I'm loving this more and more.

~~Leo656~~ · 09-09-2013, 11:46 PM

My problem is that that list of symptoms described literally every kid I knew growing up, including myself, to various degrees. It can be almost like "seasonal depression"; lots of people get to feeling down when it gets dark at 4pm and it's freezing cold outside; not all of them need to take pills to "fix" it. Some do.

I know for a fact some people do have ADD/ADHD; a few of my friends' kids have it, some of them fairly severe, and it's pretty obvious they're not quite like everyone else. I also know a lot of people who were diagnosed yet show none of the compulsive symptoms; some of them were just really hyperactive kids or teens but otherwise totally normal. They like the pills, because heck, who doesn't like amphetamines, but some have admitted to me they really feel like they were misdiagnosed "because the medication made it easier for their parents and teachers to handle them". There's certain "tics" that often distinguish between the actual disorder, certain compulsive behaviors the person afflicted really can't control.

The problem is that pretty much any doctor can give a diagnosis of ADHD, but many of them aren't actually able to properly test for it in the first place. So it becomes a kind of "catch-all" diagnosis, which is problematic because there is a distinction between those who really have it, those who have it to a lesser degree, and kids who are just hyperactive. For one thing, seeing people who have been diagnosed yet appear perfectly normal makes others completely disbelieve in it, which is why it's so controversial.

It's real, but it's over-diagnosed. And some of Mikey's behaviors go beyond it; I think the writers just use it as a catch-all to explain all his quirky and less-than-bright behaviors, and everything in between. And frankly, he would have been self-diagnosed anyway, which means nothing. What doctor, honestly, would ever have tested and diagnosed him? WebMD? Doesn't count.

I think the writers just decided to make him "a type" and play it really aggressively, adding the ADHD description as a way to avoid criticism.

09-09-2013, 11:46 PM	#11
~~Leo656~~ Banned Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: nWo Country Posts: 27,703	My problem is that that list of symptoms described literally every kid I knew growing up, including myself, to various degrees. It can be almost like "seasonal depression"; lots of people get to feeling down when it gets dark at 4pm and it's freezing cold outside; not all of them need to take pills to "fix" it. Some do. I know for a fact some people do have ADD/ADHD; a few of my friends' kids have it, some of them fairly severe, and it's pretty obvious they're not quite like everyone else. I also know a lot of people who were diagnosed yet show none of the compulsive symptoms; some of them were just really hyperactive kids or teens but otherwise totally normal. They like the pills, because heck, who doesn't like amphetamines, but some have admitted to me they really feel like they were misdiagnosed "because the medication made it easier for their parents and teachers to handle them". There's certain "tics" that often distinguish between the actual disorder, certain compulsive behaviors the person afflicted really can't control. The problem is that pretty much any doctor can give a diagnosis of ADHD, but many of them aren't actually able to properly test for it in the first place. So it becomes a kind of "catch-all" diagnosis, which is problematic because there is a distinction between those who really have it, those who have it to a lesser degree, and kids who are just hyperactive. For one thing, seeing people who have been diagnosed yet appear perfectly normal makes others completely disbelieve in it, which is why it's so controversial. It's real, but it's over-diagnosed. And some of Mikey's behaviors go beyond it; I think the writers just use it as a catch-all to explain all his quirky and less-than-bright behaviors, and everything in between. And frankly, he would have been self-diagnosed anyway, which means nothing. What doctor, honestly, would ever have tested and diagnosed him? WebMD? Doesn't count. I think the writers just decided to make him "a type" and play it really aggressively, adding the ADHD description as a way to avoid criticism.