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While I agree with almost everything he writes, after 29 yrs. of working with children I still believe that there are some children for whom the ADD/ADHD diagnosis is valid. If anything, the bad parenting (with which I heartily agree has been occurring) and the liberal psychobable explanations that have encouraged the lack of disciplinary action and abdication of good parenting may be masking the real deal. When one considers all the women that are on some type of birth control (that directly effects the hormonal system) and the increase in drug use in our nation - both over the counter and illegal - it’s not too great of a stretch to believe that those things are having an adverse effect on prenatal development.

Thank you for posting this. My son has been diagnosed as ADHD and his life has been turned around by the right medicating. While I believe that ADHD simply describes a certain physiological type, the fact is that there are children (like my son) who are wired to be “in overdrive”. I have no problem with spanking, but posters who assert that all hyperactive kids need is a good spanking are ignorant. My highly intelligent boy at age six once away from me and ran across a NYC street against the light. Miraculously, he wasn't hit by a car. When he realized what he had done, he cried, “What's wrong with me?!” Posters who think all my son needed was a wallop are, well, jerks. Putting him on small doses of Ritalin has made him a much happier boy who is no longer a danger to himself.

Is ADHD over-diagnosed? I'll bet it is, just as autism is over-diagnosed. But to posit that the parents of every child so diagnosed “hate” their children is insulting and just plain stupid.

after 29 yrs. of working with children I still believe that there are some children for whom the ADD/ADHD diagnosis is valid.

Another type of child who has valid brain function issues is the child who has had a surgical operation requiring general anesthesia during the first two years of life. The normal brain is growing so rapidly at that stage of life that even a few hours' interruption can cause some types of "hiccup" malfunction that seem like not paying attention.