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I never said anything about all ADD students anything...or all special ed programs. The fact is that many people agree there is fraud in the public school system on this topic. And yes,of course ,there is another side to it. There are plenty of experts who will state the opposite of what my experts say. For example, some experts believe that the mysterious increase of children with ADD is .. well mysterious. I happen to think not.

I happen to agree with many business leaders, conservative thinks tanks, whole health care physicians, conservative educators and my own "lying" eyes-who all point to there being many different reason for this increase, including outright fraud by some in the public school system and mental health fields.

The fact is that many people agree there is fraud in the public school system on this topic.

It IS a fact that many people agree there is fraud in the public school system in the use of special education funding.

It's also a fact that many of the people who agree on this - i.e. who believe this - have no proof that their belief is correct.

To put it another way, many small children agree that there is a Santa Claus. They all agree, but they may still all be incorrect.

For example, some experts believe that the mysterious increase of children with ADD is .. well mysterious....I happen to agree with many business leaders, conservative thinks tanks, whole health care physicians, conservative educators and my own "lying" eyes-who all point to there being many different reason for this increase, including outright fraud by some in the public school system and mental health fields.

Not that I have any scientific data to back me up, and of course different people have different experiences, but in my experience the increase in cases of ADD/ADHD is the result of the new child-rearing methods of Dr. Spock and his followers.

Now we have parents who don't enforce discipline at home reaping the consequences, and wanting to blame it on a disorder rather than their own poor parenting skills, lack of consistency, or belief in not stifling the creativity & self-expression of their little darlings.

When the teachers complain that the cute little sweeties won't try to learn and disrupt the learning of others, if the parents can have their children diagnosed with a disorder and given an I.E.P., legally the children can't help it, won't be held accountable for their poor behavior, and the parents can blame the teachers for not making accomodations rather than having to make the effort themselves to make Johnny behave.

Now, that's me. The special ed. teachers blame a lot of the increase in behavior & learning disorders on parents using drugs, particularly crack, while they were pregnant. We also have to consider the tiny preemie babies that ten or twenty years ago would not have survived - now they do, but they may have sustained some neurological damage from their early entry into the world.

Now that's not to say that any of this applies to all ADD/ADHD, BD, and/or LD kids....but I think we were speaking of the increase?