ADHD: A Modern Scourge

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder has been diagnosed in approximately 87.6% of all boys under the age of 13. I know this because I have worked in cub scouts. I don’t know the statistics for girls, but I suspect it’s something like 0.876%. They have other diseases, like cooties for example, according to experts. I also know this from working in cub scouts. But both of these facts are irrelevant to my point: adults who suffer from ADHD are obnoxious and a scourge to many in modern society.

Take “Geoff.” He does suffer from adult ADHD, which means he paces a lot during meetings, can’t listen to more than the first sentence or two of any conversation, including his own, and frequently forgets things that everyone else seems to remember with a great deal of clarity. It also means he has a hard time looking at his latest epiphany in the context of a bigger strategy. At one time, this would also have been diagnosed as MBD, Minimal Brain Dysfunction. Either way, Geoff needs Methylphenidate, commonly known as Ritalin.

Let me illustrate the ill-effects of an unmedicated Geoff:

Geoff: I am planning to hire this guy. He is a former consultant from Deloitte & Touche and knows banking.

Me: Oh, okay. What is he going to do?

Geoff: I don’t know yet.

While I realize that there are negative side-effects to any medication, I am prepared to let Geoff suffer them for the greater good of society. Anything to stop this modern scourge that afflicts so many otherwise innocent co-workers.

Please.