Modern Outlook on ADHD - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 825 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/07/31 Category Medicine Essay Level High school Tags: ADHD essay Did you like this example? Stephen R. Herrs article, ADHD: Has this diagnostic fad run its course?, is a modernistic outlook on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or better known as ADHD. In the past, ADHD was the answer to any parent having behavioral issues with their children, but Herr challenges this idea that there is something wrong with children simply for exhibiting child-like attributes. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Modern Outlook on ADHD" essay for you Create order Like many other disorders in the past that are seen as unethical today, Herr believes that ADHD is no longer a reasonable explanation for the behavior of children. He believes that there are bigger underlying issues that explain why children act the way they do, and that many parents use ADHD to avoid addressing the real problems with their children. Misdiagnosing children and using medication to solve their behavioral problems has proved to have negative, and potentially fatal, effects on children. Herr builds his argument on why ADHD is used to cover up authentic issues children face by utilizing rhetorical appeals as well as his use of parallels between behavior displayed by adults and children. Herr begins his argument by stating why he believes so many parents think their children suffer from ADHD. He describes ADHD as an attempt to deal with some of the difficulties of raising children. Since many parents do not want to face the fact that their children have other issues, millions of children are misdiagnosed with ADHD and given harmful medications to cure their condition. He goes on to say, there is no evidence that suggests placing children on Schedule II drugsimproves their intellectual abilities over an extended period. This shows his audience that the drugs they are giving their children are actually not improving their condition. Herr utilizes pathos by describing how these medications are not actually helping their children and have proven to be extremely detrimental to the health of whoever is taking them. Herr uses pathos a second time towards the end of his argument. He tells his audience that adults have blindly accepted what society told them was wrong with th eir children and, in turn, children have suffered due to this negligence. Herr makes his audience fear for the wellbeing of their children due to their own carelessness, further convincing them that ADHD is antiquated, and their children are facing potential harm attempting to treat a disorder that is not real. In addition to his pathos appeals, Herr also employs logos to support his argument with scientific evidence. He provides a study from Michigan State University that shows nearly one million children in America are potentially misdiagnosed with ADHD Utilizing logos in this way enables Herr to show his audience his ideas are more than just personal opinions and that it is very likely that their child is one of the million who have been misdiagnosed. Herr goes on to use logos a second time by stating, 4.5 million kids have been diagnosed with ADHD, with nearly half of them taking medication. Not only are children being misdiagnosed, they are being given medications that are not necessarily making them any better. Furthermore, he adds, In 2008, the ADHD pharmaceutical market was worth $4 billion. This indicates that the more children who are diagnosed with and prescribed medication for ADHD makes more and more money for pharmaceutical companies. Diagnosing children with ADHD is not only a quick fix, but also a way to make revenue. Herr using logos to show his audience that many children are being misdiagnosed and looked upon by pharmaceutical companies as an easy way to make profit, plants a seed of doubt in their minds about whether their child actually suffers from this disorder, or if the problem lies elsewhere. Towards the end of his argument, Herr uses parallels between adults and children to show that there are other problems causing children to act out. He asks, Dont most adults become distracted when they are tiredbecome fidgety when they are bored Adults are not diagnosed with ADHD and given medication when they display these behaviors. These types of behaviors in children are looked at as a problem, while adults who display the same behavior do not have a problem of any sort. Herr makes his audience reflect on how their behavior is very similar to the behavior of children when they are tired or bored. This allows them to realize that it is possible that children do not suffer from ADHD, children are acting based on other factors such as exhaustion or uninterest. Overall, Herr is effective in his use of rhetorical appeals as well as drawing parallels between children and adults in an effort to prove ADHD is not a legitimate disorder. The audience can clearly see that there are some major flaws with both diagnosing children with ADHD and administering drugs to their children that are not scientifically proven to work. Herrs argument encourages parents to look more deeply into some of their childrens behavioral issues in order to give them the best care possible.