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I am perennially asked whether I do or do not “believe” in autism. I suspect that on most occasions, it’s a test. Nonetheless, it’s a fair question that usually takes this form: “I know you don’t believe in ADHD; but do you believe in autism?” To be clear, it would be absurd of me to deny that there are children – plenty of them, relatively speaking – who frequently exhibit behaviors associated with the bogus diagnosis of ADHD (attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder). Those kids are problematic, for sure. But no one has ever proven that they “have” something. Childhood behavior disorders...

The expert's name is Russell Barkley, MD (YouTube), Psychiatrist. The 1st principle is, 'Most people aren't against you, they're just for themselves.' You can fool them all, so they'll never guess, if you just never, never have a blowout in their presence. Just always be the same, just sit still and shut up.

Where did it all begin? What is the primary cause for what we are seeing in the past 35 years with school shootings? A) Prior to 1947, child raising was by role modeling parent’s strict upbringing, high expectations, moralist traditions, religious guidance, patterned family’s generations. The belt, wooden spoon, often the hand was commonly used in daily spankings. B) 1947 Dr. Spock published his book on Child rearing, within a decade a perceptible change began to develop in American families. Under Spock’s influence, parents watched their children become sassy, contentious; increasing numbers became juvenile delinquents and criminals. Over the last...

However, the high number might not be entirely reflective of how many kids actually have ADHD, said Dr. Scott Benson, a psychiatrist at the Creekside Psychiatric Center in Pensacola, Florida. Many children, especially those living in poverty or dealing with challenges at home, may struggle to focus. That's natural given the stressors they're dealing with, but it may cause some doctors to question whether the child has ADHD. Inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity are symptoms of ADHD, according to the American Psychiatric Association. "We know one of the common errors is misdiagnosis," said Benson, who was not involved with the study....

Exposures of pregnant women and children to common thyroid-hormone-disrupting toxins may be linked to the increased incidence of brain development disorders, according to a review published in Endocrine Connections. The review describes how numerous, common chemicals can interfere with normal thyroid hormone actions, which are essential for normal brain development in foetuses and young children, and suggests a need for greater public health intervention. We have reviewed the documented exposures of pregnant women and children to mixtures of thyroid-hormone-disrupting chemicals and propose that the data sets provide a plausible link to the recent increased incidence of neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism...

The controversial sand vests, which weigh between 2.7 and 13lbs, are being used by 200 schools in the country despite some parents criticising them. Schools say the vests, which cost between £124 and £150, are very effective at calming down hyper children and those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They also say it’s a better way at tackling the problem than using drugs such as Ritalin.

ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. - Two middle school teachers are out of their jobs after giving an award to an eighth-grade student. A student at Memorial Middle School in Conyers, who has ADHD, was given the "Most Likely to Not Pay Attention" award at a school assembly this week. Some parents said the award is insensitive and the teachers should have known that it was not right. "Teachers are supposed to know what conditions their students have, and then to give them an award, that's totally ridiculous," parent Cheryl Davis said.

One in seven American children aged 2 to 8 suffers from a mental, behavioral or developmental problem, federal health officials report. Researchers analyzed data supplied by parents in the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health, looking for reported speech and language problems, learning disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, anxiety and more. "Based on the number of kids affected, this is something we need to pay attention to," said lead researcher Jennifer Kaminski, team leader for child development studies at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The researchers found that young children with mental, behavioral or...

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is vastly over-diagnosed with many cases simply immature children who are the youngest in their class. […] Around three to seven percent of British children are believed to have ADHD, about 400,000, with many being prescribed drugs to try and improve their concentration at school. […] Now a study of nearly 400,000 children between four and 17 years old in Taiwan has shown that the percentage of youngsters diagnosed with ADHD significantly changes depending on month of birth. Where just 2.8 percent of boys born in September have the condition, the figure jumps to 4.5...

FULL TITLE: Watchdog Says Report of 10,000 Toddlers on ADHD Drugs Tip of the Iceberg—274,000 0-1 Year Olds and 370,000 Toddlers Prescribed Psychiatric Drugs Mental health watchdog Citizens Commission on Human Rights says a new report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the 10,000 toddlers being prescribed ADHD drugs, is only the tip of the iceberg regarding children being prescribed psychiatric drugs in the U.S. According to IMS health, more than 274,000 0-1 year olds are being prescribed psychiatric drugs and a staggering 370,000 toddlers.

(NOTE: PLEASE READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE) (snip) You get the idea. These young men were all on prescribed medication. Feminism helped to get them there. In particular, female teachers who either dislike men or are completely ignorant of healthy behaviour norms for boys are creating a generation of emotionally stunted, drugged up young men. Millions of young American men are prescribed powerful drugs after being diagnosed with the phantom condition “ADHD,” better known as a mixture of natural boisterousness and poor parental discipline. The mere fact of being male has become pathologised. When they get into their teens and early...

A few years ago, this column discussed certain disturbing findings regarding psychiatry and its relationship with the pharmaceutical industry: The major psychoactive drugs are no better than placebos; the “chemical imbalance” theory of mental illness is mostly nonsense; and psychoactive drugs are being given to children as young as two. The first finding was buried in clinical trials of antidepressants, in which side effects of real drugs (such as dry mouth) could be emulated in an otherwise non-active agent (aka removing “unblinding bias”). In these cases, there was absolutely no difference in efficacy between the antidepressant and the placebo. As...

Matrimony or Bust – Another Glimpse at the Why and How of Traditional Marriage’s Demise By: Msgr. Charles PopeAll the way back in 1973, George Guilder published a book called Men and Marriage. He expanded and republished it in 1986. In his book, Guilder argued that our culture was marginalizing men, to its great peril. He articulated the critical role that marriage has in helping men focus their sexual energies in a creative and beneficial way. Women have their nurturing role rather clearly defined in the very design of their bodies. But men’s role in the raising of children and in society...

Health Canada may have unduly “terrified” families Monday with a surprise warning that an array of widely used ADHD drugs could boost the risk of suicidal thoughts or actions in patients, says a prominent psychiatrist. With more than four million prescriptions for the medications dispensed yearly in Canada, the regulator said new and stronger warnings will soon be included in the products’ labelling to reflect the possible suicide-related risk. It also advised patients and their families to keep an eye out for the side effect, while stressing that the drugs’ benefits continue to outweigh their potential risks. Still, one specialist...

Federal health regulators have approved an attention deficit disorder drug for a new use: A first-of-its kind treatment for binge-eating disorder. […] The Food and Drug Administration originally approved Vyvanse in 2007 as a once-a-day pill for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. On Friday, the agency cleared the drug for adults who compulsively overeat. Vyvanse, known chemically as lisdexamfetamine dimesylate, is part of a family of drugs that stimulate the central nervous system. The drug’s prescribing label warns that Vyvanse has a “high potential for abuse and dependence,” and doctors should monitor patients for signs of dependence. …

The Centers for Disease Control tells us that in recent years there has been a jump in the percentage of young people diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, commonly known as ADHD: 7.8 percent in 2003 to 9.5 percent in 2007 and to 11 percent in 2011. The reasons for the rise are multiple, and include changes in diagnostic criteria, medication treatment and more awareness of the condition. In the following post, Angela Hanscom, a pediatric occupational therapist and the founder of TimberNook, a nature-based development program designed to foster creativity and independent play outdoors in New England, suggests...

How crazy is it to drug babies? ……… An adventurous group of cowboy child psychologists invented a new and untested diagnostic category (with the ridiculous name 'Sluggish Cognitive Tempo') that would be a wonderful target for additional inappropriate stimulant use. …. "Treating babies with stimulants is based on no research, is reckless, and takes no account of the possible harmful long-term effects of bathing baby brains with powerful neurotransmitter drugs."

By the time they reach high school, nearly 20 percent of all American boys will be diagnosed with ADHD. Millions of those boys will be prescribed a powerful stimulant to "normalize" them. A great many of those boys will suffer serious side effects from those drugs. The shocking truth is that many of those diagnoses are wrong, and that most of those boys are being drugged for no good reason—simply for being boys. It's time we recognize this as a crisis.

One in 68 children has autism, a 30 percent rise over the last estimate released in 2012, US health authorities said Thursday. The latest US data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the "proportion of children with autism and higher IQ (is) on the rise," said a CDC statement. Previously, as many as one in 88 US children were known to have autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, a developmental disorder that recent research suggests may originate in the womb. "This new estimate is roughly 30 percent higher than previous estimates reported in 2012 of 1 in...

The child would daydream in class, his elementary-school teachers said. He often just didn’t pay attention the way they would have liked. This was before the age of prevalent ADHD diagnoses and Ritalin, so no remedy was at hand, either. If one had been, though, who knows what he might have been? Perhaps not co-valedictorian of his school — which he was. I was that child. And were I attending school today and especially if my behavior had been worse, it’s likely I’d have received that fashionable diagnosis. And why not? It seems everyone now could have ADHD. This point...