Hyperactive? Just go to a park and climb a tree By Glen Owen - Commentary by Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD

Hyperactive? Just go to a park and climb a tree


By Glen Owen

Professor claims that behavioural ‘syndromes’ are normal childhood restlessness of generation stuck at home

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
Not that simple. One must consider the inventiveness of psychiatry, psychology, all of mental health, all who practice it, and Big Pharma. Their every claim of disease is a total, 100% fraud (willful, knowing)]

UNRULY behaviour by many children is being falsely attributed to medical complaints and syndromes

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
every claim of disease, brain-based a total, 100% fraud]

when better parenting is needed

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
rid ourselves of the medical model and there is no escaping this conclusion, a conclusion, child, parents, family, community is infinitely better off with]

, a leading academic has claimed. Priscilla Alderson, Professor of Childhood Studies at London University, said that syndromes such as attention deficit disorder and mild autism were being exploited by psychologists keen to make a quick buck

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
Shes got it by jove shes got it, it is the money, the psycho-pharm cartel]

. Her conclusion will provoke fury among psychologists and the parents of affected children, who have spent years fighting for recognition of a range of behavioural problems

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
every one a meal ticketone coming with a round of golf somewhere in the Carribean]

. The National Autistic Society said that questioning the diagnoses would add to the stress and confusion suffered by many families

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
Yes, they are so much better off in their deception]

. The number of children registered with special needs has almost doubled over the past decade to 1.4 million an increase from 11.6 per cent to 19.2 per cent in primary schools and from 9.6 per cent to 16.5 per cent in secondary schools. The term encompasses learning difficulties, such as dyslexia

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
children normal but, tragically, not taught to read]

, to various syndromes on the autism spectrum

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
among the more recent scams always pure scams total, 100%]

. Professor Alderson was backed by Eamonn OKane, leader of the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Woman Teachers, who said that members were cynical about an explosion in the number of special needs diagnoses and called for more support for teachers facing bad behaviour

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
To save the children we must gather all understand this heinous crime for what it is and wish to save the children]

. Professor Alderson said that it was often convenient for neglectful parents to claim that a child had a behavioural disorder. She believes that much of the increase can be put down to more flexible interpretations of normal childhood traits, such as restlessness and excitability. In our more gullible age, she says, this becomes attention deficit which could be solved by engaging more with children and allowing them to let off steam in traditional fashion by playing in parks and climbing trees. I recently visited a special school which had 27 children diagnosed as autistic. Of those, only two that I met displayed the lack of eye contact and absence of empathy which denotes true autism, she said. Money is behind all this. Pyschologists want the work, and lower the diagnosis threshold accordingly. Special needs is an administrative device describing children who have extra needs from those provided for in the average classroom. Playgrounds and parks are empty, because of the scare stories about abductions. But children need the space and freedom to play, run and climb without that, they are restless, and come to be seen as abnormally hyperactive. About eight children are murdered outside the home each year, compared with about 50 inside. Cooping up children inside homes is not going to do them any good. Professor Alderson, 57, who has three grown-up children and three grandchildren, admitted that her eldest daughter had been difficult, something she attributes to her naivity at the time about how to be a good parent. By the time my other children came along I had realised that if you treat children as adults then they will behave accordingly. Teachers have complained about the growth in the syndromes, alleging that it gives pupils an excuse to avoid discipline. They are also suspicious about the number of children who are able to use a diagnosis to claim more time in their examinations. For a fee of 50, an educational psychologist or specialist teacher can attest that a child should claim at least 25 per cent extra time because they have behavioural or learning disorders.

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
the biggest health care fraud since the medicalization of the holocaust in WW II Germany]

Almost 37,000 11-year-olds were given extra time in their national test in English last year up by 8,000, or more than 35 per cent, in two years. Similar increases were seen in maths and science tests. Barry Bourne, an educational psychologist, who has worked with children for 35 years, rejected the claims that his profession was exploiting labels to make money. In the past I think we had a very crude view of some of these disorders, he said. It is a very complicated issue. I think we have a much better understanding of what aspects make up a personality than we did when I first joined the profession. Personally I am convinced that family history plays a far more significant part than we believed in the past, and while surroundings and upbringing are also important alone they simply do not explain why certain people from the same family develop in very different ways. Mr OKane, general secretary of the second-largest teaching union, said: A lot of teachers are very cynical about the reasons behind the boom in the numbers of these conditions

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
And when they lead to dangerous, addictive, death-causing drugswhat then, where is the objective abnormalitythe disease. These are our children, grandchildren, future, we cannot let this go on]

. We need to do more to address the consequences for staff who have to deal with the bad behaviour.

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
No matter how bad, not a disease, never a disease.]

An internet chatroom used anonymously by teachers reveals the beliefs of many members of the profession. One posting, left this month by a teacher identified only as re, complained about students who are whipped off to a psychologist and labelled if they show the slightest sign of misbehaviour. It goes on: This diagnosis then becomes an excuse for more misbehaviour we have students with mild tourettes and lots of ADHD and yet they can behave well if threatened with punishment. Someone calling herself Miss Nomer responds: Writing as a special-needs teacher, I am quite sure that a lot of it is complete b. I get sick of being trashed by some little s who then tells me I cant punish him because his pill hasnt kicked in yet. When you give a kid a syndrome, you give him an excuse. She blamed uppity parents looking for compensation, extra funding, a stick to beat teacher and an excuse for their kids obnoxious behaviour and their inadequate parenting. Eileen Hopkins, a director of the National Autistic Society, said: This can only add to the stress and confusion that many families face. The importance of receiving a correct diagnosis cannot be emphasised enough. Access to the most appropriate education and support depends on it. No reputable diagnostician is likely to make an on-the-spot diagnosis. Our experience is that diagnosis is still a battle for many families. Teachers believe the numbers of children with an autistic spectrum disorder is on the increase.

Many young children feel unsafe in local parks as these are often dirty and dominated by gangs of older youths, a report says today. Lack of opportunities to play out safely was the top concern of 5- to 13-year-olds from deprived parts of England, according to research by the education watchdog Ofsted for the Governments Childrens Fund.

Three disorders top the list
Attention deficit hyperactive disorder: The most commonly diagnosed behavioural disorder among children, making them inattentive, easily distractible and impulsive.

Tourettes syndrome: Characterised by repeated and involuntary body movements (tics). Can include eye blinking, repeated throat clearing or sniffing, arm thrusting or jumping. Prevalence estimated at 2 per cent of the general population

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
all by itself a real, neurological disorder, a mild embarrassment, rarely disabling, almost always lessens through adolescence, disappearing in early adulthood. It is almost always treated with neuroleptic drugs far more dangerous and disabling than the tics/Tourettes itself. It is said by the diagnostic community to be co-morbid with all known psychiatric disorders making them disorders/ diseases by association, never by science. Hurray for Professor Priscilla Alderson. Let us hook up across the pond and take our children back from the labelers and druggers]

Autism: Features include impaired social interaction and communication and restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour. Symptoms may vary in intensity. Mild autism is often known as Aspergers syndrome.

Just William diagnosed

If Just William, from the series of books by Richmal Crompton, was at school today, he could well have been heading for an urgent appointment with the educational psychologist. His gang, the Outlaws, would almost certainly have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and put on Ritalin. William would either be considered to have a serious medical condition or his antics would have been blamed on his familys poor parenting skills.

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD:
The labelers and druggers of the APA, NIH/NIMH, the leaders of it all here in the USA, have long since, posthumously labeled (and would have drugged) Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain would have had none of it none of this malicious, dangerous, deadly nonsense.. Sincerely, Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD, San Diego, California, USA]