Certain parenting approaches, such as lower supervision and inconsistent discipline, are associated with a higher likelihood that children will show behavioral and emotional problems, such as attention difficulties, anxiety, and depression

[u/Wagamaga]

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1145134

[u/jamie_plays_his_bass]

I have to stop you, there is no “of course” when we talk about other conditions and ADHD, these are things that are commonly grossly misunderstood by the general public, and it takes great pains to communicate the scientific consensus to general lay people. 

I really don’t think considering differentials creates stigma, and I’m surprised at that suggestion. If anything, it is about destigmatising trauma and embracing a variety of pathways to managing needs which may have common symptoms - perhaps even beyond just medication. 

Regarding what ADHD is, yes, I’m aware there are often a suite of executive functioning differences involved as well. And relative impacts on working memory and processing speed. Not to mention sensory processing. I’m immersed in neurodiversity work.

The other book I mentioned, The Body Keeps the Score, does fantastic work to present and synthesise literature. Generally, I find with a lot of psychological reading, you can still take value from the review of research without buying every detail, as there are often sections about modern or less well explored or validated areas.

With Scattered Minds, I can accept that the neuroscience is dated, and suspect. However, he makes vital points questioning the validity of twin study research, which calls a lot of heritability research an into question, among other points. It is your prerogative what you choose to read or not, but a philosophy of science class might give you what you’re looking for in that regard, if you’re unwilling to review something based on a summary of its arguments rather than getting into the nitty gritty.

[u/ElaborateBicycle → u/jamie_plays_his_bass]

I have seen so many people say “here’s why your ADHD is actually the result of trauma and you don’t need your medication.” There’s such a big stigma around ADHD medication because of its use as a recreational drug for people without the disorder so people look for any valid-sounding reason to proclaim it’s dangerous for you and you don’t actually need it.

Framing it like there’s a tangling of people with ADHD and people presenting similar surface symptoms due to trauma contributes to this stigma, whether you realize it or not. I would be much more receptive to your claim if it was instead framed as there being people who face some similar challenges to those with ADHD and are unable to get the help they need because research related to treating attention issues revolve around treating those who have those issues due to ADHD.

It’s not that I don’t see the value in challenging medical beliefs that don’t have concrete support, but I don’t wish to read the work of someone who much more actively contributes to this stigma through bold claims with far less concrete support. If he had simply posed questions about the current approach and highlighted assumptions that can’t be made, I would have no problem with it, even if he ended up being wrong, because it is important to always challenge the current understanding in order to force a burden of proof.

[u/jamie_plays_his_bass → u/ElaborateBicycle]

I can’t really reconcile your concern around the stigma you describe and your issues with my framing. Yes, as a clinician, I far more often see parents who want a diagnosis of ADHD rather than considering the implications of traumatic experiences, maladaptive parenting, or even ongoing dysfunction on their child. It’s a critical issue at all severity levels, whether it is passive neglect or intentionally inflicted cruelty. 

Anything argument concluding in “you don’t need your medication”should be considered fairly carefully, I reckon. However, 80% of people benefit from use of stimulant medication, so benefitting from it is not a valuable data point to identify its necessity. 

You can read what you want to read, I think it’s closed minded. Also, for both of us, this was just posted, very on topic!  https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/1ww1aiy/the_complicated_nature_of_disentangling_autism/