Has ADHD Become the Newest Excuse for Children Behaving Badly?

Before I get the hate responses, let me clear something up ahead of time, which will save me and you some time.. I am not saying that there aren't legit cases of ADHD. There are, but not 75% of Children (slightly over the top to make my point) are suffering from this form of neurobehavioral disorder. The actual count of children with legit cases of ADHD if fairly small in the big picture, but sadly Doctors and Parents are more then eager to prescribe medication for this disorder making the children much more manageable.

So what actually is ADHD?

Quote from CDC Website: "ADHD is a neurobehavioral disorder characterized by pervasive inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity and resulting in significant functional impairment." End of Quote.

The following information was referenced by the official Website regarding ADHD which is the CDC Website. Please feel free to get further information there.

As we go over the following symptoms I want you to pay very close attention to each single one and please note my side comments to them. You will see if you read my Article with an open mind, how false diagnosis can result very easily.

The following Symptoms are said to show strong signs of Inattention.

Doesn't give close attention to or is careless with homework, schoolwork, work or other activities. Gee, how many kids do you know that are like that? Especially a normal little boy has a hard time concentrating on anything they see as uninteresting. Besides the few Children that take their education serious, most kids are careless with their homework or schoolwork and let's face it most of their mistakes are stupid. If the Parent is not available to check over the information later or make certain that the homework gets done neatly, the kid will try to get out of it.

Inability of keeping attention on tasks or play activities. Again sounds like a normal child to me. Most kids have a very short attention span in just about anything. Unless they are really into what they are doing, within 10 Minutes of starting they are ready to go on to something new.

They often do not listen when spoken to directly. Kids are amazingly able to ignore things they don't want to hear. (Not to mention that most of us Adults are the same way) I have a friend that swears up and down her child has ADHD because she just doesn't seem to listen to her - ever! The funny thing is the only time that Kid doesn't seem to listen is when she gets told to do something or is disciplined for something, which is becoming increasingly less. After all it isn't her fault. Tell her however that there are cookies in the Kitchen and this kid hears you 3 rooms down.

Often does not follow instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, homework or chores. As well as seems to have a hard time organizing activities.

Ok, let me play Devils Advocate for a second here please. Not everyone has the natural talent to organize activities. Some people don't like the hassle, others don't like the responsibility and yet another group is willing to take on all the work. As for not following instructions and failing to finish anything work related sounds like a normal kid to me. How often have you told your Child to do something step by step, just to watch them do it another way? How often has your kid started doing their chores and then decided they didn't feel like it anymore.

Often avoids, dislikes or doesn't want to do things that take mental effort for an extended period of time like homework or schoolwork. Do I really have to respond here? It may just take me too much mental effort.

There are many more symptoms that are supposed to prove to us that the Child suffers from ADHD. As I went over the list of Symptoms I almost busted out laughing. According to the Website a lot of Parents have diagnosed their child with this horrible disorder after reading this. They were concerned that their Child might need medication.

A good friend of mine has a daughter who according to her showed all the signs of ADHD. This kid was super hyper, bounced all over the place, wouldn't do a thing her mother told her, had temper tantrums from hell and her Mother excused it all away with ADHD. Strangely however, when I was babysitting her at my house where rules were in place and you didn't get to behave like a hooligan without discipline, she was doing just fine. If she wanted the cookie like the other kids, then she had help put the toys away when they were done playing. No problem. She sat for hours playing with the toys her mother had brought for her. ADHD - my foot.

The reason was a simple one. The kid had learned that her behavior was accepted and excused, now she got to do whatever she wanted and it was ok. When a bit of parenting and discipline was introduced, she reacted to it like all other children. She knew that to go against the rules meant to loose out.

My son has the hardest time concentrating in School, he would much rather run outside and play. Homework is like taking him to the dentist. My Ex-husband wanted to put him on medication for ADHD. No, the kid is normal. I would rather play outside then work. As long as he knew he could go play as soon as he was done, he would finish it up. No finished homework neatly done, no playtime outside. He picked the homework every time.

Before you condemn any child to drugs they really don't need, please be certain that his or her behavior is not just normal Child rebellion. It is so easy to take the fast way out. Parenting takes effort, discipline on both your parts and a lot of patience. But drugs just take money and you in the meantime are turning your kid into a Zombie. Please think hard on this before you act and thank you for hearing me out.