Do Teachers Tell You that Your Child Has ADHD?

What would you do if your child's teacher told you that he/she thinks that your child has ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)? Would you automatically think that your child has this disorder and take them to the doctor? It is true that some children do actually have ADHD. The problem, I believe, is that nowadays, teachers are too quick to assume that children have this disorder.

It used to be that the teacher's job was to make their students behave and listen in the classroom. Have our teachers been brainwashed into thinking that just because a child is a little rowdy that it has to be ADHD? Some teachers just teach their curriculum and that's it. They don't worry about trying to make things fun anymore, but I'm not saying this about all teachers. There are many, many wonderful teachers. Some though, just consider this a job with summers off and nothing more.

If these teachers would do more hands-on work and make their curriculum more fun and interesting, then there wouldn't be as many problems with children acting up in class. Therefore, not as many students would be thought to have ADHD. When it comes to their students misbehaving in class, they would rather tell the parent that the child has this disorder so they will take him/her to the doctor to get them put on medicine that will assure them to sit in their class like a zombie and say nothing. This appears to be becoming a "fad" throughout some of our schools. I think many students act up in class out of the pure boredom of a non-stimulating curriculum.

A friend of mine was told by her child's teacher that she thought he had ADHD. Her son is not terribly unruly and it seemed impossible to me that he would have ADHD. She did not take him to the doctor, instead she had a good talk with him and there has been no more problems. Later she found out that the teachers at that school were getting "kick-backs" from the doctor's office for sending the children to them so they could put them on a certain medicine used to treat ADHD. The doctor's office was getting "kick-backs" for every prescription they wrote for this medicine, from the pharmaceutical company that makes this certain medicine. How absurd is this?

Another friend was also told that her son might have ADHD from his teacher. She did take him to the doctor and the doctor evaluated him and told her that he did not have this disorder. This goes to show how quickly teachers are to determine a student as having ADHD.

On the kidshealth.org website it states that this disorder is not an uncommon behavior disorder affecting anywhere from 8-10% of children in school and continues to tell how children act who have ADHD such as having problems focusing, acting without thinking, etc. Also explained, is how there is no test that enables doctors to determine if a child has ADHD, so they have to evaluate the child, and based on the information they receive during this evaluation, they make the diagnosis and start the treatment. More can be read about ADHD at www.kidshealth.org.

Since there isn't a test for this, are doctors just supposed to say that the child's too hyper and put them on medicine that will zone them out and leave them with practically no personality? I think that this evaluation needs to be more strict so that it effectively separates the children that really do have ADHD from the unruly children whose parents want an excuse to medicate them so they don't have to make them mind.

ADHD is apparently taken "advantage" of by some busy parents also, who don't have the time to properly supervise and deal with their rebellious child. You know if you are one of these parents and if you're not, then trust the advice of your doctor. Listen to the teachers when they mention this disorder because, as there are many extraordinary teachers, there may be those who don't have your child's best interest at heart. Most of all...trust your instincts as a parent.