So now, it seems non-conformity is a form of mental illness

[kandrathe]

Regarding the 'Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders', in lieu of overhauling the entire psychology system (read this), I suspect most psychiatrists will take what they hear with a grain of salt!

The DSM-IV, which the Natural News guy is kvetching about was published in 1994. Evidently, Natural News is slow news. Like decades slow. ODD is diagnosed in children, adults are just anti-social or sociopaths. I also find myself frustrated with a society that doesn't understand that people's giftedness (pick a skill) is on a bell curve, not a square.

However, I too find ODD is often over used by non-psychiatrist teachers to label students who aren't little angels, often tween boys. I've been told my oldest has ODD by a few myself. Rather, he's different in a different way. He does have mild ADHD, but more is impacted by a genetic neural developmental difference affecting the delaying the maturation of his executive functioning and sensory processing at the same rate as his peers. It comes from my mom. People from that lineage don't mentally become adults until early to mid 20's, and they live into their early hundreds. As Dr. Temple Grandin wrote, "Different ... not less."

I had a final thought on the irony, of a political science guy... nvm.