I'm still not sold on the whole issue of ADHD, though. It's either overdiagnosed, or is more of an excuse than anything. I don't mean offense by that, but if you think about it, I can take the same "ADHD" individual and sit him or her down in front of a personal stimulus (for me it's flying, for Timmy it's Modern Warfare, and for Bob next door it's collecting stamps) and they'll sit there attentive for hours. It's not the attention that's deficit, it's the mental control. Stick me in front of a college textbook and force me to read? You'll be [darned] sure I'm going to get a little deficit on attention. It's normal, yet somehow people decided that it's abnormal, and developed drugs for it.

 

 

That's exactly my point. With all the new syndromes that are being "discovered", pretty much everybody has something. It's nonsense. And that's exactly what happened in my case. I couldn't sit and read a textbook or a novel for a long period of time(I would think that if anyone actually wanted to sit and read a textbook for hours, it should be considered unnormal. :LMAO: ) Now put me in a flightsim and I can concentrate on that thing for 10+ hours strait. Now I agree that other people with more serious mental conditions should be seriously evaluated before being let anywhere near a cockpit. However, the FAA shouldn't just automatically assume that you are unable to focus on flying an aircraft.(Which I guess is what the psychiatric testing is for.)

That's exactly my point. With all the new syndromes that are being "discovered", pretty much everybody has something. It's nonsense. And that's exactly what happened in my case. I couldn't sit and read a textbook or a novel for a long period of time(I would think that if anyone actually wanted to sit and read a textbook for hours, it should be considered unnormal. ) Now put me in a flightsim and I can concentrate on that thing for 10+ hours strait. Now I agree that other people with more serious mental conditions should be seriously evaluated before being let anywhere near a cockpit. However, the FAA shouldn't just automatically assume that you are unable to focus on flying an aircraft.(Which I guess is what the psychiatric testing is for.)

 

Agreed. Then again, at least they are "reasonable" in that they provide you an 'out' if you will. The could just as easily say "if you've taken X, Y, and Z medication, or have been diagnosed with Q, R or S, you can't fly, ever." It's not the nicest option (those psych tests are very expensive, if I remember correctly from my roommate's story), but it's still a way forward. They do similar in that if you fail the normal color blindness test (Isihara), you can prove that you can discern the colors in the operating environment (where it matters). My roommate back in college did that got a specific exemption from the Isihara test for future medicals (I forget if there were contingencies or periodic operational checks thereafter, though).

 

 

 

EDIT:

...and for the record, I'm really glad that didn't offend you. I know issues of the body/mind/soul/chakra/mojo/etc can become very personal, and as much as I disagree with people here on the boards, I specifically try to avoid hitting the personal side of things. I'll roast peoples' opinions about airplanes, flight ops, the proper use of a simulator, and so on all day, but attacking the people themselves I don't find right.

Agreed. Then again, at least they are "reasonable" in that they provide you an 'out' if you will. The could just as easily say "if you've taken X, Y, and Z medication, or have been diagnosed with Q, R or S, you can't fly, ever." It's not the nicest option (those psych tests are very expensive, if I remember correctly from my roommate's story), but it's still a way forward.

 

That's the reason why I didn't join the military. They wouldn't take me for just having taken the medicine before. And yeah the tests are VERY expensive(around $1500 for me). To make it worse, you have to pay out of pocket because if your insurance pays for it, the psychiatrist has to come up with a diagnosis or statement in your medical records(At least that is what my AME told me.). In these circumstances, you don't want to be diagnosed with anything, or even have the psychiatrist voice his opinion whatsoever. All you want the psychiatrist to do is administer the tests and send the results to the FAA to determine whether or not you can have a medical.

 

EDIT:

...and for the record, I'm really glad that didn't offend you. I know issues of the body/mind/soul/chakra/mojo/etc can become very personal, and as much as I disagree with people here on the boards, I specifically try to avoid hitting the personal side of things. I'll roast peoples' opinions about airplanes, flight ops, the proper use of a simulator, and so on all day, but attacking the people themselves I don't find right.

 

No offense taken. After all, I was approved. So now my only hurdle will be this new legislation and financing my flight training while trying not to start getting food stamps. :LMAO: