THE RISE AND FALL OF ADD/ADHD by Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD 9/25/00 http://www.house.gov/ed_workforce/hearings/106th/oi/ritalin92900/baughman.htm
In 1948, 'neuropsychiatry' was divided into ‘neurology,’ dealing with organic/physical diseases of the brain, and ‘psychiatry,’ dealing with emotional/behavioral conditions in normal human beings [1]. There was no such thing as a psychiatric ‘disease’ then, and there is no such thing today! The 1950s were the dawn of the ‘age of psychopharmacology’--drugs for emotional/behavioral problems in physically, normal persons. Between 1952 and 1994, the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) grew from 112 ‘disorders’/ ‘diseases’ in 1952 [2], to163 in 1968 [3], 224 in the 1980 [4], 253 in 1987 [5], and 374 in the 1994 [6]. The ADHD, ‘epidemic’ (by whatever name) has grown from 150,000 in 1970, to a half million in 1985, a million in 1990, and to 6 million today—12-13% of the nation’s schoolchildren. In the 60’s, psychiatry and pharmaceutical industry launched a psychopharmacology marketing strategy. They would call all emotional/behavioral problems "brain diseases." Thus, the public came to believe in "chemical balancers"—pills--for "chemical imbalances" (of the brain). Moreover, they have ceased to understand what "normal" is. On October 12, 1970, Congressman, Cornelius Gallagher [7] wrote to Secretary of the Department of Health Education and Welfare, Elliott Richardson, stating, "… a NIMH witness testified that at least one hundred fifty thousand children around the nation were receiving drugs." "I have received letters from people….highly critical of the focus of the medical side of minimal brain dysfunction, which is, incidentally, one of at least thirty-eight names attached to this condition…Such a high incidence in the population- as high as thirty percent in ghetto areas…may not be pathological at all…Amphetamines now rival and perhaps exceed hard drugs as a source of abuse, I recommend studies focusing on other medication to control the behavior of hyperactive children." In 1980, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) was invented, in-committee, for DSM-III [4]. In 1987, ADD was revised, becoming ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) for DSM-III-R [5]. Any 8 behaviors from a list of 14, qualifies a child for the ‘diagnosis.’ In 1994, ADHD is again ‘re-conceptualized’, this time for DSM-IV [6]. Six of the nine behaviors from one of two lists qualifies for the ‘inattentive,’ the ‘hyperactive-impulsive’ or the ‘combined’ type. On July 15, 1996, Congressman Christopher Shays [7] testified: "In ADHD, we are trying to draw the line between personality and pathology, and we are placing millions of children and adults on either side of the social, medical and legal boundary that divides the healthy from the sick. We should do so only with the greatest care, and with particular reticence to make our children medical patients because as a culture we have lost our patience with them." At the same hearing, Jensen [8], of the NIMH and CHADD (he is a member of their Professional Advisory Board), assured the Congressman: "…studies have consistently pointed towards