Time to Focus Correctly on ADHD

Anyone who believes Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is not a legitimate disease clearly doesn’t have it. Nor do they experience the agony of watching their children struggle with its challenges on a daily basis.

Most successful public policy activists I know seem to have it. Creativity, extroversion, boundless energy, and an ability to hyperfocus on a single issue while remaining aware of every nuance of the surrounding environment are all cardinal signs of ADHD ... and of effective public policy warriors.

ADHD Exists

No other childhood illness is viewed with more prejudice than is ADHD. When its symptoms and effects are misrepresented and misreported, the implication is that victims of this disease—children already at great risk as they struggle with academic requirements and appropriate peer interactions—are somehow at fault.

Would we find a victim of juvenile diabetes at fault for the dysfunction of his pancreas? Of course not! Then why is it acceptable to imply that children with ADHD symptoms are somehow responsible for the visible manifestations of their dysfunctional brains?

Studies show the brains of children with ADHD are smaller than those of healthy kids due to abnormalities in three specific brain areas. The size variations in an ADHD brain create a “lopsided” effect in the usually symmetrical brain.

Chemically, receptors in an ADHD brain do not work effectively, as the neurotransmitter dopamine is not produced at normal levels. This anomaly in dopamine production occurs in the area directly associated with attention and emotive behavior.

Approximately 5 percent of school-age children suffer from ADHD. It is three to four times more prevalent in boys than in girls. The reason for this disparity is not yet understood ... but it certainly has nothing to do with Gloria Allred’s theory that boys should play with dolls and be more like girls— i.e. quieter. Boys are different, and something in their physical brains makes them more susceptible to the disorder.

Brain-imaging techniques do show that the chemical and physical abnormalities of ADHD boys are identical to those of ADHD girls. This is no more evident than in my house. I have one of each, the girl being more affected than the boy. Moreover, my own self-awareness tells me I will have to get up out of my chair at least three times and do something else in order to focus on this important text.

Coping with ADHD

Fortunately for my children and 20 million other kids, there are medications available today that allow them to cope with the symptoms of ADHD and help them avoid being labeled by their teachers or peers as “weird” or “stupid.” Drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall quiet abnormal activity in the frontal lobe and allow sufferers to control their impulses and focus their attention.

Studies indicate these medications are completely safe when properly administered. Unfortunately, some parents and children’s advocates have bought into disinformation about ADHD, thus playing directly into the hands of trial lawyers who see the “myth of ADHD” movement as a post-tobacco litigation meal ticket—shaking down the pharmaceutical companies.

The ideological and political community in which I reside is all about individual responsibility and families. We know lack of accountability is costly to taxpayers and causes government to grow. Denying the existence of ADHD has a direct impact on these cornerstone principles.

Untreated ADHD contributes to lower college graduation rates, under-employment, marital instability, and substance abuse—all known causes of increased dependency on government. Being a responsible parent includes doing what is medically necessary for the health and success of a child. When those who generally tout the importance of family nevertheless criticize parents for seeking treatment for ADHD, they become the self-appointed busybodies they usually denounce.

I don’t disagree that the government-run school system tends to look for the path of least resistance when it comes to dealing with “difficult” kids. But to reflexively assume, as some activists have, that ADHD is a plot hatched by the education establishment to keep children submissive in their seats is not only uninformed, but insulting to responsible parents who recognize and treat their child’s consistent, detrimental—and make no mistake, painful—inattentive and impulsive behaviors.

Managing this disorder requires a combination of medication, coping systems, and consistent discipline. My children see everything, notice everything, and feel everything. I tell them to celebrate their difference—to embrace the gift that is ADHD and the remarkable perception of the world that comes with it. I hope no one else ever tries to tell them otherwise.