Myth #11: Stimulant Medications are Dangerous!
By Taylor J., guest writer It’s a pernicious myth, this idea that stimulant medications are dangerous. In fact, it has been repeated so often, it’s largely accepted as fact. Yet, just as with Uncle …
Myth-Busting
We don’t lack for information on Adult ADHD. But, unfortunately, we also don’t lack for myths. Which is which?
I wrote these Adult ADHD myth-busting posts early in the ADHD Roller Coaster’s life, starting in 2008.
By now, some of these myths are well-understood — but not by everyone!
—Gina Pera
Perfectionists Can Have ADHD, Too
To people who don’t truly understand Adult ADHD, it seems a ridiculous oxymoron: A perfectionist person with ADHD? Yet, the phenomenon is surprisingly common. I hear it among my friends who say, for example, that …
Myth #10: “You’re Medicating Daydreaming!”
Now we come to ADHD Myth #10: The symptoms of inattention in ADHD are nothing more than “daydreaming.” This is one more aspect of an over-arching popular myth about ADHD: It “pathologizes normal human behavior.” …
Myth #9: Medication Only for Severe ADHD
Myth #9: ADHD medication should be reserved only for severe cases. Who made that rule? Who knows. Sounds Puritanical. Or, in the case of hucksters exploiting the “ADHD Market,” marketing. You might have heard ADHD …
Myth #8: Having ADHD Is No Big Deal!
Myth #8: Having ADHD Is No Big Deal! Here’s the longer version: ADHD is only a difference in how you view the world. Why make such a big deal of it—or, worse, pathologize it? Sure, …
Myth #7: ADHD Is A Controversial Diagnosis
Prowl around on the Internet, and you’ll see thousands of Web sites decrying ADHD as a hoax and controversial diagnosis. You’ll see virulent accusations that the psychiatric profession is teaming up with the pharmaceutical industry …
Myth #6: That’s a Lot of Medicine For a Small Person!
Some of my friends on Twitter have been following the ADHD Myth series here. I asked for their favorite myths. From Mobile, Alabama, ADHD specialist James Wiley, MD, responded with one he hears a lot …
Myth #6: That’s a Lot of Medicine For a Small Person! Read More »
ADHD, Eyeglasses, and Stigma: Part 4
Part 3 here. Be Careful With Those ADHD Eyeglasses Maybe this has happened to you. As soon as you started learning about ADHD, you suddenly saw it all around you. You have officially donned …
ADHD, Eyeglasses, and Stigma: Part 3
Consider this fact: Vision is only partly a function of the eye. Yes, the eye receives sensory input in the form of light hitting the retina. But those light patterns are then converted into electrical …
ADHD, Eyeglasses, and Stigma: Part 2
Part 1 is here. Through A Glass, Clearly We absolutely must begin with this remarkable video: a beautiful baby gets a peek through eyeglasses, for the very first time: Now for a bit of history about …
