I am not going to get mad at you, but I am going to disagree. ADD is not a BS diagnosis. My D9's inability to focus was causing her problems at school and at home. She could not follow multi-part directions unless they were written right in front of her to refer back to. Since her ADD diagnosis (amongst other things) the counselors have used medication to get her focused and are really working with her on dealing with her emotional developmental delay. She is not comatose, but yes, it does affect her personality to a degree. I do not feel, though, that she is being drugged into submission. W (the counselors and I) utilizing a drug to calm her down and focus here enough to deal with her myriad problems.
Now, do I think ADD is over-diagnosed or used as an excuse to keep some teachers and parents from having to deal with exuberant kids--absolutely! We cut almost all sugar and caffeine out of D9's diet and there was no improvement. We tried punishments and rewards for good and bad behaviors, but they also did not work. There are some kids that this is a very real problem that luckily can be addressed.
BBJ--
In Nathan's case, I agree with everyone else--he is just a little boy being a boy. The schools need to give these kids a break, give them more playtime, and stop looking for excuses to keep from actually having to work with kids, as opposed to drilling information into them.
I know that there are many many good teachers on this board. I wish I could get all of them into my kids' schools!!
Living God's blessings with grace and dignity~ SMW
M40/H36 T16/M14 4K B2/08 S4/08 current
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. I Corinthians 13:7
