"But what if I think that most kids with __________ are making it up?"
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I'm not sure if these conversations are happening across the country, but most conversations about ADHD around here include one of the following statements:
Is ADHD prevalent nowadays? Yes. It possible that some ADHD diagnoses aren't legit? Yes. Is it a real disorder? Yes. Can you or I conclusively pass judgment on whether or not a specific individual has a legit diagnosis? Nope.
Now let me put my special needs ministry coordinator hat back on:
Based on all that, would it be wise or profitable for you or I to try to pass judgment on whether or not an individual has a legit diagnosis? No. If you want to debate the issue from a diagnostic or theoretical perspective, particularly if you work in a field related to special education, go for it. Just don't bring that into your ministry.
Whenever you are tempted to pass judgment on the legitimacy of someone's diagnosis, stop. Remember that God is all-knowing and you are not. He knows the ins and outs of each person's life; you only know the tiny sliver of interaction that you have each week or month with that individual.
I don't see Christ analyzing whether or not the woman who was hemorrhaging had sought adequate care first or bled enough to warrant healing. No, instead He noticed her desperate touch on His robe and called her daughter. I don't hear Jesus suggesting that we place bouncers at the door of a Luke 14 banquet to ensure that folks are crippled enough, lame enough, or blind enough. No, He says, "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." I don't read about Christ ignoring the pain of His friends when Lazarus died, even though He knows that the death won't stick because healing will be provided. No, He cares enough and feels enough to weep.
The comments I shared at the beginning remind me of comments I often hear about people who are homeless or poor. Well, we shouldn't help them because they could be making a lot of money panhandling. They could be abusing my kindness. They might even {gasp!} buy alcohol with my money. And so those attitudes provide an excuse not to help others, not to care about them. Could those statements be true? Sure. But can you know with certainly whether or not they are? No.
Why are we so afraid of helping someone who might not be "worthy" (according to our own assumptions, that is)? Could it be that we have somehow deluded ourselves into thinking that we have made ourselves worthy in some way instead of acknowledging that not one of us is deserving of grace? God is the only one who knows without a doubt if a person was rightly diagnosed with a disorder or if a person really needs food. And He is the only one who can take a wretched sinner like me and make her worthy of anything but hell.
What if we became less concerned about trying to be God - which is what we're doing when we try to decide who is and isn't worthy - and became more concerned about loving and serving others?
Everybody has that nowadays.Before I dive into a couple of interesting research notes about individuals with ADHD in a post tomorrow, let me address the statements above, not as a special needs ministry coordinator but as a trained special educator. (And please keep in mind that these are CERTAINLY not limited to ADHD. In my city and at my church, I've noticed that people only make such comments with boldness about ADHD. When they make comments like this about about other special needs, they usually used more hushed tones...or they just think the comment instead of saying it.)
Isn't that just a checklist thing? I mean, it's not a real diagnosis, right?
That's just an excuse for bad behaviors.
That's so overdiagnosed. When I was growing up, we didn't label kids like that, and we did just fine.
Is ADHD prevalent nowadays? Yes. It possible that some ADHD diagnoses aren't legit? Yes. Is it a real disorder? Yes. Can you or I conclusively pass judgment on whether or not a specific individual has a legit diagnosis? Nope.
Now let me put my special needs ministry coordinator hat back on:
Based on all that, would it be wise or profitable for you or I to try to pass judgment on whether or not an individual has a legit diagnosis? No. If you want to debate the issue from a diagnostic or theoretical perspective, particularly if you work in a field related to special education, go for it. Just don't bring that into your ministry.
Whenever you are tempted to pass judgment on the legitimacy of someone's diagnosis, stop. Remember that God is all-knowing and you are not. He knows the ins and outs of each person's life; you only know the tiny sliver of interaction that you have each week or month with that individual.
I don't see Christ analyzing whether or not the woman who was hemorrhaging had sought adequate care first or bled enough to warrant healing. No, instead He noticed her desperate touch on His robe and called her daughter. I don't hear Jesus suggesting that we place bouncers at the door of a Luke 14 banquet to ensure that folks are crippled enough, lame enough, or blind enough. No, He says, "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." I don't read about Christ ignoring the pain of His friends when Lazarus died, even though He knows that the death won't stick because healing will be provided. No, He cares enough and feels enough to weep.
The comments I shared at the beginning remind me of comments I often hear about people who are homeless or poor. Well, we shouldn't help them because they could be making a lot of money panhandling. They could be abusing my kindness. They might even {gasp!} buy alcohol with my money. And so those attitudes provide an excuse not to help others, not to care about them. Could those statements be true? Sure. But can you know with certainly whether or not they are? No.
Why are we so afraid of helping someone who might not be "worthy" (according to our own assumptions, that is)? Could it be that we have somehow deluded ourselves into thinking that we have made ourselves worthy in some way instead of acknowledging that not one of us is deserving of grace? God is the only one who knows without a doubt if a person was rightly diagnosed with a disorder or if a person really needs food. And He is the only one who can take a wretched sinner like me and make her worthy of anything but hell.
What if we became less concerned about trying to be God - which is what we're doing when we try to decide who is and isn't worthy - and became more concerned about loving and serving others?