Through a combination of diagnostic creep, laymen/casual use of psych terminology, and the odd cultural trend of label-seeking over the past 10-15 years, many diagnoses have been watered down. Autism and ADHD are probably at the forefront.
I heard my Mom and my brother’s baby mama talking about the possibility of my nephew being ADHD already. Baby Mama said he’s too wild and exploratory. She thinks it’s probably ADHD. He’s nine months old.
Yeah, it’s extremely common. Pair that motivated sentiment with a kid who’s in the diagnosable age range (or an adult), and a diagnosis is almost guaranteed.
Most mental health diagnoses are dependent on subjective reporting of symptoms and history, so if someone - or their parent - want the label or have otherwise already convinced themselves that it’s true, their self-reported history is going to be colored by that, and most clinicians are going to err on the side of the treatment that the client wants.
Ahhhh I hate that. It sucks because I get the sense that if the kid isn’t a still quiet angel choir boy his parents are gonna want to label him everything under the sun.
Some people argue that we’re pathologizing normal boy behavior with regard to ADHD specifically, because the gender split is very disproportionate.
I think that’s possible, however, an alternative explanation could be that it’s legit, and boys are just more prone to some disorders and girls are to others. Who knows? The whole thing is way less precise and objective than it would be in a perfect world.
100%
Through a combination of diagnostic creep, laymen/casual use of psych terminology, and the odd cultural trend of label-seeking over the past 10-15 years, many diagnoses have been watered down. Autism and ADHD are probably at the forefront.
I heard my Mom and my brother’s baby mama talking about the possibility of my nephew being ADHD already. Baby Mama said he’s too wild and exploratory. She thinks it’s probably ADHD. He’s nine months old.
Yeah, it’s extremely common. Pair that motivated sentiment with a kid who’s in the diagnosable age range (or an adult), and a diagnosis is almost guaranteed.
Most mental health diagnoses are dependent on subjective reporting of symptoms and history, so if someone - or their parent - want the label or have otherwise already convinced themselves that it’s true, their self-reported history is going to be colored by that, and most clinicians are going to err on the side of the treatment that the client wants.
Ahhhh I hate that. It sucks because I get the sense that if the kid isn’t a still quiet angel choir boy his parents are gonna want to label him everything under the sun.
Some people argue that we’re pathologizing normal boy behavior with regard to ADHD specifically, because the gender split is very disproportionate.
I think that’s possible, however, an alternative explanation could be that it’s legit, and boys are just more prone to some disorders and girls are to others. Who knows? The whole thing is way less precise and objective than it would be in a perfect world.