<p>Sluggish cognitive tempo.
Read about it here in the NYT:
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/12/health/idea-of-new-attention-disorder-spurs-research-and-debate.html?_r=0">http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/12/health/idea-of-new-attention-disorder-spurs-research-and-debate.html?_r=0</a></p>
<p>Meh, I’m not buying it. Sounds to me like they just need another excuse to get more kids on drugs. </p>
<p>“Called sluggish cognitive tempo, the condition is said to be characterized by lethargy, daydreaming and slow mental processing.”</p>
<p>If I saw a child with only the symptoms mentioned in the article, disorder would be the farthest thing from my mind. Since when does daydreaming, lethargy, and a little slowness indicate a disorder? I’ve never talked to someone who was a little lethargic and thought, “dang, something’s really wrong with that person, they should really get on medication.” I think most kids would complain about lethargy what with lack of sleep from ridiculous homework loads, sports schedules, and GMO foods. That’s a physical health issue, not a mental one. Daydreaming? Since when is that a disorder!? It’s just a personality type and I think it’s a good thing. I daydreamed extensively when I was little, now I’ve turned many of those dreams into goals and I’m doing just fine. Daydreaming is a sign of creativity, and the world needs more creative people. As for “slow mental processing,” uhm, honestly that sounds like that’s just a fancy word for “dumb.” Maybe they’re not even dumb. Maybe they’re just “slow” because they are too busy thinking of different ideas, answers, etc. Kids who daydream often live inside their heads and so they may seem a bit slower to others simply because it takes a bit to transition from the world inside their heads to the outside world. When is it going to end? Stop trying to slap a disorder label on every perfectly normal child. They just drug anything that’s slightly different from their idea of normal.</p>
<p>I have mild ADHD by the way. I think ADHD is a real disorder in many cases because it does negatively affect children from focusing and being able to accomplish necessary tasks. Children with ADHD often have problems with executive functioning and the hyperactive part bothers many people. This thing though, I don’t see how this is even a negative that needs fixing. Just a tired child who’s creative and lives a little more inside his/her head than other children. Nothing bad ever came of that that I know of. Most grow out of the daydreaming thing by the time they reach highschool anyways.</p>