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September 1, 2011

Would Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn be diagnosed mentally ill and drugged?

Would Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn be diagnosed mentally ill and drugged?:

'via Blog this'

Imagine if the beloved young characters in Mark Twain's classic, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," lived today. Based on current psychiatric criteria, Tom and Huck could be designated mentally ill and prescribed mind-altering drugs. Quiet, listless and numb, their legendary adventures would be over.

Describing a day in school, Twain wrote: "The harder Tom tried to fasten his mind on his book, the more his ideas wandered." His "heart ached to be free, or else to have something of interest to do to pass the dreary time." That's a text book so-called symptom of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). A teacher today could refer him to a psychiatrist who would dope him with stimulants. Yet like any typical boy, Tom had no trouble focusing attention on something he found interesting - like finding a hidden treasure.

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