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I remember trying to pin ADHD as a "North American affliction" and after doing some research (read: google ) was disheartened to see that it really does exist in most countries.

(I guess I thought that if I could isolate it to North America that would have meant that it was more environmental than biological and therefor easy to change).

I did read somewhere that it's more prevalent on the east coast, but that could just be a reflection of population? Not sure.

Very clearly anything that leads to issues (attention disorders, anxiety, autism, schizophrenia...) in children.

Bad parent doesn't equal abusive parent, necessarily.

It's not like I don't believe it exists AT ALL, just not in the numbers that some countries claim.

I feel like there is a rotation in pop media with this same headline.

American parents are horrible compared to (insert French, Asian or Scandinavian) parents.

I'd characterize it more as a cycle of gross overgeneralization, evidence to the contrary, new gross overgeneralization, rinse, repeat. Parenting just happens to be one of the topics.

I think ADHD is overdiagnosed, mismanaged and mistreated, but I hate that freaking Psychology Today article. What a bunch of ignorant, parent-blaming claptrap. ADHD is real, even if some doctors diagnose it at the drop of a hat, even if there are real and serious problems with how it's currently being treated, and even if the educational system has some very real culpability in its overdiagnosis. I shudder when I think of parents of kids who have ADHD reading that piece. France is all kinds of messed up in terms of how it deals with neurodiversity. Let's not take it as a model.

BTW, Psychology Today is now like Forbes in that anybody seems to be able to write any wacktastic piece and publish it under their banner. The Internet really is starting to suck more and more. Nobody can tell anymore what's actual journalism and what isn't.

ITA. The author is also apparently shilling for her drug-free pseudo-therapy program. She's not a scientist, she's a salesperson. Why anyone should take her opinion as valid is beyond me.

DeeDee

That's actually one of the reasons why I like Psychology Today.

It's particularly speculative.

If you're going there for answers, though, you're going to the wrong place.

The Internet is mostly just people talking to each other.

It's not a source of Truth or Fact.

"Yeah, only a stupid idiot would believe that article".

This article didn't influence my opinion- the many people in my life who were wrongly diagnosed with ADD did. Plus, commonsense.