If Calvin Took Ritalin (A Tragedy In Four Panels)
laughingsquid.com
laughingsquid.com
There's no reason he'd be less creative or imaginative. There's no reason he wouldn't decide to go play in the snow. Getting to work on a paper for school early is a sign that he's learning to enjoy school, not a sign that he's become some kind of little automaton as implied. The world would not go gray for poor Calvin. In fact, he'd be better able to entertain even more complicated fantasies, to even better ponder life's mysteries, and to savor the world around him more fully.
I'm not saying that medicine is always the thing for everyone, but this comic implies that medicating children for ADHD is a tragedy. It implies that we'd be left with Calvin alone rather than Calvin and Hobbes. An imagination crushed and a childhood ruined.
On the contrary, it would be more likely to become Calvin and Hobbes and Crusoe and Harry Potter and Native Americans and Beethoven and Newton. Because he would be able to read a wider variety of books more easily.
And Calvin would finally be able to do math, complete his homework without it taking three times as long as it should, and to think about what he wants to say prior to actually saying it instead of lacking that capability.
It doesn't wipe out the interest in or capacity for daydreaming; it prevents daydreaming from running unchecked and unintended over other valuable and interesting things that a kid can do.
I think Calvin is a pretty normal kid in the scheme of things and that the comic is a commentary on medicating our kids . . . not to be kids! I'm not a ADHD denier but my reading suggests that it is both over diagnosed and over prescribed for. A commentary on this over diagnosis is what I get from the comic. I have definitely met ADHD kids who you cannot doubt have behavioural problems and for whom medication should be an option.
But it makes a slew of misleading implications on the way there, and in doing so, it perpetuates the stigma I mentioned before.
Edit to add: My reading has been that it is both over-diagnosed and under-diagnosed depending on a variety of factors. Some social contexts lead to one, some lead to the other.
One of the main reasons for under-diagnosis is that some popular beliefs about the brain, behavior, and medicine are off the mark, extending to parents, teachers, administrators, and even doctors. It's a very, very frustrating situation.
As depressing as this comic can seem to people only superficially aware of what ADHD is...that's not quite what being on stimulants makes me feel. On one hand, you do see a side of me that can sit down and get something boring done and you might think that it's turned me into an automaton (what an appropriate description). But what most people don't see is the lessening of a buildup of frustration, depression, disintegrating self-esteem, breakdowns when my coping mechanisms fail, the shame and anger from being called "lazy" or told I'm "lacking willpower". Add to that growing up with adults like the teachers/school counselors around me that were convinced I was just lazy because I was a "know it all" that clearly should be able to do whatever I was asked to do and I was not hyper so obviously my problem wasn't ADHD (I have inattentive-type ADHD), I just needed to get my shit together...apparently.
Still to this day and no more a kid, people still say the same hurtful things to me, and add to that the sneer of either "you must be abusing those drugs" or "yeah right, who really has ADHD as an adult". Except, you know, my problems now are not my pre-algebra homework from 5th grade or who thinks what of me on the playground. They're the more serious relationships, bills, jobs, and other general adult responsibilities I struggle with and that I would very much regret if they went down the same path my pre-algebra homework went. I have some ways to cope with this without being medicated, but if I did not have my Adderall nowadays, my life would eventually become a disaster. I don't hyperfocus on something I know I hate doing, it just helps me improve focus on the things in my life that matter to me. It is exactly what you say...it may let me do my work in half the time it otherwise does, but it also means I can spend more time delving into things rather than running around everywhere (mentally speaking). My creative output increases as a result.
There are plenty of stupid parents out there that abuse ADHD diagnoses and drugs so their kids have an advantage over others. There are plenty of older teens and adults that use them for whatever benefit they might get (see even the HN topics that pop up once in a while about various nootropics). There's definitely issues with abuse and misdiagnoses here. None of that discounts the fact that some people do have a problem, and that drugs like Ritalin can make a huge positive difference in their lives.
Too bad people will stick with their stereotypical nonsense regardless.
Doubleplusgood, brother. Non-pharma though-proc, rectified!
The three that had any sort of effect were Ritalin, Strattera, and Adderall.
* Ritalin was robot mode. I'd get work done, but only in areas that were analytical, not creative. Off the Ritalin, my problem with creative writing was being easily distracted and procrastination, but my papers were (reported as being) entertaining with a sense of "flow". On the Ritalin, I was so analytical that my teachers started accusing me of plagarism, because it looked like I was writing for an encyclopedia.
* Strattera: Strattera had very little effect on my concentration or procrastination. Where it had a dramatic effect was my impulse control; it inserted a short buffer of introspection between thought/desire and action that had sometimes been missing. Off the Strattera, I'd buy a box of cookies I'd never tried before, because they looked interesting; no second thoughts would emerge at all. On the Strattera, I would think that I didn't need the calories, they were just a different arrangement of chocolate and biscuit, and a waste of money in any case. Didn't help with my schoolwork, but it did have a very positive effect. (Especially on my diet and my entertainment budget.)
* Adderall: Adderall is what I use now. It gives me extremely intense focus on whatever I am doing, without reducing my enthusiasm for the task or my level of creativity. The primary downside is that it allows that focus on anything I'm doing when it kicks in. If I'm doing the dishes when it starts to work, I'll do all the dishes, then clean the kitchen, reorganize the cupboards, clean the fridge, and only then start working. My tactic is to take the pill with my coffee, set a timer for 1 hour and play some casual games, then start on a problem for my job. When it kicks in, I'll be set. Adderall is notably different in SR and XR varieties as well; SR is a short intense spike that lasts 2-4 hours, whereas XR works after an hour and a half and keeps rolling for 5-9 hours, depending on food/caffeine intake.
Your diagnosis was valid. The Ritalin was a step in the right direction if not the end solution, far from a tragic development. You had continued interaction with professionals to find the right treatment, and in the end, there was a substantial net benefit.
Thanks for sharing. Glad you found something that works for you. Adderall XR is what's worked for me as well.
I take XR in the morning and another XR or IR as needed in the afternoon and evening, they're not exclusive. Works great for those really long days when a few hours doesn't cut it, and it's a common ground between the XR lasting long (not quite as intense though) and the short spikes from the IR version.
That said, it's interesting that you make the assumption that Calvin had ADHD.
The strip works because Calvin doesn't have ADHD, and medicating someone who doesn't have ADHD is a tragedy.
Whether or not Calvin actually has ADHD is impossible to discern in this comic. I don't see a psychiatrist in one panel saying, "No, I think he's just really creative and playful," and then the parents get a second and third opinion until they get the pills.
Instead, the author is implying that the medication's benefits are immaterial, the details of the diagnosis and other treatment are immaterial, that pills naturally squelch creativity and playfulness, that they suck the color out of the world figuratively, and that all of this is an end state.
This comic could be twice as long with some more gray, a concerned parent, another trip to the doctor, and then a final frame of Hobbes and Calvin working at the desk together.
Or it could refrain from turning Hobbes into merely a doll and instead have him just hang out, ready for Calvin whenever he's done with his work.
Or it could show Hobbes become a mere doll for a few days, his parents come in to ask why he's not playing anymore, then deciding to not give him meds on weekends and vacation days.
Or it could show that the medicine wears off near the end of the school day and that his evenings remain playful.
But none of these are as sensational and none of them give voice to the widespread belief that ADHD is a fiction and its medication a societal blight.
I'm sorry to seem so hard on the posting of this comic--I'm not. On the contrary, I think it provides a nice platform for analyzing what's wrong with it and how that reflects common beliefs. The first time I saw this comic, I liked it. That was before I was diagnosed as ADHD and began doing my research about it.
For me it'd be like a comic from the 50s where the protagonist says, "My grandfather smoked 2 packs a day and died in his sleep at 100!" while towering over a bunch of simpering nerds clutching the surgeon general's warning.
There's just a lot of popular resistance to the reality of ADHD because it is a relatively subtle condition and also a complex one. The valid criticisms to be made and questions to be raised are valuable, but it's a shame for them to be lost amidst sweeping and largely misinformed generalizations.
Again, no hard feelings or anything. This is a subject about which I care deeply, and thanks again for posting this comic.
http://www.joeydevilla.com/2008/01/09/calvin-and-hobbes-off-...