Some revelations sometimes come late. Until very recently, Carole, 47, had never thought that she might have attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD). “I had never even heard the term until my 10-year-old godson was diagnosed,” she says. “After his parents told me about it, it’s possible that I clicked on something something related to ADHD on the Internet, or that I looked up something on the subject.” Because, in the wake of this news about her godson, Carole was bombarded with advertisements for a very particular application: “It promised to help people with ADHD to better organize themselves.” However, looking at her, the real estate broker thinks not of her godson, but of herself.
In the advertisement accompanied by subtitles with approximate syntax, a young woman is filmed in different scenes of daily life, under the title: “ADHD has two sides.” She speaks in front of the camera: “Having ADHD, I am disorganized, always late, moving from one thing to another, my house is cluttered. I spoke to my friend about my symptoms, and she told me recommended to use this app.” Intrigued, Carole tries to obtain it. She quickly becomes disillusioned. The application, called “Liven: Building Habits”, is paid – 34.99 euros – and is not a medical service but a simple task management and organization support. Past the advertising, everything is in English – or another language. The company that develops it has two names: Chestmint Limited, a Cypriot company, on the Apple Store, or LivenTech, a Brazilian company, on Google Play, the Android application download platform.
A vein in publishing
On each interface, the comments that accompany it are disastrous. “I smelled a scam, so I gave up. But I’m considering taking a test with a psychiatrist to see if I really have ADHD. After all, I recognized myself in all the symptoms!” Carole continues. The finding is hardly surprising. In its advertisement, Liven lists “chronic exhaustion”, “social isolation”, but also the ability to write a “doctoral thesis in two weeks of hyperfocus (sic)” like symptoms of ADHD. Broad characteristics, both flattering and worrying enough for everyone to recognize themselves in them. The application rides on the “Barnum effect”, this cognitive bias which implies that people easily recognize themselves in fuzzy, positive descriptions – like personality tests. “More and more people are suffering from inadequacy to the demands of society and are looking for an explanation. The possibility of doing business therefore also exists, notes Dr Charlotte Van Den Driessche, psychiatrist and researcher at the cognitive sciences and psycholinguistics laboratory at the Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS). ADHD presents a double advantage for this business: it is less stigmatizing than depression, and its symptoms are not sufficiently specific, which means everyone can relate to them without questioning their lifestyle.”
The company is not the only one to have understood this: on social networks, videos and articles encouraging self-diagnosis are multiplying. On Instagram, the keyword “ADHD” exceeds 1.3 million publications. On TikTok, the search for “French ADHD” has more than 824 million views. There are hundreds of videos using codes similar to Liven’s advertising: symptoms vague and catch-all enough for everyone to recognize themselves. In publishing houses, the ADHD vein was also quickly uncovered. On Amazon, three books are announced as top sellers. Two of them were published at the start of the school year, like the A Little Illustrated Guide to ADHD, by Alice Gendron (for adults affected by the disorder) and ADHD. Raising an explosive child (for parents of ADHD children). Toy brands, such as Hop’toys, have also entered the market, offering various objects for people suffering from the disorder. Their offer ranges from the Bullet Journal at 5 euros to the Wobbel Big Up, a balance board whose price reaches 299 euros. “Everything is designed to help overstimulated children and adults refocus,” the company explains to L’Express.
Very expensive psychological assessments
Unlike high intellectual potentials (HPI) and hypersensitive people, ADHD is recognized by the medical community. But its diagnosis is complex. Three symptoms are associated with it, “the intensity and manifestations of which vary depending on the person”, according to the High Authority for Health (HAS): attention deficit, motor hyperactivity and impulsivity. Like autism or many mental disorders, such as anxiety or depression, there are no neurological or physical signs specific to it. As L’Express noted in a previous article, it is impossible to take a blood test or a PCR test to find out if you have ADHD. Only health professionals can formally diagnose it. The Health Insurance website, Ameli.fr, also specifies that, “to confirm the diagnosis, several consultations are necessary with the attending physician, then with a doctor specializing in ADHD (pediatrician, neurologist, psychiatrist or child psychiatrist and neuropsychologist), for a course reimbursed by social Security”. But, in a context where healthcare professionals are often overwhelmed and where delays before appointments often exceed several months, future patients are turning to much more expensive alternatives.
“This was our case,” explain Anne and Thierry, a couple from Charente-Maritime whose son is affected by ADHD. We had followed the care pathway, but the waiting times were three years. turned to a private neuropsychologist, and paid 450 euros out of our pocket.” A few years later, her older sister also asked to take the test. “She is more reserved and less aggressive than our son. But we did it for him, so we also did it for her,” says the couple. In fact, the psychological assessment, in particular the IQ tests that make it up, is expensive: the amounts displayed by medical and psychology offices are often around 250 to 500 euros for an assessment alone. Procedures which are therefore often not reimbursed by Social Security.
Coaches for ADHD
A simple Google search is enough to realize this: the market for neuropsychological assessments is a Wild West. Prices vary from single to double. The Psychological Assessment site, run by psychologist Luc Martrenchar, appears for example in the first results. With assessments to detect “high intellectual potential” or “high emotional potential”, the professional also suggests a “remote ADHD screening” for 49 euros. “Please note,” he states at the bottom of the page, “screening for ADHD does not constitute an official diagnosis. In order to obtain an official diagnosis, you need an ADHD assessment (complete emotional and personality assessment) .” This assessment, lasting two hours, is also present on the site – without its price being displayed. In Montpellier, the ADPsy multidisciplinary Center offers a psychometric assessment (250 euros) and neuropsychological assessment in addition (add 175 euros). On the site PedagoPsy.net, the neuropsychological assessment, mentioning ADHD, lasting six hours, costs 550 euros. The organization also displays training courses to “best adapt educational tools to ADHD” (worth 300 euros). A neuropsychologist in Annecy offers, for its part, a complete assessment, also lasting six hours, worth 770 euros for a child and 700 euros for an adult. In this profusion of offer, it is difficult to find your way around. “There are many people potentially affected by ADHD, so the market is juicy,” observes Charlotte Van Den Driessche. “It’s like skin cancer: the more people are aware of the risk, the more likely you are to find sunscreens, and at all prices.”
The patient must in any case have this test confirmed by a health professional for it to be medically recognized. Other professionals have also entered the ADHD field in recent years. Their idea: to accompany, or sometimes even compensate, particularly in adults, for medicinal treatment – which they cannot prescribe anyway. Without displaying medical training, a plethora of coaches nevertheless offer their support services for varying prices. The site MFPcoaching.com offers, for example, “online coaching sessions”, lasting one to ten hours, the price of which can range from 80 to 650 euros. Others present their services through “support groups” or “group coaching” in expensive packages: the Attention coaching site has in its bag an option at 26 euros every month. In these groups, adults learn to “manage their time”, “their emotions”, or even “their productivity”. “Everyone has their own tips and tricks for managing ADHD,” emphasizes Charlotte Van Den Driessche. “But you have to be careful: the person must be surrounded and monitored by a medical professional. Without that, there is a risk of coming across a charlatan.”
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