美国国家公共电台 NPR Adult ADHD Can't Be Diagnosed With A Simple Screening Test, Doctors Warn

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The World Health Organization has endorsed¹ a six-question screening test for ADHD in adults. Now, this is catching² a lot of people's attention because, with symptoms like distractedness and disorganization, it can be pretty tempting³ to diagnose yourself or others with ADHD. But as NPR's Rebecca Hersher reports, many ADHD researchers say we shouldn't really trust any simple or quick test.

REBECCA HERSHER, BYLINE⁴: The screening test includes questions like - do you procrastinate⁵? - and appears to promise a quick and easy diagnosis⁶. David Goodman is an ADHD specialist at Johns Hopkins University and consultant⁷ for companies that make ADHD drugs. And he says there's nothing quick or easy about diagnosing adult ADHD.

DAVID GOODMAN: The diagnosis gets made in a clinical interview with the patient over the course of an hour or so, tracking the symptoms from childhood into adulthood⁸.

HERSHER: And, he says, especially in adults, docs need to make sure symptoms like distractedness, disorganization and procrastination⁹ aren't coming from some other disorder¹⁰ like anxiety. Dr. Lawrence Diller, a pediatric ADHD specialist, goes one step further, saying the basic definition of ADHD has changed multiple times.

LAWRENCE DILLER: I don't know anymore what ADHD means - literally¹¹. I believe in it. But except for extremes in children, again, it becomes very subjective¹².

HERSHER: Making diagnosis difficult. He says diagnostic tools like the six-question screening are potentially misleading because the symptoms they describe are so ubiquitous. Like, who isn't distracted?

DILLER: In America, if your talents and temperament¹³ don't match your goals and aspirations¹⁴, that incongruity¹⁵ generates a series of feelings or behaviors that match quite nicely the diagnostic criteria¹⁶.

HERSHER: Which makes ADHD meds very popular among Americans. The U.S. is by far the largest consumer of ADHD drugs in the world. And the market is still growing. Alan Schwarz is a former investigative reporter for The New York Times and the author of the book "ADHD Nation." He says there's something more sinister¹⁷ at play, as well.

ALAN SCHWARZ: The six-question screening instrument that was endorsed by the World Health Organization was devised by doctors with a very long history in ADHD. And these are generally men who have been enriched by the pharmaceutical¹⁸ industry in order to churn out research and churn out things like this that expand the ADHD market.

HERSHER: So what options are available for adults who are diagnosed with ADHD? There are amphetamines like Adderall. Adults are generally prescribed extended-release versions of those pills because they're more difficult to abuse. Antidepressants have also been shown to help with impulsivity¹⁹ and hyperactivity. And there are options without drugs, like cognitive²⁰ behavioral therapy. The upshot - your best bet is to talk to a specialist about what treatment works best for you. Rebecca Hersher, NPR News.

1 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

3 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 procrastinate   

v.耽搁，拖延

参考例句：

• Most often we procrastinate when faced with something we do not want to do.面对不想做的事情，我们经常拖延。
• It's easy to procrastinate when the deadline seems infinitely far away.当最终期限总是遥遥无期时是很容易延期的。

6 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

7 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

8 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

9 procrastination   

n.拖延，耽搁

参考例句：

• Procrastination is the father of failure. 因循是失败的根源。
• Procrastination is the thief of time. 拖延就是浪费时间。

10 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

11 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

12 subjective   

a.主观(上)的，个人的

参考例句：

• The way they interpreted their past was highly subjective. 他们解释其过去的方式太主观。
• A literary critic should not be too subjective in his approach. 文学评论家的看法不应太主观。

13 temperament   

n.气质，性格，性情

参考例句：

• The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
• Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

14 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

15 incongruity   

n.不协调，不一致

参考例句：

• She smiled at the incongruity of the question.面对这样突兀的问题，她笑了。
• When the particular outstrips the general,we are faced with an incongruity.当特别是超过了总的来讲，我们正面临着一个不协调。

16 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

17 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

18 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

19 impulsivity   

认知的熟虑性？冲动性

参考例句：

• Fortifying executive function and restraining impulsivity are possible with active interventions. 积极干预可能有助加强执行功能和抑制冲动性。

20 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。