Welcome! This three-part video series presents a psychological understanding of the diagnostic category “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” (ADHD). Over the past several decades, professionals have been informing the public about the neurobiological delays that cause the behaviors associated with ADHD and the need to medicate and stringently manage sufferers. But why are we convinced of a medical disorder when a diagnosis cannot be made from any biological marker or dysfunction?
In these videos, I analyze conventional biological determinist claims and explain how ADHD actions and reactions can be understood within the realm of psychology — and why the presumption that a child has a biological impairment can be discarded. I also present an alternative intervention that develops self-management and cooperation in children and youth diagnosed with ADHD. This intervention replaces the more commonly used treatments, which have been yielding very poor longer-term benefits.
Video 1: “Does ADHD Represent a Lesser Ability to Stop, Look, Listen, and Think Before Taking Action?”
Most people believe that children diagnosed with ADHD misbehave because they possess an inferior inhibitory system that renders them less able to suppress unacceptable actions. However, this belief has numerous shortcomings. This video challenges these assumptions and offers alternative explanations for why a child may exhibit ADHD behaviors.
Videos 2: “The Fragile Pillars of Biological Determinism for ADHD”
The foundation of the common view that ADHD represents a neurodevelopmental delay rests on three kinds of research findings: 1. ADHD runs in families, so it must be genetic.
2. The brains of those with ADHD differ from those without, so it must be a biological impairment. 3. Biology-altering drugs improve ADHD symptoms, so the problem must reside within the body. This video critiques those findings — which I call fragile pillars — and offers an alternative way to think about the concept of “nature versus nurture” regarding ADHD behaviors.
Video 3: “ADHD: Medicate and Coerce or Develop Self-Reliance and Cooperation?”
Medication, coercion, and increased surveillance are commonly recommended to assist individuals diagnosed with ADHD. However, those interventions have produced only limited, short-term benefits. This video argues that rather than creating a lifetime dependency on treatments designed to compensate for a supposed impairment in self-regulation, a better approach is to develop a child’s functionality by nurturing self-reliance and cooperation.
