie better than the other two when he went into his "techno-speak". (In SotO, he was the first one to realize what Prof. Perry meant about ingesting the anti-mutagen, even before Donnie realized they'd have to FEED it to Tokka and Rahzar!)

In 2K3, he was immature, a bit goofy at times, and obsessed with comics and video games and horror movies, still lazy, and kind of "dumbed down", but NEVER exhibited any signs of ADHD. He pestered Raph and Donnie, but wasn't obnoxiously hyper nor had a short-attention span. Again, he was compassionate and fun-loving, but still knew how to pay attention when needed, and was smart enough to understand most of what went on around him- unless it was Donnie talking.... He also was occasionally a big-headed a$$-hat, but that's another issue.

So WHERE does this "ADHD" come from?! It's a convenient excuse to make him dumb and silly and make REALLY stupid mistakes that a teen his age should KNOW BETTER then to make. Like eating the pizza after MONTHS in the fridge with no power in the latest episode. He would know better than to eat something so old and covered with mold. (In the original film, he wouldn't even touch a pizza that had just a couple day's growth on it!) He also says or does things that are more like the thought-process of a seven-year-old than a kid in his mid-teens. Basically, the writers use the ADHD excuse to make him do things that NO kid that age should/would realistically do. If anything, he's borderline mentally challenged in Nick, which is ALSO something that is only being played "for laughs". It's just plain lazy and uninspired writing, is all it is.

Nick has taken a character who USED to be well-rounded and had interesting flaws AND positive attributes, and has "taken it up to 11" with the negative ones, making them FAR worse than they've ever been and even adding NEW ones, while making the positive ones nearly non-existent, just for the sake of making him what is considered (by six-year-olds) to be "funny".

Holy long posts! :o

Nice ready, cheers for sharing! :D

Mikey having ADHD makes no sense.

Mikey being a 24/7 toker, on the other hand, makes perfect sense. In every single incarnation. Too bad Nick can't just "go there". It's not like the kid's fooling anybody.

Is there any official source stating Mikey has ADHD? I don't think it was ever mentioned in an episode and the only place I've seen it listed is Turtlepedia, which anyone can edit. I'd be honestly surprised if Nick put in a mental illness for it's character, even if it's a positive heroic character used. Just seems a bit of a liability, given that uppity soccer mums went crazy after a My Little Pony character was named Derpy. I tried looking for his bio and failed, Nick.co.uk's one doesn't show it, I've been told on the USA site it does, but can't really get on there without being redirected.

I've heard Big Bang Theory fans asking if Sheldon Cooper has autism, and the writers totally deny it, so if a live action sitcom aimed at adults doesn't feel inclined to give a main character a mental disability, I'm betting a Nickelodeon cartoon for children definitely won't!!!

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Originally Posted by Jephael (Post 1435953)

And yet they "did". I have seen it in his character profile on the site, quite a while back, to be sure, but it WAS there as "official". And totally bogus, IMHO. As I said before, he's NEVER had any of those attributes in ANY OTHER VERSION! Though Leo's joke about him being a stoner might apply to the OT and 2K3.... (The junk food obsession, the attitude, the voice....) Hardly in the movies or comics, though. (Bay turtles being a possible exception. I can certainly see him being a "toker" there, LOL!)

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Originally Posted by Orochi (Post 1435944)

When the series debuted, Nick's website had a section with character bios. Michelangelo's stated, I think in the first line or two, that he had ADHD. So it's canon.

Mikey and Raph were both baked in every single scene of the first movie, I don't know how you can't tell. I mean, Raphael keeps a better handle on it, but it's there. And don't even get me started on Casey. Even wide awake, his eyes just refuse to open more than half.

That movie's actually a lot funnier if you can picture a bong just off-screen to the left of every shot.

You're funny, Leo. You should KNOW, it wasn't a bong. Knowing Splinter, it would'a been a hookah.

Remember that time in the Mirage comics where he laced Leo's tea? Hilarious. I totally always wanted to see "Fearless Leader" trippin' balls. Fo' sho.

When stuff like that is canon, I'unno how anyone can doubt that Mikey is fried.

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Originally Posted by Powder (Post 1435962)

When the series debuted, Nick's website had a section with character bios. Michelangelo's stated, I think in the first line or two, that he had ADHD. So it's canon.

Thanks for the help on it, Nick.co.uk doesn't have that as his, just the same generic filler text for him you have on the action figure boxes, so it's good to have some confirmation.

Didn't they drop the whole ADHD aspect before the series started? And honestly, they never should have thought of the idea of giving him ADHD. 2k12 Mikey is just becoming more annoying and outright dumb to the point where Ciro and them either don't know exactly what to do with him or just making him this way for humor's sake.

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Originally Posted by Orochi (Post 1435972)

Thanks for the help on it, Nick.co.uk doesn't have that as his, just the same generic filler text for him you have on the action figure boxes, so it's good to have some confirmation.

I myself don't have pictures, but when that promotional material was new, people were screencapping it & sharing here, for those who couldn't view it on-site. So if you can dredge up some of the old-ass threads from... early 2012, I think, you might find them.

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Originally Posted by Powder (Post 1435974)

I found a few on Deviantart, says he has major ADD so it was on the site for sure. I'm wondering if that actually was the case now or if they've retconned him to just be kinda weird. He honestly just strikes me as some Ralph Wiggum-esque savant rather than suffering from ADHD.