You are correct that my son is energetic, creative and independent, however everything following that is incorrect. We are homeschoolers, relaxed homeschoolers. Inattentive? No, I spend each day with my chidlren. Conflicted? I have absolutely no idea what you're aiming at here. Stressed? Not any more than usual. Most people, when speaking about my son, remark at how happy he is.
The main problem is, we end up drugging our best and our brightest, and stigmatizing them with the label of a disability of ADHD.
First, I do not "label" my son. Other than my husband, our ped and I, no one else who knows my son IRL have been told we believe my son has ADHD. I see no purpose in it. It's not an excuse, it's an explanation. My son IS quite bright and I plan to foster it in any way I can.
The fact is, there is no medical, neurological or psychiatric justification for the ADHD diagnosis.
The key "symptoms" include such behavior as "often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat," "often leaves seat in classroom or in other situations in which remaining seated is expected" and "often has difficulty awaiting turn."
I used to argue those very same points. I'll simply tell you that there's something different about my son. He does have some of the traits you mentioned and a few more. As we've tried to work on these behaviors, it's become obvious that there was something more at work, but all of this changes the subject.
In your first response you wrote about a deficiency of dads in the children's lives. Would you care to respond to me on that or do you simply want to keep changing the subject because your arguements are just that fragile?
One last thing, before you accuse me of doing harm to my child, make sure you have some facts. Thus far you have failed to realize that we homeschool, that my husband is a good father, that we currently do not use any medications, and that we have not "labeled" our child. So, until such time as you actually have some facts to back up your allegations, kindly keep them to yourself.
It's frustrating and heartbreaking to watch your child struggle. I hope your son does well. It sounds like he has a great mom.