The dubious conversations of DSM-4R

Now, what about this ‘Diagnostic and statistical manual 4', which has provided us with our standard list of the symptoms of ‘AD/HD’?
Here’s some more about it. These observations came from an article called “The Great Waste�.
“In 1952, the American Psychiatric Association published its DSM. It listed over 100 mental disorders, 112 to be exact, up from 7 in 1880.
In 1968, the manual was revised and called the Diagnostic and statistical manual 2.
It listed 163 mental disorders, including a whole new category of “Behavior Disorders of Childhood and Adolescence.� These new ailments – each of which could be considered a “handicap� – appeared shortly after psychiatry procured federal funding for treating handicapped children.
Commentary in the Diagnostic and statistical manual 2 revealed that the listed “disorders� had not been established by scientific evidence but by a committee which voted on whether they existed. Later versions of the DSM I used this same “scientific� criterion – “electing� new disorders.
When the Diagnostic and statistical manual IVR was published in 1994, the number of mental disorders listed jumped to 374. While this manual provides an extensive list of mental disorders, it admits that no definition specifies precise boundaries for the concept of a “mental disorder�.“
And there’s more. In the same article, psychiatrist Al Parides offers this opinion...
“The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition DSM-IV is also a masterpiece of deception. Shrouded in the rhetoric of “science�, every human emotion, experience, habit and activity is listed as a symptom of a mental “disorder�.
Johnny’s trials learning math have become code number 315.1, “mathematics disorder�. His refusal to take out the trash is number 313.8, “oppositional defiant disorder� and Judy’s trouble with her English essay is number 315.2, “disorder of written expression�.
Parents of typical children – those who fidget; fail to pay close attention or follow through with homework; make mistakes in schoolwork; blurt out answers; run about; climb excessively; or are “on the go� – are frequently told their children have “Attention Deficit Disorder With/out Hyperactivity� . They are also told this is a “brain disease� caused by a “chemical imbalance in the brain� and their child needs to take addictive “medication� to correct it.�
You might also like to consider this, from the September 6, 1999 edition of Vancouver’s ‘North Shore News’:
“In his 1997 book Shadow Syndromes, Dr. John Ratey claims that quirky behaviours are actually mild mental illnesses resulting from brain dysfunction. The lout who is appropriately obsequious with the boss because he knows where his bread is buttered but who is less dainty with the wife, even thumping her occasionally, would be a candidate for compassion. He is after all doing battle with what Dr. Ratey terms "Intermittent Rage Disorder."
And the dad who dotes on his children while they are around him, but fails to mail them child support money when they are out of sight? He isn't shirking his responsibilities, but is simply afflicted with "Environmental Dependency Disorder" -- he remembers his kids only when they are around.
As you finish reading the end of this article you find yourself awed at the vagueness of the so called Attention Deficit Disorder - (Add) diagnosis.
Really what is going one behind the scenes?
You'll want to read the next article on CHADD. Some interesting findings behind those curtains.

By: Lo Hoe Bing

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Source: To read all the articles in the series adhdgift.com

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