'Fake' mental disorders

[renegade7]

So I was thinking back to the school year (it's summer now) and remembered this one asshole in one of my classes. He was habitually lazy and didn't do anything, and always had an excuse. One day the teacher started letting him off doing homework, and in the hallway I heard him bragging about why : his case manager had decided he had ADHD, which meant that under the school's special education program meant he was exempt from normal due dates, on top of that he later said that he didn't think ADHD was real, but if it 'got him out of doing work it was okay'.

So, as someone who actually has ADHD, this was a real WTF moment for me. I usually get all my work in at school but it isn't always easy. Secondly I'm on medication for it but focusing in class, or indeed in any situation is still difficult. I have very sharp memory but sometimes I forget things, occasionally really important things, for apparently no reason. I'm usually a bit sleep-deprived too, since the 'hyperactivity' bit makes it nearly impossible to sleep at a reasonable hour ( I got maybe 3 hours of sleep a night during the school year ). I also don't enjoy having to be shadowed by a case worker, or have to give up an hour a day to go to a 'special' study hall, full of people who are quite honestly much more messed up than me. And I also worry that people might actually believe the assholes who say things like that, that I'm just lazy and looking for an excuse.

Basically, my point is, really having ADHD is not fun, and to me it's not just a quick way out of doing schoolwork. It's really annoying to me, knowing that I could easily forget something extremely important, or just phase out during a really important lesson in class despite my best efforts, or having to go to school on only 2 hours of sleep.

So what do other escapists think, how many people claiming to have ADHD do you think really have it, and how many are just lazy dickheads looking for an excuse? Or another question, how often do you think it's intentionally diagnosed so therapists can make a buck of off concerned parents?

 

[darkless]

I think a lot of people claiming to have a lot of things are perfectly fine, now I don't believe they are faking, They are just led to believe they have these conditions by less than reliable doctors or medical staff.

 

[William MacKay]

people who do that shouldnt have special treatment, especially when the people who have the disorder dont because they try hard. and i have a tendancy to phase out randomly and i tend to stay up 5 am, but i'm not sure if i have ADHD. i've been meaning to get tested so i can be sure (i know a few people with it)

also, medical students studying them tend to suffer from hypochondria of medical students, where they believe they have the diseased theyre studying.

 

[aba1]

I hear ya I have ADD and I sure as hell didn't and don't get any free passes in life and ill tell ya college is no cake walk either. I have to sit through 3 hour long lectures every day, it's like toture to me I hurts physically to try and pay attention. I actually failed a class I am brilliantly good at because I couldn't pay attention I kept day dreaming not matter how hard I tried and often missed when the teacher decided to add things to a assignment. So I would hand in what was on the intructions but not all the extra things he asked for and ended up failing n this isnt the first time thats happened either.

 

[Wintermoot]

wasn't it a trend a few years ago to diagnose ADHD at children?
also as a kid the doctors diagnosed ADHD at me even though I was/am perfectly fine (I was re-diagnosed with Aspergers)

also if you really hate him the effects of NOT having ADHD and forced to pop Ritalin is pretty much the same as having a storm in your head (it,s kinda hard to describe but it feels terrible!) also on the outside you kinda look like a zombie (at least according to my parents.)

unlike people in the US I got sent to a special school (no not with people that have down,s kids that also have Autism).
so in a certain sense I got special treatment.(the only real difference is that the classes are smaller.)

 

[altobizzaro]

As a child I was Diagnosed with ADD, then in mid high school ADHD ( apparently got enough XP to level up) and I was giving no special treatment in school,

It was an australian school

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Or another question, how often do you think it's intentionally diagnosed so therapists can make a buck of off concerned parents?

Not the parents. A lot of Psychiatrists receive kickbacks for prescribing kids to certain pharmaceuticals.

 

[Hectix777]

Ummm... That's total bull$#%@, I'm actually more intelligent because of my ADHD. I read, write, and calculate on a college level and I'm about to be a highschool junior. ADHD isn't a disability, it's a cheat code you need to figure out over time. John Lennon, Albert Einstein, even Walt Disney had cases and signs of ADHD and look where they are now: the history books. They're shining examples of what handicapped people can do. It's not a "disability" he's a lazy @$$hole. Sure I'm lazy but I'm working on it, I run two miles a day as well as alternating between upperbody and core/legs to become more active. Get the kid in a diet, get 'em running, and have 'em quit giving people with ADHD a bad name. You wanna know how helpful my ADHD is? At age 3 I was able to say fully formed flawless sentences.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

What I want to know is since when was ADD/ADHD treated the same as autism? I was diagnosed with ADD (initially they thought it was ADHD, but the diagnosis was downgraded), and all I got was a prescription for Ritalin, which I stopped taking because I didn't notice it actually doing anything.

EDIT: Also, did this kid get actually get a professional diagnosis, or did some ignoramus at the school just slap a label on him and call it a day?

 

[Not-here-anymore]

Ummm... That's total bull$#%@, I'm actually more intelligent because of my ADHD. I read, write, and calculate on a college level and I'm about to be a highschool junior. ADHD isn't a disability, it's a cheat code you need to figure out over time. John Lennon, Albert Einstein, even Walt Disney had cases and signs of ADHD and look where they are now: the history books. They're shining examples of what handicapped people can do. It's not a "disability" he's a lazy @$$hole. Sure I'm lazy but I'm working on it, I run two miles a day as well as alternating between upperbody and core/legs to become more active. Get the kid in a diet, get 'em running, and have 'em quit giving people with ADHD a bad name. You wanna know how helpful my ADHD is? At age 3 I was able to say fully formed flawless sentences.

I'm intrigued. So you're saying that your ADHD makes you more intelligent, rather than claiming a high level of intelligence to begin with? What leads you to that conclusion?

OT: Awful lot of fake depressed people out there. Surprisingly high number of real ones, too.
Also, self diagnosed internet Asperger's is always annoying.

 

[Palademon]

I was diagnosed at a leanring assessment centre. Most of my family has it.

Doesn't bother me, but I refuse all medications or ways or delaing with it, because it doesn't cause me many problems, and if it does, it's just part of me.

I do find it annoying how people use it as an excuse, and yes people who do probably don't have it. I remember being put with the stupid people for 2 years just because my handwriting was bad...The kind of people who had "and" on their spelling list.

 

[BlumiereBleck]

So laziness counts as adhd now? Hmmmmm....reminds me of psych class.

 

[StBishop]

I hear ya I have ADD and I sure as hell didn't and don't get any free passes in life and ill tell ya college is no cake walk either. I have to sit through 3 hour long lectures every day, it's like toture to me I hurts physically to try and pay attention. I actually failed a class I am brilliantly good at because I couldn't pay attention I kept day dreaming not matter how hard I tried and often missed when the teacher decided to add things to a assignment. So I would hand in what was on the intructions but not all the extra things he asked for and ended up failing n this isnt the first time thats happened either.

Dunno how it works where you are but in Australia the criteria sheet is a legally binding document and anything not noted on the original physical copy or the originally viewed digital copy is not required legally. If they mark you down for something being absent that was not on the original copy you can get the assignment re-marked and if the assignment is not marked in accordance with the criteria given you, the school (of the university, ie. School of Health Science, School of Astrophysics etc) is legally liable.

So it might be worth bringing that up next time you're in this situation.

You are also allowed to request (demand) the marking rubric for the assignments, this might be a good idea for people with memory problems.

 

[drummond13]

Ummm... That's total bull$#%@, I'm actually more intelligent because of my ADHD. I read, write, and calculate on a college level and I'm about to be a highschool junior. ADHD isn't a disability, it's a cheat code you need to figure out over time. John Lennon, Albert Einstein, even Walt Disney had cases and signs of ADHD and look where they are now: the history books. They're shining examples of what handicapped people can do. It's not a "disability" he's a lazy @$$hole. Sure I'm lazy but I'm working on it, I run two miles a day as well as alternating between upperbody and core/legs to become more active. Get the kid in a diet, get 'em running, and have 'em quit giving people with ADHD a bad name. You wanna know how helpful my ADHD is? At age 3 I was able to say fully formed flawless sentences.

ADHD isn't linked to intelligence. If you happen to be intelligent and have ADHD (as I am and, apparently, you are) then great. But count your blessings. ADHD isn't what gave you that intelligence. There are plenty of ADHD people out there with average or below average smarts.

 

[Hectix777]

Ummm... That's total bull$#%@, I'm actually more intelligent because of my ADHD. I read, write, and calculate on a college level and I'm about to be a highschool junior. ADHD isn't a disability, it's a cheat code you need to figure out over time. John Lennon, Albert Einstein, even Walt Disney had cases and signs of ADHD and look where they are now: the history books. They're shining examples of what handicapped people can do. It's not a "disability" he's a lazy @$$hole. Sure I'm lazy but I'm working on it, I run two miles a day as well as alternating between upperbody and core/legs to become more active. Get the kid in a diet, get 'em running, and have 'em quit giving people with ADHD a bad name. You wanna know how helpful my ADHD is? At age 3 I was able to say fully formed flawless sentences.

I'm intrigued. So you're saying that your ADHD makes you more intelligent, rather than claiming a high level of intelligence to begin with? What leads you to that conclusion?

OT: Awful lot of fake depressed people out there. Surprisingly high number of real ones, too.
Also, self diagnosed internet Asperger's is always annoying.

Well almost a year ago(I'd say about two or three months into my Sophmore year) I took a series of exams to determine the severity of my ADHD or more rather what fields of focus my ADHD affected. What people don't understand is that people with ADHD are actually capable of having higher levels of focus than this without, but only in fields we are interested in. So while a normal person could have B's all across their report card someone with ADHD could have flawless A's in some classes and C's in others. In the test I took it revealed I had a low processing power(the ability to handle and interpret data), but a high vocabulary(writing and speech) and calculation(math) scores. From the data gathered from that test I'm now taking treatments to rewire my brain and configure to work on a higher level. From that test I learned that I write on a college level(I scored a 99.6 out of 100, four tenths of a person scored higher than me), am very punctual and a good conversationalist, a slow reader and writer, and a high mathematic aptitude. The test determined where my focus is pooled. And now I'm trying to fix it.

To put it in in context let's say all people have 100 points of focus they can put into certain fields: a normal person puts 25 points in all four pools but someone with ADHD might put 30 in one pool but 16 in another. See? I'm intelligent but my ADHD gives me an edge, anyone with ADHD has an edge, we just have to figure out how to use it.

 

[Not-here-anymore]

Ummm... That's total bull$#%@, I'm actually more intelligent because of my ADHD. I read, write, and calculate on a college level and I'm about to be a highschool junior. ADHD isn't a disability, it's a cheat code you need to figure out over time. John Lennon, Albert Einstein, even Walt Disney had cases and signs of ADHD and look where they are now: the history books. They're shining examples of what handicapped people can do. It's not a "disability" he's a lazy @$$hole. Sure I'm lazy but I'm working on it, I run two miles a day as well as alternating between upperbody and core/legs to become more active. Get the kid in a diet, get 'em running, and have 'em quit giving people with ADHD a bad name. You wanna know how helpful my ADHD is? At age 3 I was able to say fully formed flawless sentences.

I'm intrigued. So you're saying that your ADHD makes you more intelligent, rather than claiming a high level of intelligence to begin with? What leads you to that conclusion?

OT: Awful lot of fake depressed people out there. Surprisingly high number of real ones, too.
Also, self diagnosed internet Asperger's is always annoying.

Well almost a year ago(I'd say about two or three months into my Sophmore year) I took a series of exams to determine the severity of my ADHD or more rather what fields of focus my ADHD affected. What people don't understand is that people with ADHD are actually capable of having higher levels of focus than this without, but only in fields we are interested in. So while a normal person could have B's all across their report card someone with ADHD could have flawless A's in some classes and C's in others. In the test I took it revealed I had a low processing power(the ability to handle and interpret data), but a high vocabulary(writing and speech) and calculation(math) scores. From the data gathered from that test I'm now taking treatments to rewire my brain and configure to work on a higher level. From that test I learned that I write on a college level(I scored a 99.6 out of 100, four tenths of a person scored higher than me), am very punctual and a good conversationalist, a slow reader and writer, and a high mathematic aptitude. The test determined where my focus is pooled. And now I'm trying to fix it.

To put it in in context let's say all people have 100 points of focus they can put into certain fields: a normal person puts 25 points in all four pools but someone with ADHD might put 30 in one pool but 16 in another. See? I'm intelligent but my ADHD gives me an edge, anyone with ADHD has an edge, we just have to figure out how to use it.

Interesting, thanks for answering. Hmm. Think I might go do some research into this now.
Psychology is interesting!

 

[StBishop]

I was diagnosed at a leanring assessment centre. Most of my family has it.

Doesn't bother me, but I refuse all medications or ways or delaing with it, because it doesn't cause me many problems, and if it does, it's just part of me.

I do find it annoying how people use it as an excuse, and yes people who do probably don't have it. I remember being put with the stupid people for 2 years just because my handwriting was bad...The kind of people who had "and" on their spelling list.

Don't worry man. I was reading at a "third grade level" before I started primary school and my teacher suggested that I needed to be in the "special english class" because I had/have terrible hand writing, and she wasn't aware that I was able to spell and read much more complex words than the ones she provided me with in class. I was also told that I'm left handed because they assumed my terrible writing was due to low/no co-ordination in my right hand.

People are actually trying to help when they do this, they're just misguided. I didn't need easier writing, I needed more. I just needed practice. My writing is still what some would call "doctor's writing" but it's legible and consistent so I'm not too bothered.

Back to the OT, my cousin has ADD and the other cousin from the same family has ADHD, their medication doesn't work, but it's addictive so they take it.
One of them made a massive behavioural change when he lived with us for a couple months due to my dad's strict rules, logical discipline, and consistent consequences for our actions (both good and bad). He's better for the experience for it, and he knows that although he can use it as a crutch that he's only limiting himself. He's got such potential but unfortunately hasn't had many/any opportunities in life to succeed in anything he cares about yet.
Cool guy though.

But I know what you mean about people bullshitting giving a bad name to legit people.

 

[Lilani]

-snip-

For me, whether or not I "believe" someone has ADHD depends on how they view their "problem." I have known a few people who claim to have ADHD in some form or another, and simply use it as an excuse for things. They don't see it as something to overcome or work passed, but rather a natural part of life that they let take them wherever it chooses. Much like the person you mentioned, it's just their ticket out of a normal workload. I am less inclined to believe folks like this have it, because the only time it seems to be a nuisance is when it has to do with schoolwork or following rules. Otherwise, they are fine.

Now, I have known others who say they have it, but they are completely different. They are very well behaved for the most part, if a bit distractable at times, and they work very hard. At times it does cause them to miss things, but I can see just by looking at them that they are trying to push through it anyway. These people I believe. The ones who resent having ADHD and its symptoms, rather than welcoming them.

Also, I think it is very over-diagnosed in small children. I understand that the symptoms can show at that early of an age, but a good portion of the time I think it's just the parents refusing to discipline their kids and looking for an excuse. My mom agrees, as she has been working at an elementary school for 12 years and has seen a steady decline in child behavior and a steady increase in children diagnosed with ADHD.

 

[5mj7R7yf4Dwr3gdZyyu9PeGNwYjlNrjzuh3iTXQG]

Wow.

The terms stupid, lazy and crazy are the devices we use to dismiss people we don't like who have issues. (And often, we don't like them because they have issues.) I'm not familiar with ADHD, but I know that there are plenty of diagnoses out there that manifest differently with each person. Also people are often misdiagnosed until they've been observed long enough to narrow the symptoms down.

But if someone is having added difficulty adjusting to work, school and social integration, the point is they're having added difficulty adjusting to work, school and social integration. Just because he looks fine to you, or doesn't match your image of what a given mental disorder looks like doesn't mean he's faking it.

I would go as far as to hypothesize that even those who are faking it... aren't faking it. If someone feels a need to feign injury or incapacity in order to catch a break or get the attention of those around them, that indicates something is wrong, not only that, but that the guy faking isn't getting what he needs through the system, hence his attempts to game the system. If he could get what he needed to function through normal, acceptable means, he wouldn't bother with more tedious, less reliable manipulative tactics. This is basic Skinner behaviorism.

Healthy human beings are intrinsically industrious, observant, analytical, motivated, communicative and sociable. And one who is not over a sustained period of time (say over six months) no longer qualifies as healthy, and requires observation, and likely, treatment.

People can't merely straighten up and fly right because you tell them to. No one ever has, and all the lectures to that effect have become cliche.

So don't knock the fellow. Maybe when gets treatment he'll stop being so repugnant.

238U.