I know that I shouldn't expect rational operation from a governmental agency, but in preparing for my own medical exam I had a very disturbing conversation with a friend of mine. This is a friend from college who has since become a very talented pediatric cardiac surgeon. I'm not the type of person who gets really impressed by someone being in school forever or having a bunch of letters after their name, but I think that he deserves a certain amount of respect for achieving that level of training in his chosen profession.
His dad is a pilot, and so I told him I was finally following through on something we had talked about back in school, and I asked him if he'd be interested in taking a discovery flight with me (also secretly hoping he would want to split a plane after we got our licenses). He responded by telling me that he had been disqualified for an ADD diagnosis. He took meds for a number of years until he felt like he had learned the skills necessary to manage his time and focus accordingly and he doesn't really notice it anymore.
So here's my beef: if this guy can handle the stress of a 10 hour valve repair on an infant, why the heck wouldn't he be able to handle the stress of a small aircraft?!? I understand that becoming distracted in a plane has the potential to cause significant damage and loss of life, but this guy probably hold a dozen lives in his hands every single week. The saddest part is that his dad keeps pressuring him to get his license and he is just pretending like he's not interested because he's afraid that telling his dad the truth will crush him since his parents are the ones that initially took him for the diagnosis.
I think it is ridiculous that something like ADD can prohibit you for life from flying even if you learn to manage it. I know people will say "you may learn to manage it, but when the SHTF, you're management may fall apart". I completely reject this notion. I honestly think that ADD is most often just a diagnosis of a kid who didn't learn those skills when everyone else did. Then they are sort of in over their heads with school so they prescribe meds to help them learn the skills. I don't agree with the idea of protracted ADD med use, but if someone feels like they need it for a little while to help them, why not?
Really that is all besides the point. With the rise of ADD diagnoses in recent decades, and its almost complete absence >30 years ago, how many great pilots probably had ADD...in fact, how many people on this forum may have ADD that were never diagnosed because it so infrequently diagnosed >30 years ago? It really bums me out that he can't ever get his ppl.
His dad is a pilot, and so I told him I was finally following through on something we had talked about back in school, and I asked him if he'd be interested in taking a discovery flight with me (also secretly hoping he would want to split a plane after we got our licenses). He responded by telling me that he had been disqualified for an ADD diagnosis. He took meds for a number of years until he felt like he had learned the skills necessary to manage his time and focus accordingly and he doesn't really notice it anymore.
So here's my beef: if this guy can handle the stress of a 10 hour valve repair on an infant, why the heck wouldn't he be able to handle the stress of a small aircraft?!? I understand that becoming distracted in a plane has the potential to cause significant damage and loss of life, but this guy probably hold a dozen lives in his hands every single week. The saddest part is that his dad keeps pressuring him to get his license and he is just pretending like he's not interested because he's afraid that telling his dad the truth will crush him since his parents are the ones that initially took him for the diagnosis.
I think it is ridiculous that something like ADD can prohibit you for life from flying even if you learn to manage it. I know people will say "you may learn to manage it, but when the SHTF, you're management may fall apart". I completely reject this notion. I honestly think that ADD is most often just a diagnosis of a kid who didn't learn those skills when everyone else did. Then they are sort of in over their heads with school so they prescribe meds to help them learn the skills. I don't agree with the idea of protracted ADD med use, but if someone feels like they need it for a little while to help them, why not?
Really that is all besides the point. With the rise of ADD diagnoses in recent decades, and its almost complete absence >30 years ago, how many great pilots probably had ADD...in fact, how many people on this forum may have ADD that were never diagnosed because it so infrequently diagnosed >30 years ago? It really bums me out that he can't ever get his ppl.
