A Young Australian Responds to “Kids on Speed?”

 

Now that the Australian show Kids on Speed? has aired, how was it?  Despite the sensationalistic, stigmatizing name and promotional material, did it offer anything useful? When I asked Shanti Roy, a photographer in Australia with late-diagnosis ADHD, for her opinion, she delivered this thoughtful report, along with some screen captures of local media’s coverage of the show. Thank you, Shanti.

Shanti Shares Her ADHD Story

My name is Shanti, 28, diagnosed ADHD – Primarily Inattentive, and I have been asked to write a guest post about my perspective of ADHD awareness in Australia and my reactions to the ABC1 show Kids on Speed?

First, my personal experience with ADHD in Australia. I was diagnosed surprisingly quickly, given that I have the lesser-known version of the disorder. No one really saw the symptoms in me, though, because I was withdrawn, quiet, and polite—and left to fail on my own.

I doubt I would have been taken seriously if I had gone to my psychiatrist with my concerns about having classic ADHD. The assessment was done by the same psychiatrist who had previously diagnosed me with Asperger’s syndrome so he knew quite a lot about me already. After a short drug trial he was sure I had ADHD. I kept seeing him and would keep him up to date about my progress on the medication.

“But You’re Not Hyperactive At All”

When I told friends and family I have ADHD, there was a lot of doubt; it was the usual “but you’re not hyperactive at all’” rhetoric.

I’ve worked hard in my self-advocacy of ADHD to bring to light the different issues the non-hyperactive kind goes through. So, when I heard about the three-part documentary Kids On Speed?  to be aired on ABC1, naturally my interest was piqued. Overall, the documentary serves to open up rational debate about the medication issue in children with ADHD.

kidis on speed

At title credits the sound of a child’s laughter is heard over blurred images of traffic in a dark environment; it fills one with a sort of creepy gloominess. Then, the viewer hears shouting of other arguing children, screams, and so forth. Finally, we see a montage of images of the children we will soon meet: scenes of them fighting, being overly active and being incredibly verbally and physically resistant to parents and other siblings.

As a British–Australian women’s deep voice introduces us to the documentary, the viewer can hardly tell where it is all going. Is it for or against medication? Is it saying we should stop giving stimulant medication to children? How seriously does it take ADHD as a real disorder?

One of the experts in the program, Prof. Mark Dadds, explains the over-diagnosis of ADHD, itself a very real disorder. We can relax now. At least they aren’t denying its existence.

According to the show’s producer, Marc Radomsky, Kids On Speed? is neither for or against kids being medicated with stimulant medication for ADHD. Rather,  it wants to provide a full picture of the story so we can begin to look at the issue seriously and come to a solution. In his statement he also talks about the need for actual special services for ADHD much like there is for autism. As someone with autism, I can agree that merely having this label gets my foot in the door for a number of services, but I hardly get any support for my ADHD.

“The question mark isn’t enough. Kids on Speed:

Those three words burn into already

present wounds in a sense of self-worth,

scarred over the many years.”

 

The original title, Kids on Speed, has since turned into a question.  Yet this move — a “salvo” into the controversy, as the promotional material states — has not wielded its desired effect on all people. That includes adults with ADHD who have been continually told by people who have never met them that they are making excuses for being lazy, for not having enough mental strength, for keeping a poor diet, and for taking “legal speed.”

To those people with ADHD, the question mark isn’t enough; those three words burn into already present wounds in their sense of self-worth, scarred over the many years.



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I felt just the same way when I saw the advertisement for Kids On Speed? the night before it aired. I flew into a racing, ranting rage. I hit the ADHD online forums, immediately unable to hold back my anger or even control what words ended up in the post.

Australians Already  Spout ADHD Denial

My fellow ADHD chums were more open-minded—except for the other Australian citizens. It was all clear to us why we erupted: The majority of Australians already unapologetically spout their denial of our disorder. A documentary like this would just make them feel more right and smug.

They wouldn’t hold back on the discussion board… “kids just need a good a belting”… “parents should actually be parenting”… “it’s the videogames”… “it’s their diet”… “Big Pharma just wants to turn your kids into brain dead zombies to better control them.”

Even though I knew watching a documentary like this would tear open old wounds, I still decided to watch it. The documentary includes both sides of the debate.

We see the negative perspective mostly through newspaper clippings about kids being overmedicated.

The more factual information comes from psychologists who explain the neurochemical imbalance in the brains of people with ADHD. Yet, this isn’t explained in much detail and early in the show they tell us there’s no cause or biological reason and even one of the doctors testing these children, Prof. Michael Kohn, says, “It’s a diagnosis given when no other explanation for the symptoms can be found.”

Consistent Inconsistencies In The Program

That’s not the way I’ve seen it for all five years I’ve been diagnosed. It seems like it’s a diagnosis that follows very strict criteria with an age of onset as well, i.e symptoms must exist before six years of age. There seem to be a lot of inconsistencies throughout the program.

For example, many of these children are said to have Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD). Yet, according to that any child who has a meltdown or yells at a parent when the child is under stress has ODD. The doctors even say that it’s the ODD that is causing ADHD-like behaviours in some of the children. But that can’t be right.

Prof. Russell Barkley, the foremost expert on ADHD, is clear in his definition of ODD: In order to have ODD, one must have ADHD. As I understand it, when a child with ADHD is continually told ‘no’ by a parent they become confused about what is right and wrong and just rebel about everything. It is a disorder of always being in the opposite frame of mind and from this comes pathological arguing and anti-social behaviour.

I seem to have more ODD than those children and I’m on the mild end; I like to argue.  Now. these children were all under 12 years old so maybe it takes time for the true symptoms of ODD to manifest but all I saw in the documentary was children frustrated with hyperactivity, poor impulse control, and a poor attention span—and the educational and social issues that came with it—lashing out at parents or siblings. As for the parents, they were at a loss at what to do about their children’s behaviour.

Part of the doctors’ aim was to retrain parents on how to discipline these kids. This actually isn’t a bad idea. These children have different brains and react differently than non-ADHD non-ODD children, whom we call “neurotypical.”

This tells me that in order for the

Australian public to fully grasp

what ADHD is it will take many more

years of self-advocacy.

 

As for what I think this documentary would do for ADHD awareness in this country: not a whole lot. It’s a step in the right direction, but to be honest I would expect to see something like this made in 1996 in America or the UK.

The main focus was on hyperactivity and challenging behaviour. While it’s good that ADHD is finally shown to the public in a more factual and less sensationalized way, it’s just in one very narrow area. These doctors didn’t give the slightest hint they knew what Primarily Inattentive was about or the combined hyper-but-not-quite-as-destructive type.

This tells me that in order for the Australian public to fully grasp what ADHD is it will take many more years of self-advocacy.

So far, the focus is on children, too. There’s a father in the documentary who had ADHD as a child but said he was able to control his thoughts and behaviour. That information is questionable in itself. So what are we weak adults with ADHD doing wrong?

So far, what we’ve learned from this show is that true ADHD is about hyperactivity and oppositional behaviour, and it only seems to affect children.

Must ADHD Always Be “Severe”

I might sound like I’m being unfair to these doctors and the filmmakers. They are doing a good thing by bringing awareness to a misunderstood and quickly diagnosed condition by the majority of doctors. And it’s great that the parents and their children are getting the help they need.  But it makes one wonder: Does ADHD always have to be that severe to be diagnosed and medicated?

Most ADHD adults don’t remain hyperactive but it becomes an internal struggle and the everyday responsibilities become a monumental task. Some of us adults diagnosed later in life have struggled in school, with social skills and our own self-esteem, and have developed anxiety, PTSD, depression, and personality disorders, not to mention a history of being fired from jobs or quitting jobs out of boredom and the never-ending relationship issues. Surely, picking up on that person’s ADHD issues in childhood can halve those problems from occurring later in life.

I’ll continue to watch the remaining episodes of Kids On Speed? . But I really think the public’s reaction can go either way right now:

  1. Strengthening denial and complaints of overmedicating. or
  2. Opening people’s eyes up to the possibility that these children have issues that are too hard to control because it’s the different way in which their brains work, not that their parents are lazy in their discipline, as previously thought.

Shanti Roy has written more on this topic here. She is a live band photographer in Sydney; here is her Facebook page.

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9 thoughts on “A Young Australian Responds to “Kids on Speed?””

  1. Thanks for the link Gina!

    I think a FAQ is necessary because we live in a society with a media that prefers soundbites, gotcha moments, hot takes and other anti-intellectual means of spreading information.

    1. Hi Brett,

      I agree with you. That’s why I wrote the piece in a way that repeats the commonly voiced myths — and countered them.

      Steve Novella does a good job.

      You know, a study has been done examining whether countering irrational beliefs is helpful or not. What it found was that the holders of the irrational beliefs simply dug in deeper after being exposed to myth-busting information.

      In 15 years of ADHD advocacy, much of it online, I’ve learned to pick my battles. Some people will not be swayed by facts. More importantly, the people I’ve found most opposed to the very idea of ADHD as a legitimate diagnosis…probably have ADHD themselves and often oppositional defiance disorder (ODD). (ADHD has many “traveling companions” and ODD is one of them.)

      best,
      g

  2. We really need an FAQ that answers common canards against ADHD

    such as:

    Q: It’s claimed that ADHD doesn’t exist, it’s just a collection of symptoms

    A: (here’s why that’s not particularly scientific)

    1. P.S. Brett, if you want to write a few, I’ll be happy to post. Maybe we can solicit others!

      g

    2. Well, I am still learning and reading myself. Steven Novella has done some commendable work on dispelling common myths and arguments. Here’s one example:
      http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/adhd-and-brain-chemistry/

      http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/responding-to-a-szaszian/

      http://www.adhd-cure.com/is-adhd-real-steven-novella-md-on-adhd-denial/

      ADHD (and by extension psychiatry and mental disorder and illness denial) is just as harmful as climate change denial, homophobia, AIDS denial, and other misleading beliefs.

  3. There is an old saying that any publicity is good publicity. One may wonder. I too found the program as you say a little something out of the 70’s, albeit very well intentioned.
    A diagnosis based on symptomology is no longer adequate. Nor is it the case that CBT is the superior approach to addressing the core symptoms of AD/HD. Current research is favouring quantitative EEG (qEEG) and Event related Potential studies to correctly diagnose AD/HD and related comorbidities. In fact these advanced brain mapping techniques have their greatest benefit in prognostics, i.e., what you can do about what you see.
    Medications are systemic not specific. They change nothing in the brain that is maintained. Learning does (neuroplasticity) and there are many kinds of learning.
    Neurofeedback is being shown to be the most efficacious intervention for AD/HD both in clinical and educational settings. This non invasive approach should be our primary intervention. It has been awarded the highest level of efficacy by the American Academy of Paediatricians. The game has changed. Even still it is not a stand alone treatment and never will be.
    AD/HD is a misnomer and may in fact not be a disorder at all unless the intensity is at a dysfunctional level or beyond the limits of flexibility of our educational system. AD/HD is commonly an attention excess disorder that is a inhibitory issue of the frontal lobes over the limbic system. There is a reason that the majority of AD/HD people suffer co-morbidities. Their executive functions are not adequate to the context. However AD/HD is also very similar to the creative brain. It becomes a matter of balancing positives and negatives. Who is best to judge that?
    At the very least it is important to recognise the plight of parents and their kids as well as adults with attention and focus issues. Ignoring the issues leads to tragedy. The program rightly points to the team work needed. We must continue to open our aperture to take in the true complexity of the issues so we can be effective. No one has the whole story yet and these disciplines need each other very much.
    Finally it is simply prejudicial to blame the parents. That is not thoughtful nor helpful. We are better to ask why things have to be the way they are before coming to a position.
    Jon Hegg MA Psych, BCN

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