Should Teachers Have the Rights to Diagnose Your Child with ADD?

Teachers have very little patience now a day. If a child does not "behave" as expected during a certain time frame, the child is labeled having "Attention Deficit Disorder". The teachers then proceed to call the parents to give their diagnosis of the problem.

It is that easy! The teachers become doctors, and their diagnosis requires putting the child on medication in order to keep their job as easy as possible.

My son's third grade teacher took it in her hands to diagnose my son with attention deficit disorder after beating around the bushes for a while. I know where she was heading, and bluntly I told her "I am not putting my son on any medications, period!"

She was stunt with my answer, and tried to cover for her suggestions. I do not think she has any rights to make that call, and it was inappropriate on her part.

Here are my reasons:

---She called 10 minutes before I'm leaving for my son's Christmas concert.

---She told my son that she called me, thus took away his excitement for the performance, and made him anxious about the phone call.

---He is only 8 years old. She is a teacher. Who has attention deficit now? What was she thinking in calling me before the concert time? What was she thinking in telling my son about her conversation with me?

She has no validation for her diagnosis:

---My son is doing well in school.

---He is a well-behaved child, with certificates/awards to prove it.

---His physical, art, and music teachers' comment: "A pleasure to have in class."

---Other comments include: "Kind and polite little boy" have accumulated in my house from the same school for the past years.

I have been in my son's classroom a number of times. The environment for learning is very disruptive. Since two of the moms bring their little toddlers to class every day. They come in and out of the room like it was McDonald. Yet, I say nothing about this.

I appreciate these ladies' effort in volunteering, or working in the school, but bringing a baby who is crying, whining, running around, and making noises in school, is inappropriate.

My son's teacher tolerates this and always says: "No problem, I don't mind" when the lady apologized for the baby's behavior. But she has the nerve to call me and says my son has attention deficit?

Who can learn or concentrate in this environment?

My son has a couple days off track, does this means he has ADD? I do not think so. A child who has ADD would not do as well, or receiving comments or awards for his behavior as my son did.

I will never agree to sedate my son so he can be a robot. I will not take an easy way out to deal with my son's behavior by putting him on medication. Above all, I will not allow a teacher to make a diagnosis about my son.

Teachers should just teach. They are not doctors or psychologists! If you are parents and you receive a phone call like this about your child, do not give the teachers an easy solution. You have to look at your child's accomplishments, and be on your child's side.

Our children are our future! They depend on us to guide them to their full potential without the harmful drugs.