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.
Demeaning those who question the validity of a syndrome like ADHD as “just needing a wallop” is self-serving, and obtuse.
So are you a Mom with a full time job?