All Doomed & Delinquents: The Epidemic of Attention Deficit Disorder

Contributing Columnist: +Jen Stone 

Understanding Attention Deficit Disorder

I am very excited to be joining the community at Delirium Today. The mission of Delirium Today is to educate, support and empower—is something that I genuinely believe in, and which takes precedence in my decision to become a physician.

My oldest brother, and biggest love, was diagnosed at a young age with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). ADD presents with inattention, distractibility, disorganization, procrastination, and forgetfulness. Yes, this applies to him, and yes, I believe he has a textbook case of ADD, but based on these symptoms, doesn’t everyone? As someone with severe anxiety, that I now successfully treat with medication, I know how a chemical imbalance can drastically effect one’s attitude, relationship with others, and ultimate success. There are lots of opinions about the over diagnosis of ADD in our society. I may agree with some of them, but I also know that there are people, like my brother and myself, that truly are plagued by a condition that they have absolutely no control over. My goal is to address this dichotomy of over-diagnosis and true health ailment—with ADD and other mental health issues.

This will be as much of a learning experience for me as it is for my readers, and I welcome intelligent comments and probing questions to help us delve deeper into this controversial subject.

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Jen Stone was born in the city of Chicago and attended college at Brown University where she concentrated in Human Biology. Upon graduation, Jen embarked on her Masters degree in Medical Sciences at Loyola University Chicago. Between graduate school, working at a free clinic on the west side, and teaching health education classes at the Lincoln Park Community Shelter—Jen found her niche and built upon her interest of helping the underserved. After graduating in May 2012 with her Master of Arts degree, she began working as a clinical research assistant in orthopedic surgery. Jen will be attending medical school beginning in August 2013, and plans to specialize in emergency medicine.