The Diseasing of America's Children: Exposing the ADHD Fiasco and Empowering Parents to Take Back Control

Dr. John Rosemond · Bose Ravenel

Jun 2009 · Sold by Thomas Nelson

About this ebook

How parents, teachers, and even professionals are being deceived by the "ADHD Establishment" regarding ADHD and other childhood behavior disorders and the drugs used to treat them.

The issue of diagnosing children with behavioral diseases that do not conform to a scientific definition of disease, and then medicating them is a scandal ready to erupt. In The Diseasing of America's Children, popular family psychologist, speaker, and best-selling author John Rosemond joins with pediatrician Dr. Bose Ravenel to uncover the fiction and fallacy behind attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), early-onset biopolar disorder (EOBD), and the drugs prescribed to treat them. Rosemond and Ravenel will:

• reveal the pseudo-science behind these diagnoses
• explain how parents, teachers, and even professionals are deceived
• expose the short- and long-term dangers behavioral drugs pose to children
• discuss how America's schools are unwittingly feeding the diagnostic beast
• reveal the simple, common sense truth behind these behavior problems
• and give parents a practical program for curing these problems without drugs or dependence on professionals

Ratings and reviews

This book was not written to make anyone feel comfortable and for that reason it's the most valuable book I've read on children. Never have I found so much powerful information in such a usable format. But if you're not ready to question the status quo, hear the truth about childrearing practices you hold dear and make dramatic changes in how you think about your family, then don't bother picking this up. Like all real treasure, it's not for wimps. While this book's title tells you it's about ADHD, I'm recommending it for all parents, teachers, grandparents and social workers. Even if your child hasn't been diagnosed I would wager that you know one who has. Perhaps you've suspected that some child in your world is a little "too hyper" or heard that even adults can be ADHD and thought of someone close to you. The first half of this book takes the ADHD bull by the horns and doesn't let go until every aspect of the disorder is dissected. With a historical overview that puts everything into perspective and a no-holds-barred approach to research that points fingers, names names and calls a fraud a fraud, Ravenel and Rosemond systematically clear up misconceptions, highlight hidden truths and answer every question you could possibly have. The style of writing is conversational but passionate, stern but with great humor. I found myself alternatively laughing and crying my way through the chapters. The second half of the book offers sure-fire methods for raising children with (or without) ADHD. In fact, the authors offer real life examples of children who never showed their symptoms again after the parents made recommended changes. My years "in the trenches" with hundreds of children and families have shown me that the methods suggested here will make life immeasurably more sane for all families, with or without any imbalances. Of course there's no book I agree with 100% so I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a couple places where I take issue with the authors. There's a small section on potty training that I feel reflects their lack of direct experience with the subject. As someone who has gone through potty training with more children than I can remember, I would suggest the authors have placed the exact unrealistic expectations on mothers in this area that they criticize other professionals for doing in academic achievement. There are some places where the wisdom of the grandmothers does not translate and this is one of them. I've heard that in Rosemond's other books he gives advice more to my liking and I look forward to reviewing them in the future. The other topics I had a hard time swallowing were the review of how reading was taught and the recommendations for regulating television viewing. While I agree these topics are problematic, I think the details may warrant discussion and personalization, since schools and families are so unique. But these complaints refer to a handful of pages in a 250 page book that I cannot recommend too highly.

My child was one of the case studies in this book. Dr. Ravenel worked with us, our child's teacher and school principal to create a plan to address the issues we all were having. My husband and I went to, what I call, parenting classes, with Dr. Ravenel weekly. He basically taught us how to become better parents. This was seven years ago when our child was in second grade. He is now a very polite, well-adjusted, A/B freshman in high school, with aspirations to attend medical school. We owe so much to Bose Ravenel and Dr. Rosemond for their support, input, recommendations, time, committment...I could go on.

John Rosemond is out of his area of expertise on the subject of ADHD. It has been proven with research done in the last ten or so years that ADHD has no environmental sources; it is a purely neurophysical and genetic disorder. Also, medication has been proven to be very effective and very safe when used correctly. If you want a book based on scientific research, written by someone with a PhD in the subject, read something from Russell Barkley. If you would rather wrap yourself in the warm coziness of pseudoscience, then go ahead and buy Rosemond's book. After all, it's your dollar and your child's life, not mine.

About the author

John Rosemond is a family psychologist, popular speaker, featured guest on major television talk shows, author of thirteen books on parenting issues, and syndicated columnist for more than two hundred newspapers. He and his wife, Willie, have been married more than forty years and have two adult children and seven grandchildren.