ADHD Does Not Exist

Case 3: ADHD Does Not Exist





Case Overview





In December 1999, Yolanda DuPerret received a phone call from the principal at her son's preschool. Three-year-old Nicolas was "acting up," and "disrupting class." The principal, Cindy Oberdier, wanted the DuPerrets to come in for a meeting because she suspected that Nicolas had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). "He really stuck out like a sore thumb," said Oberdier. "His approach was to bombard everyone with his presence." Nicolas's father, Cyrille DuPerret, is from France, where children are rarely diagnosed with mental disorders. It didn't occur to him that there was anything wrong with his son. "He's just a boy and he's very active and ... we didn't think much of it," said Cyrille. After discussing their son's situation with the school, the DuPerrets met with psychologist Ed Cable, an ADHD specialist. At first, Dr. Cable thought Nicolas might be attending the wrong school. But after he saw a videotape of Nicolas in the classroom, he said, "It was pretty apparent that he was below average in his ability to just stay in one place." In order to determine if Nicolas had ADHD, Dr. Cable proposed using a standard diagnostic tool--the Conners Rating Scale, a checklist of 28 behaviors like "restless in the squirmy sense," "overly sensitive to criticism," "childish and immature," and impulsive. The DuPerrets chose not to formally test Nicolas for ADHD. "The psychologist suggested he might be ADD or ADHD, which were new acronyms for us. And then he suggested also the use of medication. For us, it was like a cold shower," said Cyrille. "He's a handful," said Yolanda. "He is more intense. He is more active. ... I could never understand how that would translate into my son having something wrong with his brain." The DuPerrets chose not to medicate Nicolas. Instead, Cyrille and Yolanda are trying to spend more time with their son. They decided it would be best if they did not both work full-time, so for six months, Cyrille stayed home to take care of Nicolas and his baby brother.

Labels: ADHD Does Not Exist

posted by Robert Heard at 2:57 PM