Welcome to From Insults To Respect. As I write this, it is the time of year that for most Americans the fresh new school year is well on its way. It is also the time when we begin to see some teachers becoming frustrated with some of their new students because they won’t sit quietly during lessons, or their attention too frequently wanders. And so, parents…
In earlier posts, I have reviewed the research on ADHD drug treatments. The findings have led me to the conclusion that medicalizing the behavior pattern that medical doctors refer to as symptoms of ADHD causes far more harm than good. New readers can check out my earlier posts on this subject HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. Briefly, the main side effects of the commonly…
Some children, when asked to attend to certain tasks, do so for shorter periods than most. Some are also more energetic. Such children are often said to have Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Although many doctors recommend placing children believed to have ADHD on drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall, many parents refuse to go that route. The evidence that the drugs do not lead to…
In a recent post titled ADHD and Psychiatric Name Calling, I reviewed studies documenting how much is currently being spent annually on ADHD drug treatments. Here are some new numbers provided by Healthline: What are we getting for this? In this post I hope to clarify this issue. As you read it, you will see phrases in blue. By clicking on each, you will be taken…
A few years ago I worked as a school psychologist. One day the mother of a 12-year old boy, who we’ll call Pete, explained to me that upon the urging of one of his teachers, she took him to his pediatrician to be evaluated for ADHD. The pediatrician asked this mother a few questions, diagnosed Pete as having ADHD, and then wrote him a prescription for…
Recently I published a post titled “Name Calling by Psychiatrists: Is it Time to Put a Stop to it?” Among the points that I had tried to make is that psychiatrists falsely claim that the names they use to describe patients are “diagnoses.” In actuality, all that they do is convert someone’s expressed concerns into medical jargon. I soon followed with a post titled “Psychiatric Name…