As a school psychologist I am horrified at this data. Not that I trusted pharma to begin with but this is shocking. Thank you for helping me better understand the dangers of these medications.
I experience ADHD and autism. It’s less an attention deficit, and more on attention on one thing. It also means that they do a better job paying attention if they can express their creativity, or if its something they are interested in. I was fortunate in that I was well-disciplined and interested in many topics. When a topic sparks my interest, I want to learn as much about it as I possibly can. I also need to move a lot, it helps me think. I don’t want the medication. It may decrease my god given creativity and curiosity and its the suppression of creativity, making connections, thinking deeply, opposition to THEIR authority, and curiosity that’s the real conspiracy here. And they do it all by preying on our fear of rejection. You know what? I no longer care what everyone else thinks. I am neurodivergent, God made me this way. It’s not a curse at all, but a blessing. I will not take their drugs.
@@katieandnick4113 I’ll admit that’s possible though there’s more to it than that. If I explained all my traumas to you, I’d sound crazy. I’ve had symptoms since I was a kid. It’s beneficial in some ways and harmful in others. I think the unnaturalness of the school and work environment is why is so overdiagnosed though.
These "ADHD" behaviours could be result of trauma from abuse at home, an underlying disability (dyslexia for example), an extravert personality type, a creative personality type, an intelligent child, but instead of being understood as individuals, they get stigmatized and labelled (and since adult ADHD is a MASSIVE cultural phenomenon currently, this label may be permanent) solely due to their behaviours. I was "diagnosed" ADD in the 90s because I daydreamed and doodled, rarely paid attention and never did any homework. I also did strange things like brought bugs into class (I was interested in bugs). I have no idea if I have mild Asperger's/ASD as I get obsessed with subjects (but I suspect this is another suspicious label/can of worms). Anyhow, in my case, I was mentally and physically abused at home, and also an abnormally curious and experimental child; assessed to be "gifted". The "ADHD" label can hide so much which teachers could work with and perhaps social services if there is abuse, but its so much simpler to diagnose and medicate than to address any underlying issues. Schools simply try to fit square pegs into round holes because it's easier, and medication helps the conformity process. I still have "symptoms" of ADD/inattentive ADHD for which I could be prescribed neurotoxic medications if I so wished to take which might potentially boost my productivity and engagement capacity for boring repetitive things for a while until I crashed; however I am lucky enough to be in a such a position where I can write historical fiction and study biochemistry at my own leisure. tl;dr I find it absurd to class somebody as mentally defective for not wanting to engage with things that do not interest them 😂
So what if Whitaker is a journalist? He is not presenting his own research or posing as a psychiatric expert but presenting the views of the actual experts. That's what journalists do. So, Whitaker is in fact within his realm of expertise, i.e. digging up what the experts say and not pulling punches. In order to charge Whitaker with being a "sensationalist journalist," one must show how Whitaker misrepresents the experts in order to sensationalize. Even though he has no advanced degrees and is not a clinician, he publishes and presents publically to a broad audience that includes credentialed clinicians, which will either corroborate his work or challenge it.
Lets get him to break down all the drugs. Then lets get him to break down what effects corn syrup, vegetable oils, cellulose (saw dust), fermaldehyde, do to our bodies when we consume them daily. And feed to kids every meal. Ppl read your labels of anything put in your mouth.
The fact of varying biological rates in young children was known by my pediatrician in 1971. We jave not evolved in these areas in my opinion, but rather just the opposite.
Partly through a phenomenon known as epigenetics. If you look at the CPTSD research, which funnily CPTSD gets made the most fun of, but is by far one of the most scientifically valid and feet on the ground concepts, if you look at that research the thinking is that long-term exposure to elevated cortisol levels produces commiserate changes in the central nervous system through epigenetic mechanisms. It's similar to the problem of supersensitivity that Whitaker mentions, where by the receptor density changes to compensate. Changes in receptor density are the tip of the iceberg, it turns out the adaptive processes are far more complex and widespread and include changes in the central nervous system, HPA axis, and endocrine system.
Not just the teacher but absolutely most mothers as to keep kid quiet and do what momma says to do. A drugged robot. Now they have endeavor R/X, a High Tech Video game to destroy the child's mind by bells and whistles and lots of artificial bright flashing colors and megapixels.
Sadly, there is. You will only realise when you see an affected child at free play....or even alone! I am not saying that the diagnosis is always accurate, is not abused, is not manipulated. But, certainly, their is ADHD.
@@qf1150 You speak utter nonsense. There is no ADHD, normal childhood behavior is not ADHD. This is an invented illness by mentally ill psychiatrists that has never been proven to exist.
@@qf1150 There is a facet of life that, under a grouping of behaviours, we now call "ADHD". Before 1980, that did not exist. Post 1980, what is evident is that there is little if any scientific or causal basis for the "condition"; at least beyond a definition of normal/abnormal that parents and teachers would prefer to control.
@@mookie2637 Before modern times there was no schizophrenia, no autism, no bipolar disorder, no genetic disorders.....they were not detected.....or the poor affected individual was thought to be possessed, cursed....or whatever explanation people could come up with. Scientific basis? There is certainly no biological marker, but behavioural observation, repeated, in different environments and by different individuals, and well reported, is a scientifically valid procedure. As I said before, the diagnosis can be abused, can be incorrect if observers are not train or if the child is observed always in the same environment. Probably a lot of individuals who say they are affected by ADHD are not....especially those diagnosed as adults, when they struggled to complete academic work (better blame a condition than admit that academic work is not for you....). But ADHD does definitely exist. It is very evident when the affected child is observed during free play. No school environment, no parental structuring.....only free play....with other children. The child with ADHD will immediately stand out. The child is fidgety, cannot follow the rules of the game.....eventually the other children give up....the child with ADHD is excluded from the play and is left alone. Some children with ADHD may become aggressive, throw objects at the other children for no reason.....only when you witness this behaviour you will realise that ADHD is a real disorder.
Tricky topic....Psychiatry and Psychology may sometimes be doing the wrong thing, may be chasing the money...children may be manipulated by the system, there is room for abuse...And yet, those who maintain that there is no ADHD is because they have never seen an affected child. Diagnosis requires observation not only at school or at home, but also at play. And it is by observing an affected child during free play, that you realise ADHD is real condition. Children not constrained by any rules other by those they generate themselves...A child with ADHD cannot join in the game. S/he comes and goes, flouts the rules, is fidgety, not listening...the other kids get impatient and eventually refuse to play with him/her....You only need to observe this child during free play for less than a minute to realise that his/her behaviour is not normal and that s/he suffers from a neurological condition.
your describing a social skills deficit sure, but “adhd” implied a medical pathology. this is the crux of peter and whitakers logic. your argument is that any behavioral issue is a medical one? thats not real medicine, science, or health.
@@capresti3537 If you do not consider behavioural observation to provide scientific data.....There is no biological marker for ADHD found as yet. But you only need to observe an affected child at free play, or even alone, to realise that the condition is real.
@@qf1150 You are observing behavior nothing more nothing less, you can't extrapolate beyond that without further investigation which seldom happens. I've never heard of a person getting a diagnosis for these types of conditions via brain scans or any biological testing. I could be looking at anything. A snapshot of behavior tells me nothing about the underlying biological process. Then there are the assumptions about 'norms' and human development in general but that is a whole other can of worms. I don't think anyone is saying that such observable behaviors do not exist, just that we have no means to define them as biologically based medical conditions requiring pharmaceutical or medical interventions.
@@ButterflyonStoneit would be helpful if we did have a means to do an FMRI scan while the child is active interacting and playing, trying to sit still during class, etc. We might be able to compare their patterns of activation given stimuli to controls who have no apparebt behavioral problems. I think you could observe behavioral problems and then see how medications improve them if at all. It's plausible, but I think it would require vlose, consistent observation and measurement to compare data from before and after starting on drugs... it's amazing how the kid will have no improvement or even show more deficits, and yet they're kept on the drugs long term.
Robert Whitaker is not a doctor, and he did not go to medical school. ADHD treatment does not reduce curiosity. It does improve grades, and helps a kid with real ADHD succeed in school. He may be a critical thinker, but his conclusion is wrong, and his qualifications are lacking. If you search for his bio, it's very hard to find where he went to school.
Psychiatrists are NOT doctors they know nothing about the brain mind and body. Robert Whitaker is an experienced journalist who researches facts and truths about psychiatry and psychiatric drugs and what he says is truth and all is verified scientifically by HIGHLY regarded scientists. There is no such thing as ADHD, there is no such thing as mental illness. Mind is not matter it does not get diseased. ADHD treatment damages the brain and nervous system permanently. Robert Whitaker is right what he says. You are clearly in willful denial of facts and truth perhaps because you either take these drugs or work in the psychiatric industry.
@@capresti3537 “Psychiatrists are not doctors”? What are they, then? They went to medical school and have medical licenses. “they know nothing about the brain mind and body”? Which medical specialty does then? A Neurologist, a Neurosurgeon? You might be in for a shock. Neurologists and Neurosurgeons know literally nothing about how to talk to a person about their emotional problems. Go ahead, go to a neurologist for your mental health problem. Literally all they will do is, refer you to a "mental health professional"(hint, they don't think they are), and prescribe you what they think are the right pills. Try it. I guarantee that’s the outcome. What’s a neurosurgeon going to do? Offer to cut some of your brain off by surgery or deep brain stimulation? Ha ha ha, based on solid evidence, yeah? “There is no such thing as ADHD, there is no such thing as mental illness.”, really? Just go visit any public school’s learning disability department. Do it when school starts in the Fall. For mental illness, go visit a psychiatry hospital. Yes, let’s free them all, and make sure they are housed and supplied right next to where YOU live. “ADHD treatment damages the brain and nervous system permanently”-- Just present the scientific evidence, and I will respect you. You can’t, and I don’t and will not respect you. “You are clearly in willful denial of facts and truth”-- look in the mirror.
As a school psychologist I am horrified at this data. Not that I trusted pharma to begin with but this is shocking. Thank you for helping me better understand the dangers of these medications.
Interesting how the dominance of women in teaching coincided with the drugging of young boys
I experience ADHD and autism. It’s less an attention deficit, and more on attention on one thing. It also means that they do a better job paying attention if they can express their creativity, or if its something they are interested in. I was fortunate in that I was well-disciplined and interested in many topics. When a topic sparks my interest, I want to learn as much about it as I possibly can. I also need to move a lot, it helps me think. I don’t want the medication. It may decrease my god given creativity and curiosity and its the suppression of creativity, making connections, thinking deeply, opposition to THEIR authority, and curiosity that’s the real conspiracy here. And they do it all by preying on our fear of rejection. You know what? I no longer care what everyone else thinks. I am neurodivergent, God made me this way. It’s not a curse at all, but a blessing. I will not take their drugs.
BRO you should go talk to someone you sound like you need help
Your environment and experiences and relationships(especially with your mother) made you this way.
@@katieandnick4113 I’ll admit that’s possible though there’s more to it than that. If I explained all my traumas to you, I’d sound crazy. I’ve had symptoms since I was a kid. It’s beneficial in some ways and harmful in others. I think the unnaturalness of the school and work environment is why is so overdiagnosed though.
I wish this channel would revive and put out more videos.
More people should be aware of this
These "ADHD" behaviours could be result of trauma from abuse at home, an underlying disability (dyslexia for example), an extravert personality type, a creative personality type, an intelligent child, but instead of being understood as individuals, they get stigmatized and labelled (and since adult ADHD is a MASSIVE cultural phenomenon currently, this label may be permanent) solely due to their behaviours. I was "diagnosed" ADD in the 90s because I daydreamed and doodled, rarely paid attention and never did any homework. I also did strange things like brought bugs into class (I was interested in bugs). I have no idea if I have mild Asperger's/ASD as I get obsessed with subjects (but I suspect this is another suspicious label/can of worms). Anyhow, in my case, I was mentally and physically abused at home, and also an abnormally curious and experimental child; assessed to be "gifted". The "ADHD" label can hide so much which teachers could work with and perhaps social services if there is abuse, but its so much simpler to diagnose and medicate than to address any underlying issues. Schools simply try to fit square pegs into round holes because it's easier, and medication helps the conformity process. I still have "symptoms" of ADD/inattentive ADHD for which I could be prescribed neurotoxic medications if I so wished to take which might potentially boost my productivity and engagement capacity for boring repetitive things for a while until I crashed; however I am lucky enough to be in a such a position where I can write historical fiction and study biochemistry at my own leisure. tl;dr I find it absurd to class somebody as mentally defective for not wanting to engage with things that do not interest them 😂
Yet, meditation us working wonders for school districts testing it for ADHD.
Of course, training the brain to slow down is an obvious choice.
11:20 - My God am I thankful for this man! Exposing the scientific fraud/incompetence like it's nothing. God bless Robert Whitaker!
17:30 - The devastating truth about stimulants revealed in a single slide. Brilliant and chilling.
I haven't met an ADHD client with a vanilla, uneventful childhood...
So what if Whitaker is a journalist? He is not presenting his own research or posing as a psychiatric expert but presenting the views of the actual experts. That's what journalists do. So, Whitaker is in fact within his realm of expertise, i.e. digging up what the experts say and not pulling punches. In order to charge Whitaker with being a "sensationalist journalist," one must show how Whitaker misrepresents the experts in order to sensationalize. Even though he has no advanced degrees and is not a clinician, he publishes and presents publically to a broad audience that includes credentialed clinicians, which will either corroborate his work or challenge it.
yes, it can be corroborated or challenged.
A shocked audience!
Lets get him to break down all the drugs. Then lets get him to break down what effects corn syrup, vegetable oils, cellulose (saw dust), fermaldehyde, do to our bodies when we consume them daily. And feed to kids every meal.
Ppl read your labels of anything put in your mouth.
The fact of varying biological rates in young children was known by my pediatrician in 1971. We jave not evolved in these areas in my opinion, but rather just the opposite.
How does truame cause the adaptive response known as ADD?
Dysregulation of the brain and nervous system.
Partly through a phenomenon known as epigenetics. If you look at the CPTSD research, which funnily CPTSD gets made the most fun of, but is by far one of the most scientifically valid and feet on the ground concepts, if you look at that research the thinking is that long-term exposure to elevated cortisol levels produces commiserate changes in the central nervous system through epigenetic mechanisms. It's similar to the problem of supersensitivity that Whitaker mentions, where by the receptor density changes to compensate. Changes in receptor density are the tip of the iceberg, it turns out the adaptive processes are far more complex and widespread and include changes in the central nervous system, HPA axis, and endocrine system.
I see why you would think that, but adhd isn’t real.
Not just the teacher but absolutely most mothers as to keep kid quiet and do what momma says to do. A drugged robot. Now they have endeavor R/X, a High Tech Video game to destroy the child's mind by bells and whistles and lots of artificial bright flashing colors and megapixels.
children do no do better at learning on medication min. 17 I knew that.
I've experienced that while trying to learn for med school 😉
There is no ADHD
Prove it
Sadly, there is. You will only realise when you see an affected child at free play....or even alone! I am not saying that the diagnosis is always accurate, is not abused, is not manipulated. But, certainly, their is ADHD.
@@qf1150 You speak utter nonsense. There is no ADHD, normal childhood behavior is not ADHD. This is an invented illness by mentally ill psychiatrists that has never been proven to exist.
@@qf1150 There is a facet of life that, under a grouping of behaviours, we now call "ADHD". Before 1980, that did not exist. Post 1980, what is evident is that there is little if any scientific or causal basis for the "condition"; at least beyond a definition of normal/abnormal that parents and teachers would prefer to control.
@@mookie2637 Before modern times there was no schizophrenia, no autism, no bipolar disorder, no genetic disorders.....they were not detected.....or the poor affected individual was thought to be possessed, cursed....or whatever explanation people could come up with. Scientific basis? There is certainly no biological marker, but behavioural observation, repeated, in different environments and by different individuals, and well reported, is a scientifically valid procedure. As I said before, the diagnosis can be abused, can be incorrect if observers are not train or if the child is observed always in the same environment. Probably a lot of individuals who say they are affected by ADHD are not....especially those diagnosed as adults, when they struggled to complete academic work (better blame a condition than admit that academic work is not for you....). But ADHD does definitely exist. It is very evident when the affected child is observed during free play. No school environment, no parental structuring.....only free play....with other children. The child with ADHD will immediately stand out. The child is fidgety, cannot follow the rules of the game.....eventually the other children give up....the child with ADHD is excluded from the play and is left alone. Some children with ADHD may become aggressive, throw objects at the other children for no reason.....only when you witness this behaviour you will realise that ADHD is a real disorder.
Tricky topic....Psychiatry and Psychology may sometimes be doing the wrong thing, may be chasing the money...children may be manipulated by the system, there is room for abuse...And yet, those who maintain that there is no ADHD is because they have never seen an affected child. Diagnosis requires observation not only at school or at home, but also at play. And it is by observing an affected child during free play, that you realise ADHD is real condition. Children not constrained by any rules other by those they generate themselves...A child with ADHD cannot join in the game. S/he comes and goes, flouts the rules, is fidgety, not listening...the other kids get impatient and eventually refuse to play with him/her....You only need to observe this child during free play for less than a minute to realise that his/her behaviour is not normal and that s/he suffers from a neurological condition.
your describing a social skills deficit sure, but “adhd” implied a medical pathology. this is the crux of peter and whitakers logic. your argument is that any behavioral issue is a medical one? thats not real medicine, science, or health.
There is no such thing as ADHD, it is a fabricated label by psychiatrists it has no scientific basis.
@@capresti3537 If you do not consider behavioural observation to provide scientific data.....There is no biological marker for ADHD found as yet. But you only need to observe an affected child at free play, or even alone, to realise that the condition is real.
@@qf1150 You are observing behavior nothing more nothing less, you can't extrapolate beyond that without further investigation which seldom happens. I've never heard of a person getting a diagnosis for these types of conditions via brain scans or any biological testing. I could be looking at anything. A snapshot of behavior tells me nothing about the underlying biological process. Then there are the assumptions about 'norms' and human development in general but that is a whole other can of worms. I don't think anyone is saying that such observable behaviors do not exist, just that we have no means to define them as biologically based medical conditions requiring pharmaceutical or medical interventions.
@@ButterflyonStoneit would be helpful if we did have a means to do an FMRI scan while the child is active interacting and playing, trying to sit still during class, etc. We might be able to compare their patterns of activation given stimuli to controls who have no apparebt behavioral problems.
I think you could observe behavioral problems and then see how medications improve them if at all. It's plausible, but I think it would require vlose, consistent observation and measurement to compare data from before and after starting on drugs... it's amazing how the kid will have no improvement or even show more deficits, and yet they're kept on the drugs long term.
Robert Whitaker is not a doctor, and he did not go to medical school. ADHD treatment does not reduce curiosity. It does improve grades, and helps a kid with real ADHD succeed in school. He may be a critical thinker, but his conclusion is wrong, and his qualifications are lacking. If you search for his bio, it's very hard to find where he went to school.
Nothing he says is his opinion it’s just reading the science which he is a specialist
The side effects of these medications are significant and every patient and parent should be well informed before they begin a course of treatment.
He was director of publications at Harvard Medical School. He was nominated for a Pulizer Prize. Yeah, the guy sounds like a real slouch. Lol
Psychiatrists are NOT doctors they know nothing about the brain mind and body. Robert Whitaker is an experienced journalist who researches facts and truths about psychiatry and psychiatric drugs and what he says is truth and all is verified scientifically by HIGHLY regarded scientists. There is no such thing as ADHD, there is no such thing as mental illness. Mind is not matter it does not get diseased. ADHD treatment damages the brain and nervous system permanently. Robert Whitaker is right what he says. You are clearly in willful denial of facts and truth perhaps because you either take these drugs or work in the psychiatric industry.
@@capresti3537 “Psychiatrists are not doctors”? What are they, then? They went to medical school and have medical licenses. “they know nothing about the brain mind and body”? Which medical specialty does then? A Neurologist, a Neurosurgeon? You might be in for a shock. Neurologists and Neurosurgeons know literally nothing about how to talk to a person about their emotional problems. Go ahead, go to a neurologist for your mental health problem. Literally all they will do is, refer you to a "mental health professional"(hint, they don't think they are), and prescribe you what they think are the right pills. Try it. I guarantee that’s the outcome. What’s a neurosurgeon going to do? Offer to cut some of your brain off by surgery or deep brain stimulation? Ha ha ha, based on solid evidence, yeah? “There is no such thing as ADHD, there is no such thing as mental illness.”, really? Just go visit any public school’s learning disability department. Do it when school starts in the Fall. For mental illness, go visit a psychiatry hospital. Yes, let’s free them all, and make sure they are housed and supplied right next to where YOU live. “ADHD treatment damages the brain and nervous system permanently”-- Just present the scientific evidence, and I will respect you. You can’t, and I don’t and will not respect you. “You are clearly in willful denial of facts and truth”-- look in the mirror.