<p>Placebo effect. You might do just as well with a sugar pill, as long as you are not aware that it is a sugar pill. The mere fact of taking a pill, even if it is a sugar pill, can have beneficial effects. We call that the placebo effect.</p>
<p>I’ll tell you what is out of control in my area is the use of manufactured ailments to get extended time on all tests including sat. one kid told another he got extra time because he was diagnosed with “test taking anxiety” i kid you not.</p>
<p>This has long been a problem. I’ve seen many kids get kicked out of school for selling these drugs, they seem more popular than pot. The girls especially love them because they have the added benefit of keeping them thin.</p>
<p>^^makes me insane. Cant wait for that kid to graduate college, get a job, ask his boss for “extra time” to finish a work assignment.</p>
<p>i know a kid that got into yale using the extra time scam. no way for yale to know about it. i actually think some secondary schools actually like this as it helps their college admits.</p>
<p>So are you suggesting that a kid can demand extra time to finish an SAT because he or she suffers from an anxiety disorder???</p>
<p>with a doctors paid for note, absolutely.</p>
<p>I am left at a loss for words. So are many kids trying to get such “doctor” notes???</p>
<p>Years ago, my wife and I were applying my son to our local private day school. We were rather horrified by the stories about how many families of seemingly normal, active, curious boys were required by the school to have their sons evaluated for ADHD. And were were schocked that many of these seemingly normal and healthy boys were actually medicated. I remember having the impression that the SCHOOL HAD AN AGENDA. Now that I have learned that these agents may provide an impetus in cognitive horsepower even of normals, it occurs to me that perhaps the school was pushing for the overdiagnosis and for its treatment with meds IN THE HOPE THAT IMPROVED COGNITIVE FUNCTION WOULD LEAD TO IMPROVED SCORES AND ULTIMATELY TO IMPROVED COLLEGE MATRICULATION, which is the school’s selling point. Someone, please tell me that this is not so!!!</p>
<p>In my askinng around, it seems the “note” deal is much more common in upscale private schools where you have more parent obsession with top colleges. friends with kids in average income publics don’t see it. typical kid i know has a attorney mother that has one child, quits her practice to raise a “super” kid and then uses every advantage and angle. the kids don’t seem to be that popular though.</p>
<p>Pan1956, am I allowed to be skeptical on the benefits of these drugs? Did anyone see the study which showed no difference between medicated and non-medicated children at the eight-year mark after diagnosis? [NIMH</a> · Short-term Intensive Treatment Not Likely to Improve Long-term Outcomes for Children with ADHD](<a href=“http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2009/short-term-intensive-treatment-not-likely-to-improve-long-term-outcomes-for-children-with-adhd.shtml]NIMH”>Short-term Intensive Treatment Not Likely to Improve Long-term Outcomes for Children with ADHD - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH))
</p>
<p>The New Yorker article you linked to pointed out that the regular, non-prescription users of neuroenhancers are not academic leaders:
It’s interesting that they are also more willing to use illicit recreational drugs.</p>
<p>The best students during my college days were the organized, disciplined students who were in bed by 10, attended all their classes, and focused on their studies. A drug which facilitates all-nighters wouldn’t have helped them, because they didn’t need to pull all-nighters. We don’t know the long-term effects of using these drugs. We do know that lack of sleep has serious side effects, including a greater risk of obesity and diabetes. I’ve read reports of studies which found that lack of sleep decreases academic performance.</p>
<p>I suspect that abuse of these drugs is rampant in all high schools. Prep schools might have fewer illicit users, if sale and use of neuroenhancers can lead to expulsion. I don’t think anyone’s looking for it in public school. </p>
<p>I’m more concerned about the perception that children must take these drugs to keep up with peers. I know families who have children with ADHD, who have gone to great lengths to get the best diagnosis and treatment for their children. On the other hand, I know parents who seek every possible advantage for their children.</p>
<p>Sentences to ponder:
</p>
<p>[Taking</a> the SAT untimed. - By Arthur Allen - Slate Magazine](<a href=“http://www.slate.com/id/2141820/]Taking”>Taking the SAT untimed.)</p>
<p>well there you have it. it makes me sick.</p>
<p>I have a niece who has ADD. She had to go through 5 months of psychological and cognitive tests plus long questionnaires for her teachers,family etc before she was diagnosed. She is not hyper but has great difficulty focusing. She was years behind as far as social interaction because she was never catching the subtle signs of body language, intonation etc. She went on ritalin and since has progressed fantastically. A huge difference. She has tried going off a couple times over the past 4 years but always falls behind when she does so. This drug has made her life far more manageable and she is happier. Because of the problems she had before, she was becoming severely depressed and angry but after experiencing success with her peers and in school, life is much better.<br>
Maybe ADD/ADHD is highly overdiagnosed due to parents/teachers/Drs with alterior motives but it is a real disorder that should not be rejected simply because it is overused.
As for drug use, children who “truly” have ADD, are impulsive and as such, far more prone to abuse illicit drugs. When treated with ritalin however, they are able to listen to the control center of their brain and reject the impulsivity that leads them to drug abuse. Studies have show that untreated ADD teenagers have a higher rate of drug use than treated teenagers…
As for timed/untimed SAT, would the College not secretly think less of the untimed score?</p>
<p>the colleges are not aware that the scores are untimed. has to do with a lawsuit,</p>
<p>I don’t need drugs. If I need to stay up late I pack down a couple vaults. Those usually do the trick. They keep you awake.</p>
<p>I love the way posts can go “POOF” on CC!!!</p>
<p>every kid in my class who ever got a C on a test “has ADD”
There are some kids who have real ADD, and when you meet them, you can TELL.
but at my school no one has ADD.
It’s just a bunch of lazy rich kids who want extra time on tests.
i wish they would just make ridilin availible to the public
its super unfair</p>
<p>K a couple of things:
1.cdnhockeymom, as a kid with ADD I completely agree with most everything you said
2. You guys are just like an angry mob. You don’t know what the heck ADD is other than it means someone has a hard time paying attention so you assume if someone isn’t jumping up and down like they’re ■■■■■■, they don’t have ADD. As far as the extra time on tests, thats just stupid. It’s not just a freaking doctors note you need. There’s a whole application for extra time, go to the SAT website and you’ll find it. You can’t just hand them a note. The amount of extra time depends on the severity of the learning disorder and the effectiveness of the medication.
3. Why did all those posts get deleted?
4. For kids, like me, with ADD ritalin and other meds don’t even bring us up to a normal level of functioning. You can say I’m just procrastinating but when I sit in my swivel chair blankly looking at my math text book from 8pm to 4am, some red flags definitely have to be raised. Even with ritalin, all the stuff even does for me is make me repulsed by food during lunch slightly jittery all day.
5. You demonize all kids who take the test with extra time. Most of us, like me, don’t even apply for extra time, usually because we wouldn’t get it anyway. The kids who do need extra time really do need it.
6. Stop playing doctor when you have so little experience with the issue.</p>
<p>My sister was diagnosed with some crazy learning disabiliy and she gets extra time on her SAT. It’s not that she really needs the extra time, but it’s fairly easy to get extra time. You just need to pay for a doctor.</p>
<p>She gets an extra I think 3 hours on the SAT. She tests around 2100 and is going for the 2200 mark. She is also a National Merit scholar.</p>
<p>So clearly the extra time on tests because of ADD or other funky learning disabilities is just ridiculous. But it’s a huge help if you can get diagnosed.</p>