![]() Yet “Drugging the American Boy” can easily be taken down by addressing only its major points: It would take at least 10,000 words to thoroughly rebut the original Esquire piece and place the various issues in context. D’Agostino writes, “I also never argued against the use of drugs for a properly diagnosed disorder”-a ham-handed, have-it-both-ways attempt to deny the the original text and headline, which remained intact for anyone who cared to read it. While a few adults with ADHD did so, many more wrote to me privately, saying they did not want to risk divulging their diagnosis publicly and in such a hostile venue.Ī few days later, the magazine ran an “update” ( A Plea To Slow Down the Drugging of the American Boy). Among other rejoinders to reported reader feedback, Mr. Unfortunately, only readers with Facebook accounts could comment on the story. ![]() That man at the center of Esquire’s article is a counterculture figure with no academic or professional training in the field: Howard Glasser, the Queens-based author of 101 Reasons to Avoid Ritalin Like the Plague. In addition to waxing poetic about his unproven approach (actual ADHD experts must provide peer-reviewed proof of their claims) the magazine provides him with a platform to answer reader questions about ADHD. ![]() (Never mind that what he describes is not necessarily ADHD.) His cure? Bombarding our “intense” boys with a steady diet of praise-and never, ever criticizing or punishing them. Forget that “intense” is not even an accurate diagnostic criterion for ADHD. And never mind that overpraising is likely the last thing you want to do with the “intense” kids whose ADHD is complicated by the not-infrequent co-existing conditions of oppositional defiance and conduct disorder-not unless you want to create narcissistic sociopaths. Only one man, Esquire reports, bravely says, “Stop drugging our boys!” He learned about ADHD not by studying it (that’s obviously the girly way) but by having it himself.
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