1. Cure ADHD with Laughter: That’s not really what this particular website article was promoting as a cure for ADHD. However, when the cure is composed of three simple things – stop drinking milk; learn to meditate; get a good night’s sleep – I had assumed laughter must be the real cure that is being promoted. After all, I read this article and laughed for fifteen minutes and for that brief time I did not feel like I had ADHD. I’m hoping this researcher can find a cure that lasts longer than fifteen minutes.

2. 3Steps to Conquering ADD-ADHD: This website is really part of a constellation of websites¹ all meant to point you in the same direction, namely, in the direction of online marketing genius Jon Bennett. I had examined his “cure” in an earlier post and was a bit surprised when I stumbled across this particular website.² This website (marketing campaign, really) plays on the “I have a secret to share with you” sales strategy. My recommendation is caveat emptor.

3. Cure ADHD with Sleep: I will quote from the website and allow the self-parody to take its effect. This website notes that:

Children who suffer from conditions such as autism, ADD and ADHD, have experienced some sort of loss, and or, shock, which causes sufficient mental anguish to prevent their minds from relaxing to experience regular R.E.M. sleep…. The only way to counteract this effect is to slow the mind of an ADHD child down during sleep so that the R.E.M. healing stage of sleep eventuates and encourage them to improve self-confidence by helping them to develop their individual talents to stimulate their excitement for life.³

There’s more!

Many medical studies have proven, motivating children to develop self-confidence, giving them close companionship “and improving their R.E.M. sleep” in the early stages of autism, asthma, ADD and ADHD can overcome these disorders completely. Most medical doctors…are dispensing drugs and telling parents, these disorders are incurable thus destroying any incentive to try to overcome it. [Emphasis added]

A good night’s sleep and close companionship⁴ is the cure for, not only ADHD but autism, asthma and probably our trade deficit too.

4. A Natural Cure for ADHD:⁵ At this website Dr. Saunders announces in BIG BOLD LETTERS that he has the miracle cure. The website – and the good doctor – will tell you:

“How You Can Banish Hyperactivity, Stop Inattention And End The ADHD Nightmare For Good. . . Safely, Naturally And Without The Use Of Harmful ADHD Drugs…”

Dr. Saunders goes on to note that the pharmaceutical companies have falsely claimed that:

ADHD Is A Disease And You Can Only Cure It With Drugs

I’m not familiar with any pharmaceutical website that claims that ADHD is a disease. At the website for Strattera they only refer to ADHD as a disorder (this is on their home page). At the website for Concerta they say that “ADHD is thought to be a biological condition that affects certain types of brain functioning.” They don’t mention the word “disease.” If anyone is aware of a pharmaceutical website that claims ADHD is a disease, please post a link in the Comments section of this post.

There is also a reference to the Multimodal Study. The website notes:

On November 12, 2007, a team of American scientists conducting the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children With ADHD released findings that showed that while pharmaceutical drugs such as Ritalan and Concerta can work well in the short term, over a 3 year period they brought about no demonstrable improvement in a child’s behavior. [Emphasis is in the original]

This is an interesting claim and there is nearly a modicum of truth. However, the complete truth is a bit more complex. The initial results, as summarized in a PBS special (the following is a quote from the study itself), notes that:

For ADHD symptoms, our carefully crafted medication management program was superior to behavioral treatment and to routine community care that included medication. Our combined treatment [medical and behavioral interventions] did not yield significantly greater benefits than medication management for core ADHD symptoms, but may have provided modest advantages for non-ADHD symptom and positive functioning outcomes.

The study further notes that

…findings indicate that children with other accompanying problems, such as co-occurring anxiety or high levels of family stressors, may do best with approaches that combine both treatment components (i.e., medication management and behavioral therapy). [This quote is from the NIMH findings and is quoted on the PBS website.]

The real question posed by Dr. Saunders has to do with the results of a followup study conducted in 2007. He notes that after three years of medication there is “no demonstrable improvement in a child’s behavior.” Once again, the picture is much more complex. The NIMH press release notes that:

Initial advantages of medication management alone or in combination with behavioral treatment over purely behavioral or routine community care waned in the years after 14 months of controlled treatment ended.

This clearly states that the advantages conferred by the medication did not have a long lasting effect which is what Dr. Saunders claims. That’s one point for the doctor. There is, of course, an “however.”

However, Peter Jensen, M.D., Columbia University, and colleagues emphasized that “it would be incorrect to conclude from these results that treatment makes no difference or is not worth pursuing.”

What Dr. Saunders does not mention is that “[A]fter the 14 months of assigned treatments ended, families were free to choose from treatments available in their communities.” In other words, after the 14 month study, families could do as they please. Interestingly it was found that those who were in the behavioral treatment group began to take medication while those in the medication treatment group were likely to stop taking the medication. Therefore, there is no basis for the claim that after three years there is no improvement in a child’s behavior since the group that took the medication for 14 months is NOT the same group that is currently taking medication. So now we take away Dr. Saunders one point and he is now down to zero.⁶

Let’s reexamine the scorecard.

It is up to you if you still want to spend $39.97 for his miracle cure.

Conclusion:

For the right amount of money there is someone who is willing to sell you a cure for anything that ails you. Whether the cure works is quite another story. However, from a financial standpoint, the cure works very well for the person who is selling it.

Here are some other cures you might be interested in.

1. How to reshape your unsightly proboscis

2. How women can regain those shapely curves

1. For example: http://3stepsadd.com/7adhdtruths.html; http://sites.google.com/site/adhd3steps/adhd; http://www-add.net/3steps.php
2. A WhoIs search verified that the website is owned by J Bennett Management.
3. Jeff’s Snarky Comment: I STILL regret the loss of my Lionel trains but I’m not sure if that particular loss is the cause of my ADHD.
4. Jeff’s Snarky Comment: I wonder what is meant by “close companionship”? I assume it is not pedophilia.
5. Jeff’s Snarky Comment: I have yet to find a website that claims to provide UNnatural cures.
6. You  can find an interesting overview of the 2007 and 2009 results here.

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I recently visited the ADD Forums¹ and noticed the Google ad below (circled in red). The ad caught my attention ESPECIALLY since it claims to CURE ADD/ADHD. So I took the red pill and clicked on the ad.

The Google ad took me to a “confessional” page. (Link is here.) I read through the page. At the bottom of the page was a link to 3 Steps to Conquering ADD-ADHD.

At the website 3 Steps to Conquering ADD-ADHD the word “cure” almost completely disappeared (except in one case which I will examine at the end of this post). Remember, the first ad used the word “cured.”  Now I only see words like “conquer,” “eliminate” (but only in the context of eliminating symptoms). So, the buildup to my arrival at this site began with an advertisement that claimed it had a cure. That led me to a pseudo-confessional which seemed real (it has a number of typographical and grammatical errors…like a “real” person wrote it) but which, on closer examination, NEVER used the word “cure.” Finally it brought me to 3 Steps to Conquering ADD-ADHD where, again, the word “cure” is almost as scarce as hen’s teeth.

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There was something that really bothered me about the “3 Steps” website. It was misleading. On my journey to the site (the Google Ad, then to the confessional page, then to the site itself) I felt that I was getting closer and closer to the truth. In actuality, I was being deceived by degrees. How this was done is worthy of examination since the same deceptive marketing techniques are used over and over again, not only on the Internet but in print, television and radio.² It is a set of techniques where you, the mark, are led to believe what the confidence man wants you to believe. The con man makes no overt claims but simply sets up various associations. You, however, fill in the blanks thereby taking you closer to the real purpose which is to get you to willingly hand over some of your money.

Truth by Juxtaposition

One technique used to make a lie seem like the truth is to place it next to familiar and trusted symbols. All three institutions are well-known and well-respected. However, there is NOTHING on the 3steps website that indicates that any of these institutions have claimed to be able to eliminate ADD/ADHD other than the self-proclaimed statement “They ALL agree….”. The website offers no relevant links. It allows you, the website visitor, to make the implied connection.

Here is another example of Truth by Juxtaposition. It is easy to assume that these magazines must have endorsed the product. After all, their images are right next to the product that is being sold. Guess what. Again no links. You are free to make the association between the magazines and the product. From a moral perspective you may feel hoodwinked. From a legal perspective, no claim is being made that the products are endorsed, or even reviewed, by the magazines.

Truth by Unsubstantiated Claim

Here we see that the miracle book they are selling has been named the number one self-help book for A.D.D. for two years in a row. Well, that’s fantastic! Just one question, “WHO proclaimed it number one?” Seems they never tell us.

Truth by Imitation

Check out the logo for this research institute. Wow! Impressive! They must have serious money backing up their research. It looks like a legitimate institute. Even the name is impressive. I felt I should find out more about it. However a Google search was fruitless. This institute does not exist.

Here’s another example of Truth by Imitation. Sure looks like an Amazon review, doesn’t it? Except it is not. No link back to Amazon. No link to the other 300+ reviews.

Truth By Sharing A Secret

Everyone loves a secret and sure enough, the book contains lots of secrets. Those who are are sympathetic to conspiracies will fall for this one because they know that there are lots of things the government/drug manufacturers, etc., do not want you to know. If it is a secret…it must be true.

Conclusion

Is this the long-awaited miracle cure? Not likely. A cure gets rid of something…permanently. You get the measles. You take the cure. After some time the measles goes away. It’s gone. Will the same happen with ADD? In other words, buy the book, follow the technique, cure ADD? Well…no. Not really. In fact, everything is worded very carefully. The site talks about eliminating symptoms. It does not explicitly talk about curing ADD though that may be the logical implication. However, the website claims over and over that the symptoms can be controlled. It does not say ADD/ADHD can be cured. But there is one exception. Note the second sentence in the screen shot below. Here it says you can “Eliminate Your ADD-ADHD.” That seems to imply a cure.

Might the techniques described in the book help you to control ADD/ADHD? It is very possible. However,  controlling is not the same as eliminating. Therefore this book is no better than many of the other books on the market that purportedly control ADD/ADHD. There’s no compelling reason to purchase this book unless, of course, you’ve been duped.

1. IMPORTANT NOTE: The ADD Forums is only serving the Google Ads and, therefore, is not responsible for the particular ads that appear on its site.
2. Of course, implementing these techniques requires they be adapted to the particular needs of the medium used.

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Need a cure for A.D.D.? You can choose:

• Interactive metronome,
• Yoga,
• Neuroliminal training,
• Chiropractic technique,
• and plain ol’ behavior modification.

Do any of these techniques work? Who knows. But if A.D.D. is truly a problem of a botched wiring job in the brain¹, none of these techniques directly address this wiring problem. The total sum of their effect may be no more than jiggling the wires of A.D.D. and, therefore, they require regular, on-going application since all they may do is temporarily relieve symptoms. That does NOT mean one should not try one of these methods. After all, we do have to somehow exist in a non-A.D.D. world. However, it DOES mean that an A.D.D.er will ALWAYS have to apply and reapply the snake oil.

Liver pills anyone?

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Please contact me if you know of any scientific longitudinal studies that have shown that these methods – or any method – have a lasting effect.

1. On the “botched wiring” see: Frontal Lobe Functioning, A.D.H.D. – Frontal Lobe Volume Smaller. We know that brains can self-repair and generate new neurons and connections. See: Brain cells coaxed into repair duty, Neurogenesis in the Adult Brain, Brain Repair by Cell Replacement & Regeneration.

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• Bob Collier, an expert on “A.D.H.D. as a Fraud Perpetrated on Innocent Children” has never had any experience with A.D.H.D.
• Bob Collier’s research methodology consists of lying back in his Barcalounger®, examining his own mind – finding that it is empty – and thereby concluding that the concept of A.D.H.D. is also empty and, therefore has no basis in reality.
• Bob Collier himself has no basis in reality. He probably does not exist.
• Dr. Baughman, on the other hand, has lots of things in his mind and believes lots of things…but only if he can see them.
• Dr. Baughman can not see the cause of most – if not all – psychological problems. Therefore, such things as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, P.T.S.D., asperger’s syndrome, A.D.H.D., and so on, do not exist.²

Based on their own writings we can conclude that the Baughman-Collier Parallel Universe is a wonderfully happy, simple and problem-free place. Such maladies as hyperactivity and post traumatic stress disorder just do not exist. And I am willing to bet that in this parallel universe the sun shines every day, there is no poverty and democracy reigns supreme.

I am sure that many of us wish we could live in their universe. Unfortunately the vast majority are firmly planted in that other universe where life is not simple and where psychological problems do exist. In our universe, we believe we must find solutions to these psychological problems. In their universe, they believe that these problems do not exist at all.

Q.E.D.

“[W]here ignorance is bliss, ‘Tis folly to be wise.” – Thomas Gray

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Readers might want to examine the following blog posts that discuss the very real issue of dealing with the Baughman-Collier Parallel Universe:

• ADHD – Are We Making This Up? Part 1
• ADHD – Are We Making This Up? Part 2
• ADHD – Are We Making This Up? Part 3

1. If you think you missed a few, click here.
2. I’m willing to bet, though, that Dr. Baughman believes in God even though God is invisible.

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Source: http://www.adhdfraud.org/emails/100604-3.htm

In an interview conducted by PBS’s “Frontline,” Dr. Baughman asserts:

“They [psychiatrists] know the illusions of disease and biology that their pseudoscientific biologic research weaves… . They are intentionally deceiving the public. ”
See: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/medicating/interviews/baughman.html

Further, we find in the same interview (which should probably have been titled “In the Wack-A-Doodle World of Dr. Baughman”) an assertion that I think most people in the medical field would find astounding.

PBS Interview Asks: Why did it happen that there are all these kids on drugs?

Dr. Wack-A-Doodle Replies: “… Physicians have half the number of new patients that they had in 1965. To make ends meet financially, they have to invent things to do. Psychiatry and the pharmaceutical industry have become financial economic partners. And frankly, part of their economic compensation has been to develop a strategy whereby they claimed, without science, that all mental illnesses, all things behavioral and emotional, are physical brain dysfunctions or abnormalities.” [Emphasis added]

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The following comes from Dr. Baughman’s website:

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD: D and L, if you agree with "most" but not all of what I say: that there is no such thing as a mental, psychiatric disease/physical abnormality/chemical imbalance, you do not yet understand that such "disease" claims are a total,100% fraud. Absent objective brain diseases, all humans are capable of learning self control. It is up to the adults in their lives--parents, teachers, mostly, to teach them self control, and up to the individual, increasingly through childhood and adolescence, to learn self-control on his own. Parents, teachers and individuals who have come to believe in the chemical imbalance, psychiatic diagnosis as disease model, not knowing what to expect from themselves and the adults in their lives are terribly handicapped as set forth in life. Fred Baughman, MD ]

I agree with most of what you say regarding mental illness,
especially ADHD, but then how do you initially “treat” and continue to
treat a child or an adult who displays distactible and accelerated
behavior?

Source: http://www.adhdfraud.org/emails/121404-c.htm

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The following comes from Dr. Baughman’s website:

Dr. Baughman,

I don’t dismiss your claims, a priori, that ADHD is not really a disease.
However, why is it that there is virtually no public debate on the topic?
Do the pharmaceutical companies really exert such an overwhelming influence?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
E**** E******

[Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD: Eddie, you better believe it! And all of psychiatric and medical academia and the media are bought out. Time and Newsweek both look like brochures from pharma, how can they ever write the science. They cannot and they do not. But keep your eyes on Support Coalition International hunger strikers in Pasadena, who are now forcing the American Psychiatric Association to answer the question: "Are schizophrenia, OCD, PTSD ADHD and other psychiatric conditions actual brain diseases, yes or no? and cite, reference specific articles in the scientific literature." FB]

Source: http://www.adhdfraud.org/emails/090903-3.htm

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Be sure to revisit this blog in the near future when I prove that teenage sex is a disorder concocted by the condom manufacturers.

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Oh, one more thing. Please ignore this “Rebecca” lady. She thinks she’s got A.D.D. and refuses to acknowledge that it does not exist.

1. THE MILLIONS OF CHILDREN LABELED ADHD (OR ANY PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER) WERE NORMAL ALL ALONG
2. Toyota Hybrid
3. Al Gore, Genius or Putz?
4. All My Exes Live In Texas The US Supreme Court. See also All My Exes
5. Global Warming? Pish, posh
6. Yes, that’s a technical term.
7. Wack-a-doodles v Car Manufacturers Speaking of wack-a-doodles in California, did I mention that Dr. Baughman resides in that state?

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I should probably not be stating this on a publicly accessible website but I feel I have little choice in the matter: I am a brain surgeon. Well, let me clarify that. My area of expertise is brain surgery. This does not mean that I have any experience in the field of brain surgery. However, using my first-hand experience at cutting things open and whatever facts I can discover (I found out that the brain has two hemispheres. Would you like me to show you?) I have declared myself an expert brain surgeon. Based on this experience and knowledge I conclude that brain tumors do not exist. In all my years as a brain surgeon I have never encountered a brain tumor. Please do not show me brain scan images. They are digital and, therefore, can easily be faked. I do believe that the whole concept of “brain tumor” has been concocted by unscrupulous surgeons who see it as a way to justify ten hours (or more!) of very expensive and, therefore very lucrative, surgical procedures. As an expert on all matters involving the brain I concur with Mr. Collier that A.D.D./A.D.H.D. does not exist. As Mr. Collier writes:

“I’m possibly the only person involved in the ‘ADHD debate’ that I know of who has no first-hand experience of the problem whatsoever. For me, the subject is entirely to do with ideas and beliefs and how they compare with my own experiences and whatever facts I’m able to discover.” Source: http://www.adhd-report.com/letter.html

Further, as noted in the blog Making A.D.H.D. Work For You which takes a critical view of Mr. Collier:

Mr. Collier feels that ADHD is a artificially made-up term…. He cites different studies, including those of the brain that do not correlate with a defined ADHD disorder. He feels that the pharmaceutical companies have exploited the term ADHD and turned it into a so-called cash cow for their own monetary gain and greed.

Source: ADHD – Are We Making This Up?

The conclusion is obvious. Mr. Collier has as much experience in the field of A.D.D./A.D.H.D. as I do in the field of brain surgery. Therefore his pronouncements carry as much weight as my pronouncements. I assume that he does research the way I do: I sit in my lounge chair and examine the world around me (hmmm…no brain tumors around here…but…uh oh…looks like the house needs to be painted again), I pick only the “facts” that support my conclusion (or I just make things up based on my experience) and then I pass final judgment. And I too see the ugly hand of greed which concocts phony ailments like brain tumors and A.D.D., turning them into cash-cows to be exploited. Those of you in the mass media who are looking for experts in the field of brain tumors or A.D.D./A.D.H.D. might want to contact us for our expert testimony. We can offer proof of the non-existence of brain tumors and the non-existence of A.D.D./A.D.H.D. However, you might have trouble contacting Mr. Collier since Mr. Collier does not actually exist…and I can prove it. According to his website contact page he lives in Australia. But based on my experience and extensive research into the “facts”¹ I have concluded that the world is flat. On a flat earth Australia can not exist. Yes, it’s “down under” but under what? The other side of a flat earth? Logic dictates that anything on the underside of a flat object would simply fall off (you can try this at home with an ordinary kitchen table). Therefore, Mr. Collier’s claim of living in Australia is either patently false (he lives somewhere else) or if he continues to claim he lives in Australia – a non-existent country – then Mr. Collier himself does not exist. Q.E.D. ²

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I examined the cockeyed logic of the A.D.D. deniers in an earlier blog posting: The Logic of the Deniers.

1. See: The Flat Earth Society
2. Impeccable logic. I feel like Dr. Pangloss!

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