THE ADHD EPIDEMIC
It’s Very Real – And Very Misunderstood
There is currently an unprecedented epidemic of children with symptoms
associated with ADHD.
• 3% to 10% of all American children have symptoms that result in a diagnosis of ADHD.
• 3.5 million children are on ADHD medications.
• 1.5 million adults are on ADHD medications.
• 2 times as many adults are on ADHD medications now than in the year 2000, and the
number keeps rising, as the Ritalin Generation reaches adulthood.
• $3.1 billion was spent on ADHD drugs in 2005, almost 4 times as much as the amount spent
in 2000.
• 90% of all the Ritalin and other ADHD drugs in the world are consumed in America.
The rise in the incidence of ADHD symptoms closely tracks the rise in the
incidence of autism. Both conditions were relatively rare until approximately the
late 1980s, then rocketed upwards. Many researchers and clinicians, including
myself, believe that this twin spike occurred primarily because of toxic factors in
modern life, coupled with the current widespread failure to detoxify, due mostly to
heavy metal poisoning and nutritional deficits.
The net result has been an explosion of not just autism and ADHD, but also
allergies and asthma.
The symptoms associated with ADHD are undeniably real, but the catch-all label
of ADHD is frequently arbitrary, and misapplied. For example, some of the traits
that are used to define ADHD are often just personality quirks or normal
differences.
• Is restlessness a psychiatric disorder?
• Is impatience?
• Is individuality?
• Does talking too much really warrant medication?
The fact is, many children labeled with ADHD do quite well when they are in
unrestricted, unstructured environments, in which they are rewarded for their
energy, independence, creativity, and individuality. Partly because ADHD is often
just a normal variance in personality, at least half the children diagnosed with
ADHD don’t become adults who are diagnosed with ADHD, even though their
personalities generally do not change very much. These people are simply more
comfortable and effective in adult environments that are of their own choosing, as
they work on tasks that interest them.
Gifts Often Come With Deficits – And Deficits With Gifts
Many people with ADHD, just like many people with autism, have very special gifts,
which frequently exist in direct proportion to their deficits. It’s wonderful to be well-
rounded, but many of the greatest people in history – from Edison to Einstein –
were not at all well-rounded. They were single-minded, inspired, individualistic,
quirky people who were highly focused in some areas and scattered in others.
Realistically, many of them probably would never have been blessed with their
notable mental surpluses without corresponding degrees of mental or emotional
deficits. That is a fact of not only neurology, but also lifestyle.
You can’t have it all.
This doesn’t mean, though, that most ADHD symptoms are harmless. The
negative symptoms often cause alienation, confusion, distress, and a failure to
achieve. Our goal as parents and doctors should be to leave our children’s unique
personalities and mental powers intact, but to help them overcome the particular
symptoms that cause them pain. We should do this by using individualized, non-
invasive therapies that do not simply mask symptoms, but correct their root
causes.
Give Your Kids the Help They Need
Don’t Limit Treatment Solely to a Medication That They May Not Even Require
ADHD Medications Help Some Kids – But Not Others
Many Children Need to Move Beyond Stimulant Medications
Ritalin, the most commonly used ADHD medication, achieves its effects by
enhancing the activity of dopamine, one of the brain’s primary neurotransmitters,
which is associated with attention, a positive mood, and physical grace. Many
doctors believe that most kids with ADHD have a deficiency of dopamine activity,
and that when it is boosted, the children will feel happier, will be better able to
control themselves, and will have longer attention spans. It is rather paradoxical
that a stimulant could not only help calm down hyperactive children, but also wake
up inattentive children, but that’s how the drug seems to work – most of the time.
In about 30% of all kids, though, Ritalin does not appear to work well at all.
• It makes some hyperactive kids even more hyper.
• It makes some hyperactive kids too lethargic.
• It makes some inattentive kids even more inattentive.
• It makes some inattentive kids too hyper.
Furthermore, many children experience at least mild side effects, such as
jitteriness, insomnia, or fatigue. Some experience very serious side effects, such
as impaired growth, or significantly impaired appetite.
Therefore, families of kids with ADHD symptoms should look beyond symptom
suppression, and try to solve the underlying causative factors of the disorder.
Thousands of children have done this. Now may be the time for your child to do it.
