Myomancy ADHD, Dyslexia and Autism

This is not as stupid a question as it sounds. We can’t do a blood test or brain scan to diagnoses ADHD so how do we know it exists? Yes some children are more active than others and have worse concentrations but does that mean its a disease, a mental health problem needing billions of tablets to treat? Is a ADHD a social construct?
A paper from 2004 looks at the arguments.

For:
“We create unnecessary dependence on doctors, discouraging children and their families from engaging their own abilities to solve problems. ADHD is de-skilling for us as a profession as there is minimal skill involved in ticking off a checklist of symptoms and reaching for the prescription pad.”

Against:
“Severe hyperactivity is a strong predictor of poor psychosocial adjustment (Taylor et al, 1996). The developmental risk is not trivial. Even those who are not diagnosed or medicated are more prone to accidents, conduct disorder, psychiatric problems in adolescence, educational and occupational failure, and a lack of constructive occupations or satisfactory relationships. This is why mental health services get involved.“

From ADHD is best understood as a cultural construct

See also these two Wikipedia articles: Neurodiversity, Anti-ADHD

Previously on Myomancy: Was ADHD created by modern society?

(Thanks to Polymathic for spotting the original article)