Monday, April 14th I went to see Michael Ignatieff at the Vancouver Alpine Club. I asked Michael a question about ADHD & crime during the Q & A period, I think I was the 3rd questioner, “Do you knew that 20-45% of prisoners have ADHD 15 clinical studies show? And only 5% of adults have ADHD? The UK screens prisoners for ADHD in their jails, would you commit to screening prisoners in Federal jails for ADHD?”
I’m asking politicians this question for several reasons, but one of them is most people don’t care at all about people with ADHD or think it’s overdiagnosed/space alien/drug company conspiracy/ not beating up your kid enough etc. But they do care about crime.
After the rally was over I decided to ask some of the Liberal politicians there if they would commit to screening prisoners in Federal jails for ADHD.
I asked Vancouver Kingsway Liberal Candidate Wendy Yuan ” The UK screens prisoners for ADHD in their jails, would you commit to screening prisoners in Federal jails for ADHD?” Wendy Yuan answered, “Yes I would”.
I thanked Liberal candidate Wendy Yuan and handed her a copy of my blog post on 15 peer reviewed studies on ADHD and crime Up To 45% 0f Prisoners Have ADHD Studies Show. Crime & Jail Are Costly, Treatment Is Cheap
So thank you, Wendy Yuan, for choosing science and evidence over ideology and theology in regards to ADHD and crime. I hope other Canadian politicians do the same.
20-30% + of drug addicts and alcoholics have ADHD peer-reviewed clinical studies show but properly managed ADHD can be a competitive edge. Many entrepreneurs have ADHD. See the top ten advantages of ADHD in a high tech career
Nearly 20 years ago in Seattle, Judge David Admire son got diagnosed for ADHD and he noticed many people in his 2-3 year court seemed to have ADHD. He developed a screening program for prisoners with ADHD and learning disabilities. If they screened positive, they got properly diagnosed and had a choice of getting treatment for ADHD and or LD, learning how to properly manage ADHD with skills, pills, how to self-advocate etc or going to jail. The ones who got treated for ADHD had their recidivism (return to prison) rates go down massively compared to controls.
Vancouver’s mental health court last time I asked didn’t bother screening for ADHD. Too bad.
Health is mainly a provincial responsibility in Canada, but the Federal govt is responsible for jails. So if you or someone you know has ADHD why don’t you ask your local candidate or their party leader if they have a chance if they support screening prisoners in Canadian Federal prisons for ADHD?
Maybe also ask them if they’ll properly diagnose those who screen positive by people who know ADHD and treat them in jail not only with long-term medications that can’t be abused like the short term ones but more importantly also therapy so they learn self-awareness and skill so they don’t come back to jail at a cost of $101,000 a year to the Canadian taxpayer?
Ideally, you want them to screen children and adults for ADHD BEFORE they end up in jail, get medical professionals trained on ADHD in kids and adults and do a national anti-stigma/ ADHD facts campaign. But Canadian provincial politicians don’t seem to want to do that.
Vote or you can’t complain until the next election.