When appropriate, my boys get spanked. When appropriate they have toys and activities withheld. When appropriate they must sit and watch their friends play rather than joining them. They come from a stable two-parent home; their mom stays at home and homeschools them -- they are not forced to sit at a desk and listen to boring lectures; they eat precious little sugar; they get plenty of exercise; they watch a very small amount of carefully selected TV; they don't have a playstation/gameboy/etc; they play very few computer games and only ones which I deem to have an educational value; their father comes home each evening and spends time with them; their diet contains very few (if any) artificial colors, preservatives, etc; they live a reasonably structured life where they are expected to make their beds and clean their rooms and do other age-appropriate chores. Do you get my drift? All of the seemingly obvious, simple fixes regularly touted are a natural part of my son's life and have been since he was born. Still, there's a problem.
Keep in mind that prior to having children, I was hook, line and sinker convinced that ADD was a sham. I could tell you what was wrong with all of the children around me who were diagnosed. I was a youth group leader and knew a handful of diagnosed ADD/ADHD children (boys and girls) and their parents. Frankly, I still do think some of those children were drugged for convenience, but now that I've had to live with my son and see the challenge that faces him and those around him, I can understand those who choose to use medications. We have not chosen that path at this time, but I certainly can't say we never will.
I guess the long and short of it comes down to this: if you've never experienced having a child with ADD/ADHD, it can be hard to believe, but that doesn't mean that the whole thing is simply the result of poor parenting.