[_ Old Earth _] Cavemen in the Classroom : ADD prehistoric ?

[The Ascetic Crusader]

Cavemen in the Classroom : Genetic Researchers claim ADD Prehistoric!!!!
article courtesy of ADDitude Magazine

Dr.Thom Hartmann took a lot of flak when he proposed an evolutionary model of AD/HD. Now, researchers at the University of California, Irvine, have concluded that his controversial theory may well be correct. Researchers now believe that a gene variation associated with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) first appeared 10,000 to 40,000 years ago and was probably a significant advantage to the early humans who had it.

What do you think ?

 

[Quadeshet]

I do not disagree with Hartmann wanting to give people with ADHD an 'empowering personal mythology' as a foundation to further adaptive strategies. Being differently wired in a society that expects conformation is challenging, I agree. Coaching techniques, diet changes and drugs as a last resort seem to me an appropriate way to help a child.

What I don't agree with are his claims that because the genetic predisposition to ADHD might have once been advantageous that it remains so now. A major point of evolution is adaptation to environmental pressure. We don't live in a hunter-gatherer society, so adaptations for hunter-gathering are useless/maladaptive in this environment.

That doesn't mean that people with ADHD can't cope, it's obvious that they do because they are reproducing and passing on those genes. To me, this doesn't mean that ADHD individuals are 'gifted,' it just means that they have to work out other ways of coping in their environment.

Hartmanns suggestion that the 'agriculturalists' without the 'gift' of ADHD methodically wiped out the wild free hunters is a bit insulting. He is imagining a victimization scenario that is impossible to prove. He is creating a mythology, but now he's trying to take it beyond the personal.

The same argument could be used in all cases of mental illness, that it was once 'beneficial' to be so afflicted. Perhaps schizophrenics are 'gifted' because they have a direct channel to the unseen world. Autistics are 'gifted' with the power to concentrate really really hard...

Like I said, I think that his approach towards ADHD sufferers is more constructive than medication and special ed. I disagree that ADHD should be singled out as being a 'gift' because there is no proof that it ever was or is one.

 

[The Ascetic Crusader]

Hartmanns suggestion that the 'agriculturalists' without the 'gift' of ADHD methodically wiped out the wild free hunters is a bit insulting. He is imagining a victimization scenario that is impossible to prove. He is creating a mythology, but now he's trying to take it beyond the personal.

What about Franklin , Edison, Richard Branson et al, all outstanding and gifted individuals who couldn´t sit still in a classroom ? I think Dr. Thom Hartmann is NOT simply "imagining" a victimization scenario...the fact remains that the medical community has systematically tried to " wipe out " ADHD from our "gene pool" so to speak..going as far as to encourage
people NOT TO MARRY individuals with ADHD. If that ain´t victimization
(eugenics), dunno what would be.

 

[Quadeshet]

Please show me where anyone in 'the medical community' has formally suggested ADHD individuls should not reproduce. Hartmann drops names but does not provide references in his online chapter excerpts. Oh, and Hitler is not a good example of the opinions of the medical community, he is a good example of a dictator who tried to conquer half the world.

The ideas of certain persons do not express the ideas of everyone in the field. You're trying to make a universal proof with an existential argument. In the same way, there are children with ADHD who are not particularly gifted.

Like I said, I don't think he's wrong about wanting to help people. Everyone needs to feel that they have a place in the world. If ADHD children respond better to highly stimulating environments, fine. Help them understand that different does not mean bad.

What I have trouble believing is his simplistic scenario that ADHD people are 'hunters' and that everyone else is a 'farmer'.

 

[The Ascetic Crusader]

What I have trouble believing is his simplistic scenario that ADHD people are 'hunters' and that everyone else is a 'farmer'.

You say it like its a bad thing , nevertheless I find nothing simplistic about tying ADHD to genetics. BTW, the hunter/ farmer theory is not only Hartmann´s anymore :

http://www.additudemag.com/additude.asp ... =29&ARCV=1

 

[The Ascetic Crusader]

Please show me where anyone in 'the medical community' has formally suggested ADHD individuls should not reproduce.

Quad, you know very well that no American physician in his right mind would openly discourage ADHD marriages , nevertheless read this FAQ entry...the nuances are oh so subtle:

http://www.additudemag.com/experts.aspD ... =31&ARCV=1

 

[Quadeshet]

Please show me where anyone in 'the medical community' has formally suggested ADHD individuls should not reproduce.

Quad, you know very well that no American physician in his right mind would openly discourage ADHD marriages , nevertheless read this FAQ entry...the nuances are oh so subtle:

http://www.additudemag.com/experts.aspD ... =31&ARCV=1

I'm sorry, the page is not loading for me.

In any case, I didn't say that relating ADHD to genetics is simplistic, I said that drawing a line between 'hunters' and 'farmers' is simplistic. It's not inherently 'bad,' I just think it gives an 'us against them' angle that is less than helpful.

The same argument could be drawn for people with schizoid tendencies (they are shamans and normal people can't see what they can) or obsessive compulsives (they are amazingly detail oriented, while the rest of us are flighty).
The fact remains that ADHD is a hindrance in Western culture. Creating a mythology about hunters and farmers is not going to change that; acceptance of differences and education might.

It's an interesting way of trying to encourage acceptance, but it's based on premises that I find faulty.