Well, to be fair. I was diagnosed with ADD. I struggled with it for years. I stopped medicating years ago. When I was taking it , it made me focus but it also had negative side affects. That can be said of any medication almost that "corrects a chemical imbalance". I'm not trying to rock the boat , for I am in the same boat as alot of you. I'm on the artistic side, I'm a day dreamer. Though I'm not on medication right now.
It might not be based on what a single person says , but you can have symptoms of a fictitious disease, but you can't have a fictitious disease. He made it up, it's a misdiagnosis based on symptoms. You're medicated based on symptoms. Life coaching can be something anyone partakes in. I can medicate to have large muscles by taking steroids and working out with others at the gym, that doesn't mean I have a muscle disease. There might be something chemically wrong with children but it's not ADD. ADD wasn't ever really discovered , it's fake. When I was diagnosed it was a simple test I think and I answered questions. They just started medicating me, that is as scientific as the process was as I can remember it.
Some can , and can not stop medicating for ADD. It's not universal, a lot of "diseases" you can't really stop medicating for.
I don't want to offend anyone. I was diagnosed with ADD too because I was a day dreamer in grade school and too busy drawing art sketches and couldn't focus on what the teachers wanted me to. I struggled in college my first semester , even second thinking I had ADD and all throughout High School. Until , finally I started doing well in college, meeting the requirements. I've been passing all my course work since. As, Bs, Cs. I'm not a straight A student, I'm not that serious about it. I've always been a day dreamer and my mind has always wandered.
I still like to think about this, as I've been off medication for about 10 years now. Of course I took it very personally when my father hit me too and yelled at me I was retarded because my mind couldn't do mathematics. Literally pulled my hair out and screamed that I was a dumbie retard boy. ( This got real for me, very real...)
I just read a yahoo answers post that I found interesting.
just some guy said:
I think the real answer is that you learn to manage it. Don't make excuses for behavioral problems on the ADHD. I had it as a child and stil do as an adult. I didn't know how to control it as a child and my parents just beat me instead of teaching me. For a long time I didn't understand what was "wrong" with me. But now with a few years of therapy I understand it better. I think having ADHD isn't really a problem and certainly doesn't need medication. My two sons had it too. People with ADHD tend to be VERY creative and incredibly smart. That's what you need to reinforce rather than the "diease" the child has. ADHD is NOT a diease it can even be a blessing. My nine year old son is very gifted at most everything he tries. So is my eldest son. Both are incredibly smart and did very well in school. Things come easy to them that don't for others. Same goes for me, to a point anyway. I think that people with ADHD should be encouraged to exercise. Exercise can mean a lot of different things, running, skate boarding, riding a bike, skating, walking, taking the dog for a walk.
Also with my youngest son I had to become very creative. He is easily distracted. I taught him how to "re-direct" his energy and now does it on his own. He knows when he is getting out of control and does something to control it. My eldest son was on medication for awhile. I won't put my youngest on it unless his life is greatly harmed by it. He does very well and it's because he's been taught to. It takes a lot of work and time but it really is worth it.
I truly believe that, if well watched, ADHD doesn't have to mean trouble it can mean creativity, intelligence and can produce a wonderfully funny and brilliant person.
Many famous people have ADHD along with other problems. Such as the lead singer of Blue October, Jim Carey (I think that's spelled wrong) and many, many other artists. If you really look at some singers, writers and artists you can recongize similar behaviour as your nephew. I would say encourage him as much as you and his parents can. A little love works miracles. I strongly believe that, if well managed, ADHD can be a blessing. Kind of like that saying "a diamond in the rough"- that might just be your nephew.
The amount of children being medicated for ADD has inclined over the past few decades. My professors have told me that I was intelligent. Nearly all of them. HAHA, they have also told me that I was drifty or too imaginative for my own good. I also struggle in simple things ,at first anyways, like lighting a grill or tying my shoes. It took me years to learn to tie my shoes. I didn't learn my days of the week until 8th grade. It was hard for me as a child to button my jacket up.
When I took college math tests this semester I was very anxious . I was pent up on energy but I got a 95 percent on most exams. I was nervous and had anxiety. To this day I have severe anxiety but I'm socially introverted and don't know how to relate to people. When I focus on a task I really try to zone in. I did take tutoring all semester look and though I didn't always need it , it helped me remain focused.
I've thought alot about all of my struggles too. It's been hard for me too I'm not judging anyone. I've tried to come to peace with all of this, everyone is different. I've done lots of thinking about myself over the past several years. I couldn't stay on those medications they made me sick. Though, each to their own. I don't want to make a solid case for or against medicating, but for me the choice has been made not to medicate. I don't want to suggest that everyone can make the same choice.
I've gone my whole first half of my life being told I was stupid and worthless by my father, abused even. I've earned the right to feel better about myself. My professors pulled through for me without knowing my past. They were there to tell me I was intelligent, there to support me. I deserved that much having been put down and hurt for so long before. I was off medication and able to prove that I was creative, intelligent. That was fantastic. There might be something different or even wrong with my brain than others but I live with it. I'm not saying everyone can live with their diagnosis and maybe there's something different about all of us since ADD is fictitious. Maybe we've been misdiagnosed. Everyone is different and some can and can not go without medication. I don't feel that we can say that simply sharing symptoms makes this universal as some sort of universal disorder especially when it's not a real disease and people can respond to it differently as individuals. I get sick even thinking of the medication, worse years of my life.
Though everyone is different and that's fine. I've lived long enough to have my own personal feelings about this "disease". I hope everyone can understand that, especially those who struggle with it their self. I'm sure some of you are sick and tired of all those medications you tried , some of which messed with your mood or diet...and you just want to finally put this whole thing to rest and stick to what works. I understand. I went through several medications all of which made me sick and finally I tried going without and it was difficult but it's been possible. Again, I'm not saying everyone should do this because there's no telling what you as individuals are facing because ADD was made up to begin with. I'm not here to judge and I haven't the faintest what struggles you all face as individuals just that we have some of the same symptoms to a fictitious disease.
Though the medications had some positive effects on me, because they were for a made up disease and still made me sick, depressed , I also question if they were the entirely "correct" medications.