Backroads

I'm only 40 and I'm starting to settle into my preferred tech.

I think it may actually go deeper than that. I've seen some scary, scary ideas in the natural health world. There isn't a plan for exactly a master race, but ... it's kind of there. Literal calls to let a good plague wipe out the weak or something. The snake oil is tricky because it might be more innocent. I have a relative who made his millions in the natural health industry, and it's an industry that is far, far more profitable than vaccines. I like the peach pit cancer cure example you made. It really does boil down to "vaccines can upset my bottom line" so they have to, as a matter of business, discourage vaccines. You get it with the smaller "I'm just trying to feed my family" crowd, yes, but it's a big business. I think a lot of these people aren't maliciously intended, but I also think some of them are caring more about the almighty dollar than public health. They also get the added guise of "but we're natural!" to hide behind. To edit: I also don't care much for the attitude behind the anti-vax movement. There's a lot of shadow play and manipulation. "Do your own research" drives me crazy. It's a blatant attempt to sow distrust while also being an idiotic declaration that research is bad. Sorry @Ironhold, but I don't care much for the idea of reading an article instead of analyzing the studies they used for the article. Science-based studies? Oh, you'll have people who will line you up with studies to read. But the anti-vax is a bizarre attempt to make you doubt your own mind and studies and follow a false prophet. It's been years now, but I'll never forget that incident where a mom group convinced one of their moms to let her kid die instead of using modern medicine and then made it into cover-up.

Then there's me who really does think there is a Big Natural Health conspiracy that is intentionally trying to reintroduce diseases.

There is some far right conservative stuff that is quite the apostasy mess.

One of my favorite LDS mom group horror stories was a lady who claimed she had received revelation that she was on a higher spiritual plane than the prophet and that's why she didn't vaccinate her kids (any vaccines) and knew the prophet would one day be punished for allowing vaccines.

Nutrition is a fascinating thing. I am a little wary of those who claim it is everything. I've made no secret of my distaste for anti-vaxxers and Big Natural Health, who I find to be for the most part grifters.

It's absolutely overdiagnosed. I think to some degree we are in a time where disorders may be some variation of "cool". I definitely believe in circumstances that are so extreme they cause real issues and need to be treated, but people are also trying to categorize every little thing. My concern is that we're so scattered on how to approach not just ADHD but attention in general that we are at a loss for that elusive best way to learn. A common sadness among teachers is that we can't really do much that is more active because kids have no traditionally-learned limits, so all the time is spent practicing limits and boundaries. "I would love for you to run around. Can you do it without destroying something or hitting someone?" That's a surprising amount of steps and skills to get to that point.

I hate to say it, but this is almost what I suspect. Which sounds curmudgeonly, but there's that confession.

@Carborendum Much in your post fits the situation. There is evidence to suggest she does have an intellect problem, which can't be easy. She has a job, but can't get it together to keep money on hand. I know a few people have tried to involve a social worker, but nothing comes of it. It's just frustrating and sad.

I believe the current terms is that it's the same issue but may be hyperactive or inattentive. I have a lot of ADHD and Tourettes in my family, and us eventually learning about this stuff was life-changing. Then came the day when my ADHD mom, while helping a friend learn about her kid's autism diagnosis, kept glancing at my dad, the guy she just assumed was an awkward nerd she happened to fall in love with. Now diagnosed, and the childhood stories about him are textbook. I suspect I have ADHD myself, though not diagnosed. I was the model student growing up, but my brain is also an oddity. I think I mentioned in another thread about a student I had that couldn't even get out the door to go to recess for the recommended running around time, he was so unfocused. Could barely eat because of the wiggliness and attention. He'd be about 5th or 6th grade now and I wonder if they ever found something to help him.

Sadly, people have tried that. She has no interest in a social worker. She refuses to work with anyone.

There may be a little bit of compassion fatigue here mixed with an attempt to say, see, there's a problem. But I had an experience today that makes me wonderful just how to help this person. I know there are far worse examples. A couple of my buy nothing/local needs/free stuff groups have the same individual in them. Let's call her Betty. For several years now, Betty pops up a few times a month to beg for this and that. She seems to be in and out of housing and jobs, and apparently loses her SNAP and WIC every time she gets a job. Early on, people accused Betty of being some sort of scammer, but the reality of reports seems to be that she is just entirely helpless, not even clever enough to turn these into scams. For the past year in particular, she has been unable to access many a local bit of help due to having her driver's license stolen. She can't replace it because her family apparently won't help her. So a couple of weeks ago, I challenged her to talk to the vital records office about getting a free copy of her birth certificate (which she can get because she is currently homeless. She says it's too hard and the family member who is living at a hotel with her doesn't know how to help. So... I actually offer to meet her at the vital records office or, if she can't figure out how to get there, lead her in a conference call with someone there to walk her through the steps. She agrees. Today is to be the day. She says she doesn't feel well enough to make a call. She then posts this evening in two groups how she is desperate for food. Like, I don't know how to help this woman. She can't be bothered to help herself. I now feel quite un-Christlike after typing this, but it makes me wonder what we as mortals can do to help people like this. Is this just a fate of a fallen world?

You're not wrong. I bet there's more confusion and misdiagnosis than people care to realize. I have friends in the ADHD/autism crowd, and they say if it's "cured" by changing foods, getting ears checked, etc, it probably wasn't ADHD or autism. A mild example, but hopefully the picture is coming across. Random story: I have a student this year in online school who was quite exasperating. Without diagnosing, I'd bet five bucks she has ADHD or autism or something. She spent half the year interrupting and lately seems to color and play with markers instead of listening to me. Despite the exasperation, I soon found her quite endearing. The other day she attempts to lead a lesson, one that is fairly routine, and I had spent the year assuming she had completely tuned or spaced out this entire thing. She did an awesome job.

I tend to agree. Or rather, that we have such a confusing view of medicine that we tend to over or under-medicate. As far as ADHD, I am speaking merely as an observer, but here's typical squirrely kid, a kid who is a little squirrlier than others, and then there's the true ADHD child who many would be shocked and possibly horrified to observe.

I find people who don't see ADHD or what else as crutches do far better.