Deathbed Confession: ADHD Is A Fictitious Disease

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Leon Eisenberg, the scientific father" of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD, died in 2009. Before he passed away, he made a startling confession. The 87-year-old medical researcher said "ADHD is a prime example of a fictitious disease" while on his deathbed. In the United States, one in every ten male children takes medicine for the disorder, and that number is increasing.

Eisenberg made a great deal of wealth living off research into ADHD, and won several prizes for his work into childhood learning disorders. For more than four decades, the medical researcher was a leader in the field of child psychology.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, is the standard reference for psychologists in diagnosing mental disorders.

A study by child psychologist Lisa Cosgrove looked into financial ties between board members who prepare the manual and the pharmaceutical industry. The study, carried out in 2006, revealed every single member of the DSM board was receiving money from the drug industry. This set off a firestorm of controversy.

Up to one in eight children in school is now said to suffer from some sort of mental disorder. This large population is driving some parents to question the diagnoses. Health experts and those raising children are asking where normal childhood behavior ends and where ADHD begins.

Renowned child psychologist Jerome Kagan of Harvard University took part in an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel.

While talking about the increase in cases, Kagan said, "Let's go back 50 years. We have a 7-year-old child who is bored in school and disrupts classes. Back then, he was called lazy. Today, he is said to suffer from ADHD. That's why the numbers have soared." (1)

A new book by Richard Saul called "ADHD Does Not Exist' and a pair of recent articles in the New York Times suggest the disorder is, at least, misdiagnosed.

The debate over attention disorders is about to rage once more.