fbpx
[additional-authors]
January 24, 2013

By M. Alexander

Last week, Michael Welch, my esteemed colleague and blog-writing rival, wrote about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  He claimed that people wear the label of OCD like a crown, but that the actual disorder is something much more sinister than the desire for cleanliness.

In my line of work, speaking to adolescents, I notice that another disorder is equally over diagnosed—Attention Deficit Disorder.  Those who have a difficult time paying attention in school are given Adderall when they’re eight years old.  The parents who demand straight A’s from their middle-schooler rush them to a psychiatrist when they get a C in seventh grade Spanish.  Parents all think that their kid should be getting A’s, that their child should be able to sit in a classroom for eight hours a day and not get distracted—if this is difficult, it must be the work of a psychological imbalance.  

I am not saying that ADD doesn’t exist and I am not asserting that nobody should be medicated for it. It is sometimes necessary and incredibly beneficial.  But it is astounding how many kids are given medication at such a young age, how many of my friends continue to use ADD as an excuse for their inability to pay attention during meetings.  Let’s be real—paying attention is hard, meetings are boring, and not every kid is meant to get a 4.0 GPA.  Your kid might not end up being a brain surgeon, and it’s not because he has a disorder, it’s because he’s just not that good at science.  

Maybe we should focus our attention on helping kids pay attention instead of running to pill-peddlers every time things aren’t going perfectly.  Here’s a common scenario:  kid gets put on Adderall, kid can’t sleep, kid gets put on medication for his insomnia, kid sleeps too much, kid gets put on anti-depressants, kid gets numb, kid starts smoking weed.  Now, we have a 16 year old who takes amphetamines to go to school, sedatives to go to sleep, anti-depressants to live, and marijuana to feel.  And you wonder why so many young people check into Beit T’Shuvah.

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

Kol Nidre

I heard Kol Nidre on a viola tonight…

Print Issue: When Words Break | September 26, 2025

In the aftermath of Oct. 7, language itself began to falter. Words no longer carried shared resonance, provoking confusion, trauma or defensiveness. The case for rebuilding a shared Jewish lexicon.

Never Too Late for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah

At Jewish Health’s Grancell Village campus in Reseda, a capacity crowd of friends, relatives and staffers applauded their agreement in saluting the largest bar and bat mitzvah class in its 113-year history.

On 5786, A Protocol for Action in This New Year

In this New Year, we will find ourselves called upon to carry forward the responsibilities of leadership, the obligations of community building, the requirements of advancing Jewish civic interests.

Living as Jews in Latin America After Oct. 7

Much like in other parts of the world, most of those who criticize Israel in Latin America have little or no grasp of the realities on the ground, yet they readily join the chorus of demonization.

More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.