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ADD & ADHD EPIDEMIC OF A PHANTOM DISEASE ADD ADHD EPIDEMIC PHANTOM DISEASE There is no proof that "attention deficits" in children are anything but normal human variants, yet medical practitioners are labelling more and more children with this diagnosis and giving them dangerous stimulant drugs to control their behaviour. ttention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is a completely unproven and highly questionable diagnosis, yet it is the basis for putting tens of thousands of Australian children on dangerous stimulant drugs. ADD and its popular sub- type Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) were invented and not discovered, and efforts to popularise these diagnoses are based on politics and economics and have little to do with medicine. In 21st-century Australia, when a child habitually "misbehaves" he or she is said to have a "disease". There are absolutely no organic or physiological findings to substantiate the existence of any "disease". "Symptoms" of this "disease" include such things as standing when told to sit, fidgeting, and not being happy about doing chores or homework. Since when did these childhood behaviours, ranging from normal to non- compliant, become a disease? Anyone with a modicum of common sense can read the diagnostic criteria for ADD or ADHD and see the absurdity of this invented "disease". When the medical community and the pharmaceutical companies—the chief proponents of this disease model—admit that they don't know what "causes" this strange disease and cannot even prove it exists, the chuckles evoked from reading the diagnostic criteria change to gasps of disbelief. When we learn that tens of thousands of Australian children are being drugged with powerful and dangerous drugs based on this invented "disease", the gasps turn to cries of outrage. There are vast implications in labelling children as "diseased" for behaviour considered undesirable and then drugging them into compliance. Do we want children growing up believing that the answer to their problems lies in taking drugs? Do we want children learning that they are not responsible for their own behaviours and can instead blame a mysterious "disease"? Do we want to allow organised psychiatry, which as recently as 25 years ago told us that homosexuality is a "disease", to label childhood misbehaviour as a "disease" in the absence of any proof? Do we want a society that pathologises non- compliance and values conformity over individuality, creativity and free expression? The physical safety and emotional well-being of Australia's children are being threat- ened by the ADHD/ADD diagnosis and the accompanying proliferation of stimulant drug prescriptions. A comprehensive inquiry must go beyond the self-protective jargon of the medical/pharmaceutical community and ensure, at the very least, that parents and children are exposed to all sides of this controversy and given an opportunity for meaningful informed consent before accepting this diagnosis and filling their prescriptions. Key Points ¢ The number of children diagnosed throughout Australia as having "ADHD" (or "ADD") continues to skyrocket. + A significant percentage of these children are placed on stimulant medications, which are highly dangerous drugs with significant short-term and long-term side effects. * The availability of these stimulant medications represents a significant public health threat in Australia. ¢ The "ADHD" diagnosis demonstrably lacks reliability. * The validity of the "ADHD" diagnosis is spurious. * Parents and children are not given enough information to be able to give meaningful informed consent before commencing stimulant treatment for "ADHD". by Bob Jacobs, PsyD, JD © September 2004 NEXUS 11 PSYCHOLOGICAL, SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND LEGAL IMPLICATIONS Email: DrBobQA@aol.com FEBRUARY — MARCH 2005 www.nexusmagazine.com