And the ADHD etc. is too frequently an excuse for behavior issues. It is easier to classify a nasty kid than to correct his attitude and behavior.
And, schools probably get money for every ADHD kid diagnosed
NO. It is NOT TRUE that ADHD or autism are so epidemic because kids are not being whipped into shape. Common parlor talk but wrong. I was discussing preschools. Three year olds are all about the same in being able to control their behavior: they can, for a short while, the they can’t. In fact, ADHD isnt much dx’ed in preschool because to some degree, all active kids (often boys ) seem to have it. That dx comes later, when other kids can settle down for quiet work and some cannot.
But autism in preschool? And I’m talking highly functioning? STANDS OUT DRAMATICALLY. It is a little boy who obviously cannot get what is going on around him. He looks for a toy to play with, but instead of rolling the car along the ground, saying “brrrrr,” he’s holding the car upside down, spinning the wheels. He might be muttering to himself. If you listen closely, he might be repeating verbatim the dialogue in the cartoon he saw last night on tv. He doesn’t seem to be able to understand simple instructions but with one on one help he will move to the snack table. He might scream out with no emotion just to emit a powerful sound. He might reach across the table and drink from someone else’s water bottle, which no other three year old would do: they are all very proprietary. But he wanted to drink out of the Spider-Man one he just noticed. while other kids find activities on the playground, with others or solitary, he will not be doing an activity. He might try to go into another classroom, try to get out of the playground, find an object that is not a toy and look at it. He might be “smart” but right now he is living in a world VERY DIFFERENT from all the other kids in his class and it is obvious.
And if you think all kids with autism need is a good beating, go ahead and try it. You could whip them with a belt until they fall over bloody and dead but you won’t beat the autism out of them.
It’s an epidemic and they can’t by definition be genetic.