Sometimes nothing more than good parenting is an even more simple fix.
If you allow a child to grow up believing that throwing a tantrum gets them what they want then you're not parenting.
I agree that parenting is often a big problem...bad behavior does sometimes get diagnosed as ADD/ADHD. It’s a lot easier for the teachers if kids who were never taught to behave are medicated into quiescence.
But if you’re implying that bad parenting or lack of parenting is the *only* reason for ADD/ADHD, you’re wrong. Just because doctors haven’t yet figured out how to diagnose ADD/ADHD with a blood test or some other physiological test doesn’t mean it’s not real. Actually, some researchers suspect ADD/ADHD may be related to problems with absorption and/or metabolism, since ADD/ADHD kids seem more prone to nutrient deficiencies and gastrointestinal problems. But a lot more research is needed to confirm the correlation and find the underlying cause. Someday there may be a physiological test for at least some cases of ADD/ADHD.
More on point to your second post, sparing the rod is not the issue with my son. He has never been a behavior problem. He doesn’t disrupt class or throw tantrums. He just stays in a “brain fog.” He *wants* to do well, but before we changed his diet, he just couldn’t. Punishing him for his inability to concentrate would have been just as effective as punishing him for his height or eye color, and just as demoralizing.