Michael Fumento ADHD Controversy

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has information and facts about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) that is located at http://www.cdc.gov/n cbdd/adhd/facts.html. The purpose of this webpage is to educate and teach people the concept of ADHD. The information found on CDC’s webpage are signs, symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatments, and the different types of ADHD. I feel that the pathos, ethos, and logos rhetorical are used to help gather information about ADHD to formulate a better understanding.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a serious neurodevelopment disorder that has affected an innumerable number of children and adults in the United States (Centers for disease Control and Prevention, 2013). It is one of the most common disorders that can cause difficulty at school and home and can also remain into adulthood. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)publishes a web page on ADHD to inform and persuade the public that ADHD is a condition that they should be concerned about. The web page provides facts on symptoms, diagnosis, causes, treatment plans, concerns, statistics and research to help expand the audience’s knowledge on the disorder. The CDC employs the rhetorical appeals of pathos, logos ethos and logos effectively by successfully employing emotional appeals, providing convincing fact and statistics, and building credibility by providing resources and evidence.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is affecting children and adults at vast numbers. The growing numbers of people affected by Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), made the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognize the importance of educating the public. The CDC discusses the signs and symptoms, different types of ADHD, causes of ADHD, diagnosis process, treatments, and resources with the public. The CDC is a trusted agency. The CDC’s website is credible because the writers use effective appeal to logos, ethos, and pathos to educate their audience.

The purpose of The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is to protect the health of America and to “promote the quality of life through the prevention and control of the disease, injury, and disability (CDC, 2013).” The CDC has a concern about a growing disease that is normally found in children to young adults called Attention- Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, also known as ADHD. This Rhetorical Analysis will be focused on ADHD. The CDC’s Website is trying to inform current or future patients, parents and care givers, and teachers on how to handle this illness.

“ADHD is the most extensively studied pediatric mental health disorder, yet controversy and public debate over the diagnosis and medication treatment of the disorder continue to exist.” (Connor D., P.1, 2011) Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is often a debated subject when the method of treatment is being discussed because it has become a trending issue to over medicate children with ADHD. A fitting label for the trend is the anesthetization of our youth, caused by government agency expansion and pharmaceutical allowances, and blame parents not advocating for their child better.

One issue that this article has is the controversy of ADHD and its validity. Some people

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) seems to be the affliction of this generation of children. It seems more prevalent every year. However, diagnosis criteria for ADHD is so subjective, what qualifies, who qualifies? There is no specific clinical cause for ADHD but it obviously exists. So many questions remain to be answered about ADHD. Are more children really being diagnosed with ADHD annually and is it really on the rise as it appears? Are too many children being wrongly diagnosed with ADHD as an easy way out because of other behavioral problems? And when ADHD is properly diagnosed are we overmedicating our children to make it easier for parents and teachers to cope? How often are other afflictions

Over the past couple of decades there has been a huge increase in the diagnosis and prescriptions given out for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. According to a news report done by USA Today over the past five years use of ADHD medications have risen 40% totaling 39.5 million individual prescriptions ("New findings," 2009). When statistics like this are seen it is only normal for someone to ask questions. People are becoming curious about the legitimacy of the disorder, and whether or not the treatments being given to individuals are appropriate. The argument seems to be strong on both sides of the fence, but the extensive research done on ADHD leaves it hard for one to believe that it is a made up disorder.

The core purpose of the CDC Website about Attention-Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) is to educate the public generally and then specifically to inform parents of children that might be suffering from ADHD. There are many unanswered questions about ADHD, and the CDC attempts to dispel some of the myths about the cause, diagnosis, and treatment of the disorder. They present highly logical information through the use of statistics and state by state comparisons. Additionally, there are a few appeals to one’s emotions, suggesting that parental negligence is not the cause of the disorder. Although the dry, mundane tone detracts from the appeal of the website, the inferential

In this journal article, Dr. Trudy Knowles (2010) gives advice to parents and teachers on

A large percentage of Americans suffer from attention deficit disorder also known as ADHD. The news article I chose to write about is a U.S News article by Rachel Pomerance Berl titled Meds or No Meds? How to treat a child with ADHD. This article discusses ADHD and how many Americans are affected by this disorder but also when to treat or not treat a patient who claims to have ADHD. This disorder affects the way people focus, causes over activity and poor impulse control. ADHD can often begin to affect the individual’s life if the disorder is not properly treated.

Imagine if your child’s check up with the doctor resulted in your child being diagnosed with ADHD. You begin to ask yourself questions. Why? Did I ever notice it before? Could the doctor be wrong? Is it something I could have prevented? Will my child live a normal life? Now imagine over 5 million parents sitting in their child’s doctor’s office asking these same questions. Children across America continue to be over diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder also known as ADHD and rates continued to rise within the ongoing years.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a well-known problem across the world. The most controversial topics when it comes to ADHD are the drugs used to treat the disorder. It is commonly known that ADHD represents something along the lines of “one is too hyper and cannot pay attention”, but that doesn’t mean they should be forced to take a medication that will potentially affect their well-being for the rest of their life. The mind of a human being is a beautiful and fragile thing, drugs should not be used for those who struggle with ADHD. The school system does not treat those with ADHD in learning environments correctly. Those who have been

My curiosity led me to pursue an EPQ on whether normal developmental behaviours in children are being wrongly medicalised, with specific reference to ADHD.

The medication has been found to be more than 75% effective and many times it has responded to be 90% effective. This shows how children who have been diagnosed with ADHD have gradually gotten better by taking the medication given to them (Rapoport). The medication provided for the ADHD diagnoses is Ritalin. It has allowed children to completely change their focus and work well at home and at school. Which also helps the child do better and to have better behavior. Evidence also proves that it is a strong gene that can be carried on. The next myth is that ADHD is a feminine conspiracy for boys to behave like girls (Fukuyama). Though Ritalin can be shown to decrease the sex gap, the drug is proven to be extremely effective. Many of the children who have the disease suffer on a daily basis. The drug allows them to have a chance at coming close to a normal life. People also claim that ADHD is a way for public schools to warehouse their problem kids rather than taking disciplinary measures and that states should pass laws that restrict schools to recommend Ritalin. The response was that people who do not have children who have the disease do not understand what a neurological problem it really is. Kerri Houston who has two children with the disorder and is a part of the American Conservative Union describes ADHD to be like having 30 T.V’s on at the same time and the medication turns 29 of them