All children have moods, and days when nothing makes them happy. That does not make them special needs children. Normal children have mood swings like we do, and how they handle them is up to us. We regulate the way they behave. When that becomes impossible because the child is unable to quiet down enough to be in school, or is destructive without provocation with other children, there might be something else going on. Watch for signs that the learning curve is off. By the time a child starts school, they should already know a lot of the basics. If they don't, they may require extra help, but that doesn't mean that they are special needs either. Children who suffer from functional disabilities like epilepsy and other neurological types of disorders would qualify as special needs, as would children with ADD or ADHD. These are all disorders that cause problems affecting the entire class. Why disrupt all? If a special needs teacher was available, things would improve all the way around.

It is unfortunate that as time passes, we see more and more children that are being diagnosed with one disorder or another. I am convinced that the diagnosis of ADD and ADHD are overused, and medication is liberally doled out. I wonder about the long term affect os this problem.

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