Is ADHD over diagnosed in children?
Having read a great deal about ADHD, lived with it in myself, my children, my grandchildren, I can honestly say that most folks who believe ADHD is over diagnosed in children these days are ignorant of the invariable facts of just what ADHD can and does to those who nurture it.
When you get picked up for turning in the wrong lane or parking in the wrong spot, what are you most likely told? "Ignorance is no excuse".
Ignorance of ADHD is hurting our children, yes yours AND mine. Teachers who feel they know all about ADHD symptoms, trials, and how to deal with them are deluding themselves especially if all they have been taught on the subject has been from 1/8 of a college class. ADHD is a misfiring of neuro-electrons in the brain. More and more physical knowledge of ADHD is being provided. The symptoms of ADHD do include, but are not limited to:
Difficulty paying attention
Difficulty with organizational skills
Memory difficulties (forgetting papers, homework, pencils, what comes next)
Time mismanagement
Motivation (as in self-motivation skills)
Difficulty phasing out outside noise and events (Basically, trying to pay attention to too many things)
Many have difficulty expressing themselves or understanding directions
The list can go on.
Not all ADHD people deal with all these issues. And not all the same issues are presented at the same time in all ADHD people. One of the main things that is upsetting to teachers, parents, and the ADHD person, is that one day the attention span is better. Work is accomplished without a great deal of stress. Instead of looking at this as a good thing, I hear, over and over again, "Well, he didn't have this problem yesterday, so he must just be lazy today? " The difference is in the misfiring of the neuro-electrons which changes, not only day to day, but hour to hour!
Another great source of disturbance is when we hear, "Charles has CHOSEN to not get his work done. He has CHOSEN to receive an "F" instead." Turn that around. Perhaps an adequate answer to that is, "You have CHOSEN not to understand the disabilities associated with ADHD. You have CHOSEN to quit trying to find a way to teach Charles in a way he can comprehend at any particular moment." If you don't like that statement, don't use the first one. Being ADHD is not a choice any of us make. It is a true disorder and, unless you really take the time to study and figure it all out, your opinion on the matter is just that - opinion. Opinions are great conversation pieces. But unless they help pinpoint solutions, all they are is talk.
Modern medicine, both physical and mental, has evolved in leaps and bounds. Twenty years ago there were quite a few less diagnosed ADHD children. Twenty years ago there were quite a few less cases of heart attack and stroke victim survival also. Does that mean that stroke, etc., is over diagnosed now? Hardly. it means that medicine is still growing by leaps and bounds. The key word in this entire issue seems to be "diagnosed". If it is a diagnosis, it was done by a physician. Perhaps things are changing more than I thought if the average layman can believe that he is smarter and can second guess the diagnosis of a doctor.
I do believe the main issue is best resolved by research en masse. Learn about ADHD. Study it.
In fact, many disbelievers may well be ADHD themselves and never diagnosed. It does have its good points, also. Some of the best known geniuses of any time frame were ADHD. Artistic, witty, multi-tasking, over achievers; these are all common attributes of an ADHD person. You see, it's not that they aren't paying attention. The problem is filtering out everything they want to pay attention to and levelling off to only one item at a time getting attention.
Give our youth a break. Quit belting at their self-esteem. Let them be who they are. Let them learn how they must. You can learn a lot FROM them, too. But, whether you choose to believe in the ADHD diagnosis or not, it is there, it is real, and it is extremely unfair to judge those children and/or make their lives harder by acting like they are faking the ADHD attributes. Our heads can stay buried in the sand or we can strive to understand that each and every child is different, learns differently, reacts differently to different external stimuli. Accepting that difference is the only way to assure that each and every child and/or person receives the best education and future that this country can allow.
ADHD is a diagnosed condition. I bet the diabetics out there would be upset to hear that their diagnosis was made too often! Think!