The Myth Of ADHD: What Did Leon Eisenberg Really Say Before He Died?
On September 15, 2009, Leon Eisenberg, an American psychiatrist of great fame and prestige, died due to cancer.
Some time later, specifically in 2012, the newspaper Der Spiegel would spark great controversy by publishing an article derived from the last interview offered by Mr. Eisenberg, identifying the professional as the discoverer of ADHD and indicating in the article that the famous psychiatrist had recognized that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD was an invented disease.
Before focusing attention on the controversy sparked by such an alleged statement, let’s remember what we are talking about when referring to ADHD.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: what are we talking about?
It is understood by ADHD a set of diverse symptoms grouped around inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivitypresenting itself stably for a period of at least six months.
ADHD symptoms
For the diagnosis of ADHD, it has been established that at least six or more symptoms of inattention must be present (neglect of details, difficulties maintaining attention, busy mind that prevents listening, failure to complete or follow tasks or instructions due to distraction, difficulties of organization, loss of items, avoidance of sustained tasks over time, easy distraction, forgetting of daily activities) and/or six symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity (constant playing, getting up in circumstances in which he should remain seated, motor restlessness, speech excessive, difficulty waiting for turns, interruption of others’ activities, anticipation of the other’s response in a conversation, finishing others’ sentences, inability to play calmly, running around in inappropriate situations).
Some of these symptoms may seem normal at certain ages, but for the diagnosis of ADHD it is required that they be maintained for six months to a degree that does not correspond to the level of development of the subject, taking into account the age and intellectual level of the subject. . That is, in the diagnosis it is taken or should be taken into account that the symptoms occur in an abnormal or exaggerated way. It is also taken into account that the symptoms do not occur in a single environment or situation, but rather that they occur in a generalized way in at least two different environments (thus ruling out that they only occurred at school) and producing a clear deterioration of the activities of the individual.
Although for its diagnosis it is necessary that there have been some symptoms before the age of seven, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can be diagnosed at any age, including adulthood.
In this last aspect, it must be taken into account that although some aspects of ADHD seem to be corrected with age (as frontal brain maturation occurs, which in this disorder is usually slowed down), especially in the case of hyperactivity symptoms , In many untreated cases, some symptoms persist, such as a reduced ability to pay attention. and a certain feeling of inner restlessness.
Leon Eisenberg: why is he called the discoverer of ADHD?
Numerous publications seem to indicate that Mr. Eisenberg was the discoverer of ADHD. This consideration is not entirely correct: although Dr. Eisenberg had great relevance in the study of this disorder, ADHD is a disorder known since ancient times, with references to symptoms and attempts to be explained by previous authors, although it was called by different names. shapes. In fact, the “discoverer of ADHD” himself indicated on some occasion that the disorder was already quite well known before he worked on it: there are references to children with the same symptoms since 1902 by George Still (who would classify them as children with ADHD). moral control) and even descriptions prior to this.
Despite this, Mr. Eisenberg did have a very relevant role in the consideration of this disorder: he was a pioneer in giving due importance to genetic factors in the etiology of this disorder (before this and other authors advanced their research from a more biological and neuroanatomical perspective, some of the etiological explanations of the disorder focused on the absence of a correct socio-emotional bond with the parents, especially with the mother, with which the parents were partly blamed for their child’s disorder), as well as introducing ADHD into the reference manual of American psychiatry and psychology, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM. This last fact is what has probably caused Leon Eisenberg to be sometimes called the discoverer of ADHD.
That said, let’s focus our attention again on the original topic of this article: the supposed confession of its non-existence. In the article that appeared in the newspaper Der Spiegel The interviewee’s words seem clear, but they appear decontextualized, making it easy to distort the meaning they had in their initial context. In fact, part of the problem is based on a misinterpretation of the meaning of the words in their English-German translation. The interview in question also focused on examining the increase in diagnoses of mental disorders in recent times.
With a more contextualized review of the interview situation, it is possible to observe that the criticism of the so-called discoverer of ADHD was focused on the spectacular increase in the number of supposed new cases of the problem.
So, the well-known psychiatrist referred to the overdiagnosis of this disorderoften treating pharmacologically cases in which the disorder does not exist and in which, if there are symptoms, they may be due to psychosocial factors, such as parental divorce, changes in location or lifestyle, or other personal losses (in which case ADHD should not be talked about unless it is a problem unrelated to the life events in question).
Another critical point is the excessive tendency to prescribe medication, given that although it can be a great help for those who suffer from it, it can be harmful if administered to individuals without this disorder. Furthermore, we must take into account the fact that these are normally minors, so special care must be taken when administering psychotropic drugs. Furthermore, in the same interview he indicated that even if there is evidence of a certain genetic predisposition to this disorder, it was overvalued, requiring more research on the psychosocial causes.
In conclusion, it can be considered that the article that indicated that Dr. Eisenberg had denied the existence of ADHD is the product of a misinterpretation of his wordsthe psychiatrist not having indicated that the disorder does not exist but rather that it is diagnosed with excessive haste, making the diagnosis in cases that do not suffer from it.
Bibliographic references:
Von Blech, J. (2012). “Schwermut ohne Scham.” Der Spiegel. 06.02.2012.
