Fred Baughman
Encyclopedia
Fred Baughman is best known as an outspoken critic of psychiatry
, who claims that attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) is "a fraud perpetrated by the psychiatric and pharmaceutical industries on families anxious to understand their childrens' behavior". Baughman has testified before the United States Congress
, and has been interviewed on PBS
on the topic of ADHD. He has made several appearances on talk shows, and has written several self-published books. Baughman has also been a medical adviser for the Citizens Commission on Human Rights
(CCHR), an advocacy group established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology
, noted opponents of modern psychiatry.
in private practice. He retired in 1993. Baughman was involved in chromosome
research earlier in his career. He was also director of the Western Michigan Birth Defects Clinic. Baughman has been a medical expert for CCHR, an advocacy group established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Thomas Szasz
. Baughman has testified in court and before Congress. He has written for the print media, and has been interviewed on the radio.
, an in-patient rehabilitation program founded by Scientologists.
Baughman's viewpoint on ADHD and ADHD medication are highly controversial. He has described how the psychiatric community commonly refers to mental disorders as "diseases" and then judges these disorders to be fraudulent based on the criteria for diseases. He has commented, "Once Ritalin or any psychiatric drug courses through their body, they are, for the first time, physically, neurologically, biologically, abnormal."
interview he stated, "Representing such things as depression
, anxiety
, conduct disorder
, ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder
, learning disabilities as diseases absent any scientific proof, is to deceive the public. It preempts the public's right to informed consent in every single case."
Baughman has stated, about where psychiatric 'diseases' and 'epidemics' come from, "First you meet with the rest of the DSM Committee of the APA and, over cigars and drinks you invent a disease...not out of thin air but out of the troubled emotions and behaviors of entirely normal human beings, and call it a disease. Next you have bio-psychiatry researchers not really biologists, not really researchers or scientists, apply the tools of biology and medicine to these entirely normal persons (some infants and toddlers) and, in this way you create a scientific literature, that becomes the stuff of their scientific meetings. Next, their break-throughs regarding these diseases, not diseases at all become the stuff of press releases, and from their literature, of their text-books..."
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
, who claims that attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a developmental disorder. It is primarily characterized by "the co-existence of attentional problems and hyperactivity, with each behavior occurring infrequently alone" and symptoms starting before seven years of age.ADHD is the most commonly studied and...
(ADHD) is "a fraud perpetrated by the psychiatric and pharmaceutical industries on families anxious to understand their childrens' behavior". Baughman has testified before the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, and has been interviewed on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
on the topic of ADHD. He has made several appearances on talk shows, and has written several self-published books. Baughman has also been a medical adviser for the Citizens Commission on Human Rights
Citizens Commission on Human Rights
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights is an advocacy group established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Thomas Szasz. The group promotes several video campaigns which support views against psychiatry...
(CCHR), an advocacy group established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
, noted opponents of modern psychiatry.
Education and career
For 35 years, Baughman was an adult and child neurologistNeurologist
A neurologist is a physician who specializes in neurology, and is trained to investigate, or diagnose and treat neurological disorders.Neurology is the medical specialty related to the human nervous system. The nervous system encompasses the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. A specialist...
in private practice. He retired in 1993. Baughman was involved in chromosome
Chromosome
A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein found in cells. It is a single piece of coiled DNA containing many genes, regulatory elements and other nucleotide sequences. Chromosomes also contain DNA-bound proteins, which serve to package the DNA and control its functions.Chromosomes...
research earlier in his career. He was also director of the Western Michigan Birth Defects Clinic. Baughman has been a medical expert for CCHR, an advocacy group established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Thomas Szasz
Thomas Szasz
Thomas Stephen Szasz is a psychiatrist and academic. Since 1990 he has been Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the State University of New York Health Science Center in Syracuse, New York. He is a well-known social critic of the moral and scientific foundations of psychiatry, and of the social...
. Baughman has testified in court and before Congress. He has written for the print media, and has been interviewed on the radio.
Critic of ADHD
Baughman frequently uses the terms "fraud" and "fake" to describe ADHD. His personal website focuses on the criticism of ADHD. He coauthored the book The ADHD Fraud: How Psychiatry Makes "Patients" Out of Normal Children. In 1998, he made a video titled ADHD — Total, 100% Fraud, and in 2005 he was also featured in The Drugging of our Children. For his efforts, he accepted a reward for his work on ADHD from NarcononNarconon
Narconon is a residential program aimed at substance abusers, headquartered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It operates through several dozen treatment centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and Western Europe. Each Narconon center is independently owned and operated under a license...
, an in-patient rehabilitation program founded by Scientologists.
Baughman's viewpoint on ADHD and ADHD medication are highly controversial. He has described how the psychiatric community commonly refers to mental disorders as "diseases" and then judges these disorders to be fraudulent based on the criteria for diseases. He has commented, "Once Ritalin or any psychiatric drug courses through their body, they are, for the first time, physically, neurologically, biologically, abnormal."
Viewpoint on pharmaceutical companies and government
In his article The ADHD conspiracy, Baughman states, "the only way the pharma-psychiatry-government cartel differs for the Cali, Medellin, Tijuana, and opium cartels of the world is that the pharma-psychiatry-government cartel target everyone, from cradle to grave—your parents, and grandparents in their nursing home beds, those truly physically ill, adding their never-essential drugs to essential drugs, compromising real medical and surgical treatment, and infants, toddlers, preschoolers and all they can force or court-order to swallow their brain-altering, brain-damaging, “chemical balancers.” We are warned by le Carre, that their power, in league with government, is the greatest of all threats to our liberty and right of self-determination". However, his information is widely considered to be very controversial and his research poorly backed.Baughman's views on biological psychiatry
Baughman has been most critical of ADHD and "biological psychiatry." He has stated, "Biological psychology/psychiatry is a total perversion of medicine and science, and a fraud." During a PBSPublic Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
interview he stated, "Representing such things as depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
, anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
, conduct disorder
Conduct disorder
Conduct disorder is psychological disorder diagnosed in childhood that presents itself through a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate norms are violated...
, ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder
Oppositional defiant disorder
Oppositional defiant disorder is a diagnosis described by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as an ongoing pattern of disobedient, hostile and defiant behavior toward authority figures which goes beyond the bounds of normal childhood behavior...
, learning disabilities as diseases absent any scientific proof, is to deceive the public. It preempts the public's right to informed consent in every single case."
Baughman has stated, about where psychiatric 'diseases' and 'epidemics' come from, "First you meet with the rest of the DSM Committee of the APA and, over cigars and drinks you invent a disease...not out of thin air but out of the troubled emotions and behaviors of entirely normal human beings, and call it a disease. Next you have bio-psychiatry researchers not really biologists, not really researchers or scientists, apply the tools of biology and medicine to these entirely normal persons (some infants and toddlers) and, in this way you create a scientific literature, that becomes the stuff of their scientific meetings. Next, their break-throughs regarding these diseases, not diseases at all become the stuff of press releases, and from their literature, of their text-books..."
Published works
- The ADHD Fraud: how psychiatry makes "patients" of normal children, Trafford Publishing, 2006 (with Craig Covey)