Not idiotic at all especially considering most ADHD cases are misdiagnosed.
Study finds adhd often misdiagnosed
By Lauren McKown (Last updated: 09/15/10 9:52pm)
http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2010/09/study_finds_adhd_often_misdiagnosed
Almost 1 million children nationwide could be misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, according to a recent study by Todd Elder, MSU assistant professor of economics.
Many children are misdiagnosed because they are the youngest in their kindergarten classes, according to Elder’s report which sampled about 12,000 children using data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Elder plans to publish the report in the future, according to an MSU statement.
No doubt many children are misdiagnosed, but when you see how ADHD impacts a child in school, in social settings and at home, you realize that this is not a discipline issue. We are not talking deviant behavior here. We are talking about an almost complete inability to stay on task.
The worst part is the child wants to do well and does not want to get into trouble - the desire is there, however, if you do not treat the illness, the child never meets their potential. They are ostracized at school and be their peers. They are labeled a problem student. They potentially become depressed and who knows then.
Schools and society are setup to accommodate all square pegs. When a round peg gets into the system, we attempt to hammer them into a hole in which they do not fit. Reading the BS some people spew about beating it out of the kid sets me off.
ADHD is not treated simply with medication, but also with behavior training. This training, however, is not just for the child, but also for parents and teachers. I agree that many children are over medicated, because that is an easy route to take. But, education for parents is so lacking, that if the parent does not self study and ask questions with skepticism, they are easily led down the medication only path.
Why do kids get ADHD? Maybe it is genetic. It could be passed down from a parent. It may be what we have been eating the past 40 years. Maybe immunization shots have something to do with it. Difficult deliveries at birth seem to lead to more cases of ADHD. It could be a number of factors, but for anyone who has lived with it and seen it up close day in day out, you know that it can be a very difficult condition to manage. Beating the kid does not fix it.