Kids doing Adderall to score better on tests

Discussion in 'The Political/Current Events Coffee House' started by The Shaw, Jul 3, 2012.

  1. pedro3131 Running the Show While the Big Guy's Gone

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    I think you guys are kind of missing the point here. The criticism is, you see a doctor when you're a kid and get asked a series of questions and then they tell you that "you have add or adhd" and then they give you this prescription. Whether or not you get hooked on it, America is still faced with a generation that thinks that it has some sort of mental defect and needs to be medicated based on a 10 question survey. I remember doing a straw poll on one of my study groups a year or so back and I was one of only 2 out of a group of 20 that wasn't on Ridalin or Adderall.

    To me it's basically a condition made up or popularized by pharmaceutical companies to sell drugs. Sure, there are some kids with genuine problems, but guess what, kids are supposed to have active imaginations and not be able to focus on menial tasks. I find it hard to believe that as a society we go from normal and functioning to 9% (and rising) of all children getting diagnosed and needing a pharmaceutical drug that is banned in most of the world. We're creating a generation of youths that think that they're inherently flawed and that they need medictation in order to live a normal life. That's a prognosis thta makes me very uncomfortable.

    If you google add/adhd controversy there's plenty of echoed sentiment.
  2. UtterlyImpeccable Well-Known Member

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    Yes, Pedro is right. ADHD is common in children in the UK as well, and I don't believe it is a genuine condition. A lot of young children are and have always been extremely excitable/hyperactive.
    Diagnosing it as a condition is pointless but also discourages the children or their parents from trying to stop the child being over excitable through normal means, as they might otherwise have done.
    It creates an entire culture of not being accountable for your own actions (eg. it's not Johnny's fault he was rude to the teacher, he's got ADHD)
    I wonder if we will end up 'diagnosing' every human trait as a condition.
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  3. sirdust Well-Known Member

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    ADHD the new hipster sicknes for overconcearned parents and the pharma industry.
    Just a few month ago i talked to a father of a 10 year old, he sent his son to a doctor on recomendation by the scool, where he was diagnosed with ADHD, but instead of giving him pills, he just sent him to the local football club (me). Turns out the guy is completely normal, he just had a lot of energy in him. And this is not a single occasion, i keep getting ADHD kids into my team, with exception of one, all are perfectly normal. This is ofcourse a totaly subjective and unqualified opinion, but kids(or people for that matter) this days are way overdiagnosed. And giving them pills is just so convinient, it requires no effort from the parents, teachers etc.
    But it is no wonder that in the western world, the largest ammount of addicts are not in Cocain or Herion, but in prescription drugs. And it is not the ghetto blacks/hispanic/random foreigners (in eu) but the average white male/female 40+ that is addicted to drugs.

    To circle back to the op, why would kids not take theese drugs? It is showed to them via their parents, it is easier to take a pill, then to acutaly apply thmselfs and work hard.

    Welcome to the world of prescription drugs, where all the problems solving is just a pill away.

    pathetic!
  4. UnitRico Well-Known Member

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    My mother is noticing the same thing on her school. A lot of small kids are simply stupid, but their parents insist that they're so intelligent they're not being challenged by the school and stuff like that, denying the fact that they've in fact spawned a fucking moron.
  5. PineappleJoe Well-Known Member

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    Why would you need to take a drug to study? You just sit down and fucking do it, it's not that hard.
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  6. UtterlyImpeccable Well-Known Member

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    Yes, it's far easier for a parent to give their children a pill instead of bringing them up properly.

    Although the next question is, should we try to stop this culture, and if so, how?
  7. The Shaw Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second

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    When I was younger I was prescribed ADD, and given Adderall, but my dad noticed the drug drastically changed my behavior, so he took me off the stuff, and instead removed high fructose corn syrup and other shit from my diet, and it worked fine. I was able to study and get good grades again, without the drug. So I think the disorder is a load of shit, but do many people I know buy into it.
  8. scottap25 Well-Known Member

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    I don't agree entirely, but I feel as if ADHD has been blown far out of proportion in most cases. But I know kids who have ADHD, and some are hardly noticeable, while others just can't even sit sill long enough to go to the bathroom, and actively need help.
  9. Viking Socrates I am Mad Scientist

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    Some parents just like to hear that there kid has some sort of problem so they don't reflect on the fact that there kid is an idiot. There propley is some kids who do have actually ADHD but it seems the majority are just diagnosed with it just to be diagnosed. I also agree with Pedro's post.

    On the topic of doing adderall to get better on test, well good for you. You found a way to improve your test scores without actually giving a shit about the test. But hey if you want to take advantage of something and get a good score I'm all for it though I won't do it

    And the same thing happen to me when I was younger, that happen to The Shaw. It could just be a diet problem with alot of children.
  10. pedro3131 Running the Show While the Big Guy's Gone

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    Bringing back to the op, it is a class 2 controlled substance in the states, so it's illegal to take or possess without a prescription. So aside from all the moral issues with the drug, it's illegal in the US unless you've been prescribed it.
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  11. TheEmperorAugustus Well-Known Member

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    The second option is unacceptable. Children, and indeed adults, should not be forced to take a substance with readily known side-effects, brain chemistry altering properties and addictive qualities simply to reach a level playing field.
  12. The Shaw Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second

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    Right, but drug laws only foster disrespect for the law anyway.

    I don't think he was serious about it.
  13. Imperial1917 City-States God of War

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    I follow the law and respect good decisions for the majority - like banning drugs that have no inherit benefit.
    Your argument is invalid.

    :p post here.
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  14. Viking Socrates I am Mad Scientist

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    But does it not have the benefit of posting test scores?
  15. Imperial1917 City-States God of War

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    I have yet to see evidence of that posted here.
    Besides:
    1) Its artificial and not a reflection of actual ability
    2) Tests aren't perfect and don't always reflect ability, no matter how well/bad you do on them.
    3) There is no substance that I can think of that we know every way in which it will interact when in conjunction with other substances. This drug could have serious drawbacks beyond the addiction.
    4) Its addicting. Which tends not to be good.
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  16. The Shaw Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second

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    That's not what I meant, there is an overwhelming amount of people who disrespect the law and don't take it seriously now. That isn't at all to say that nobody respects the law, that's ridiculous. But to many people, the law is considered a joke, and it starts with their realization that marijuana and other drugs aren't worth the law attempting to control it.
  17. Viking Socrates I am Mad Scientist

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    ^So by people you are talking about yourself.
  18. Imperial1917 City-States God of War

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    Viking is right.
    There are those who do and those who do not.
    I would have to see credible stats to verify whether people respect the law or not.
  19. The Shaw Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second

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    As well as over half of all the young people I know, but imperial will probably just ignore me since I don't have figures from a study by the university of Beijing our some shit.

    Edit: fucking called it.
  20. Viking Socrates I am Mad Scientist

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    Obviously you need RT or Vietnam state TV to do a report on this, then its believable.

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