Coincidentally, more "chronic conditions" have been discovered lately.

Back when I was in elementary school there was really no such thing as ADHD. If a kid was misbehaving, distracted, or hyperactive there was one cure that worked:

SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!!!!

Now, instead of being a parental figure, or authority figure to our kids we just pump them full of drugs. It's quick, we can blame a chronic condition instead of ourselves, and it saves us from actually having to inconvenience ourselves and parent.

Yes, more and more kids who do something as trivial as tapping their pencil, or tapping their foot, or staring into space are labeled with ADD, or ADHD. Or if they're acting up, it means they're hyperactive. Bull@!$%#. Acting up in class, staring into space, and not paying attention are symptoms of one thing only: BTS(boring teacher syndrome). If a teacher fails to engage the student in the lesson plan, as well as make the lessons interesting, then the kid isn't going to pay attention. They'll find some other way to amuse themselves during the lessons instead.

As far as misbehaving and refusing to cooperate, and being a spoiled brat, then the kid ought to be sent to the principal's office, or have his parents called, not drugged up on dangerous medications. Some of these "miracle drugs" are very similar to illegal street drugs, and need to be kept out of our kids' systems.

I do agree that parents need to parent and refresh themselves on how to say no. A very powerful little word. However, I do not think that ADHD didn't exist back then. I think it was basically a case of it being easier to tell a kid to sit down and shut up, then to try engage, motivate and or redirect them. If that didn't work, there was hitting, pushing and shoving and otherwise belittling kids in the classroom. It is concerning that kids are being diagnosed with more allergies, asthma, diabetes (obesity related issues) and certain childhood cancer seem to be increasing. Not to mention autism and of course, there are more and more vaccines being mandated.

I'm not trying to be rude, but it seems the comment page has been turned into an ADHD bashing page, and I thought I'd post some factual information.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD is a common childhood condition that can be treated. ADHD may affect certain areas of the brain that allow problem solving, planning ahead, understanding others’ actions, and impulse control.

The American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) considers it necessary that the following be present before attaching the label of ADHD to a child:

• The behaviors must appear before age 7.
• They must continue for at least six months.
• The symptoms must also create a real handicap in at least two of the following areas of the child’s life:
  • in the classroom,
  • on the playground,
  • at home,
  • in the community, or
  • in social settings.

The symptom categories of ADHD in children yield three potential classifications of ADHD—predominantly inattentive type, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type, or combined type if criteria for both subtypes are met:

Predominantly inattentive type symptoms may include:

• Be easily distracted, miss details, forget things, and frequently switch from one activity to another
• Have difficulty focusing on one thing
• Become bored with a task after only a few minutes
• Have difficulty focusing attention on organizing and completing a task or learning something new
• Have trouble completing or turning in homework assignments, often losing things needed to complete tasks or activities
• Not seem to listen when spoken to
• Daydream, become easily confused, and move slowly
• Have difficulty processing information as quickly and accurately as others
• Struggle to follow instructions.

Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type symptoms may include:

• Fidget and squirm in their seats
• Talk nonstop
• Dash around, touching or playing with anything and everything in sight
• Have trouble sitting still during dinner, school, and story time
• Be constantly in motion
• Have difficulty doing quiet tasks or activities.

and also these manifestations primarily of impulsivity:

• Be very impatient
• Blurt out inappropriate comments, show their emotions without restraint, and act without regard for consequences
• Have difficulty waiting for things they want or waiting their turns in games

Judging by your comments, it appears none of you actually have ADHD or know anything about it. Please consider the people who do befor posting. We do have feelings, you know.

: )

Sometimes there is a variety of reasons why a child acts out. They may be bored, there are problems at home or they are upset about something. While a few of these cases may be related to ADHA, most of them are not. Usually a stern look from a teacher or parent or another adult was enough to curb most misbehavior when I was growing up (late 1960's early 1970's) If they had ADHA, then this would have had no effect whatsoever. Usually when you get to the root cause of why a child is acting up, it is something in their life which is causing them to be upset. Once in a while a chemical imbalance may be the culprit.

People today don't take the time to figure out what the root cause of someone's behavior is. A teacher doesn't have a medical degree nor are they medical doctors yet in a lot of instances they have told the parents that their children have ADHA and they need to be medicated. I thought a doctor would make that determination rather than a teacher who has no medical training. If one has a flu, I don't think a teacher would call the parent saying, "You're child has the flu. Give him this brand of antibodies.

My brother went through a stage where he was difficult. He was acting up in school, was defiant and was very angry. My mother and grandmother were at their wits end. My mother called my dad (they were divorced and he lived in another state). My mother told my brother that if he continued to misbehave that he would be sent to live with dad. She was bluffing but made him think she was serious about doing this.

It was only then that the root cause of his anger and defiant behavior were revealed. My brother felt that my dad had abandoned us when he re-married. The anger and defiant behavior went away shortly thereafter once my brother had talked to someone about his feelings.

Today he would have been medicated which would not have helped because a pill doesn't solve what is upseting a child if it's not a chemical imbalance. The issue or problem is still there at the end of the day. No one takes the time to address the issues that may be causing anger or defiant behavior. It's easier to take a pill and forget about it for a while.