Why does my son's teacher keep saying he has ADHD when no one else sees it?

Question

My son is a very active smart 6 yr old boy. I took him to the doctor and he doesnt feel my son has adhd, but the teacher insists he is impulsive and wont sit still. should i switch teachers?

Answer 1

Yes you should. Alot of teachers these days want little robots in their class instead of real children. I mean, come on, he's a boy who is 6! What does she expect?! And it only gets worse the older they get. You have to really watch and actually stand up for your children at school. If you don't, no one else will. I wish I had figured that one out long ago. Mine have made it to high school and one has a teacher that, if you forget to get your book from the back of the room from the book shelf, he makes them do push-ups in front of the class untill he says to stop! I told my daughter that she shouldn't ever forget her book, but should it ever happen, do not do them and insist on calling me right away. What in the world does that have to do with math? It's only taking away from the teaching of class. In one of my son's classes, if you have to actually use the restroom, it is an automatic detention! O.K.! When my kid get's urniary tract infection from holding it I'll send you the bill. I mean, I understand that some may abuse the restroom thing, but punish only them, not all. Another is that if your homework paper is folded, it is an automatic F! NO WAY! If my kid works for 2 hours on something and folds it to put it in the book, your NOT going to give them an F! Or the paper from a spiral notebook, if it still has the little paper tearings on it from where you tear it out, it will not be accepted.........Well, these are just a "few" of the stupid things I have dealt with. So my message is to you....Your just starting out with this. Stick up for your child. If your doctor says he doesn't have ADHD, then he is the one "qualified" to make this decision. NOT the teacher! Does she have a medical degree? I think not. Get a new teacher and insist on it. Not all teachers are like this. Check out the teachers for next year yourself....you can go and sit in on some classes to make your choice. And when you really feel that you are right and the staff is wrong...threaten to go to the school board! They WILL listen then! I wish you many happy years to come with school. It is not all bad. But don't let them rule you with YOUR child. You know your child best of anyone! Good luck.

Answer 2

Bound's hubby here:

I am a high school teacher, but I am not intending to offer a defense, but merely an observation. My training as a content teacher is quite different from that of an elementary teacher. However, some parts of our training are rather similar.

In New Jersey, where I teach, I am obligated under penalty of law to perform many duties which I disdain and am not (in my opinion) sufficiently trained. I have actually identified several students that were officially determined to be ADD and ADHD ... in addition to a number of Seniors that were functionally illiterate. Yes, I do make referrals, but I do not make diagnoses. I base my referrals on observations of attention span and levels of hyperactivity, over time. For attention span, I allow one minute of on-task attention for each year of the student's chronological age. If your son was in my class, I would expect approximately 6 minutes of on-task attention per class activity. If I did not see this consistently, I would make a referral to either the guidance counselor or the district child study team ... or pupil assistance committee. The student would then be professionally evaluated, with the consent of the parent or legal guardian.

Panacea did make one very valid point, your child should be evaluated by a child clinical psychologist or similar professional, not a General Practitioner. I know this may cause you to bristle ... but no parent wants to see an inability in their child, so parents are not always objective. Your son's teacher has about 6 hours of contact with your son in a variety of educational settings. Yes, some teachers are not always competent, and some teachers lack tact. Before you take action against the school or the teacher, I would suggest that you have an open-minded sit down with your son's teacher, his guidance counselor or a child study team member, and your son's principal to discuss the teacher's observations. Remember, a teacher can't prescribe medications, only an M.D. can. If there seems to be an educational foundation, seek an independent evaluation.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I would get a second opinion from a behavioral specialist. If anything to show the teacher that there is nothing "wrong" with your son. (Not that there's something "wrong" with ADHD kids)

A lot of people label hyperactive kids as ADHD and it's frustrating because there really are children with ADHD and they aren't taken seriously because of all the mislabelling.

If your son is just really hyperactive, you could try other methods of calming him down. Reduce the amount of heavy sugers in his diet. Eliminate foods with high fructose corn syrup, and limit foods with straight sugar. Eliminate Juice and Soda. Limit his TV time (there are for and against arguments on whether TV effects behavior, but when in doubt, it never hurts to limit TV). Lastly, make sure your son is getting a FULL nights sleep. That means 10-12 hours a night for a 6 year old boy. Start him off with a well balanced, non sugary breakfast.


Just TRY this for a couple of weeks and see if you notice a difference in his attention level.

Answer 4

Please speak with the principal of the school immediately. The teacher should not be diagnosing your child. I'm pretty sure that every 6 year old boy has impulsive moments; however, the teacher's job is to manage this in the classroom in a consistent and positive way and not place labels on your child (surely this is not the first child she has taught that has problems sitting still?) Ask for a meeting with the principal and the teacher and work together toward a solution of your child's classroom behavior.

Answer 5

Teachers now a days dont seem to have control over the classrooms like they use to when we were children, I feel they use the whole ADHD thing to make their jobs easier because the kid is all drugged up and in a zombified state of mind so therefore they dont have the energy to get into trouble. My son is ADHD and I started him off this school year whith no meds and it was a nightmare his home room teacher drove me insane about his behaivor so I ended up putting him back on it but a very mild dosage then before and he is doing well but as soon as he does something to get in trouble she calls me and says his dosage should be upped. I told her no I dont think so. There are kids that are ADHD but alot that arent and get diagnosed because its a teachers easy way out. I say bring back corporal punishment!!!!!!

Answer 6

The teachers use this for an excuse so their own failings won't show or their inablility to teach children who are active or impulsive.

If this continues, report the teacher to the authorities. They are NOT doctors and by law they have no right to say that a child has ADHD or ADD or anything.

I have a daughter who the teachers say had ADHD. We had her tested and she did NOT have ADHD or anything like it, but an expressive language disorder, which is being handled.

I also threatened to report them as trying to diagnose without a license. This stopped them for sure. They would lose their teaching certificate and be liable for jail time. They are NOT doctors and by law are not allowed to diagnose.

Answer 7

It really bothers me when teachers feel they know your children better then you do. If a doctor who specializes in ADHD says that there is nothing wrong there is about a 99% chance there is not. I would have him change teachers if at all possible. Your sons teacher clearly must have problems with active and outgoing children and probably should not be a teacher if she is jumping to things like ADHD becuase children are active and enjoying life.

Answer 8

People pull the ADHD card when time gets tough. She's trying to find a reason why maybe he is impulsive and won't sit still. Needless to say she's forgetting he is 6 years old!! Little adult mentality once again.
Have a conference with her and inform her he DOESN'T have this problem and to quit saying he does. If she has a problem, do switch teachers. She's going to make him think he's got a problem if she doesn't stop all this accusing crap.

Answer 9

Medicine does help but there are books that help parents. One longer term book is kingdom kids nutrition. Try the meds but this teacher is being unfair. Ask her to try a reward system. Immediate rewards not long term. This teacher probably is not experienced with ADHD students. Speak with her about rewards in the class and have your son join the class again. Our brains work differently and that teacher needs to be more understanding.

Answer 10

Teachers are not qualified to have an opinion on this. Be sure to make her understand that if she keeps on with this you plan to ask the school board to censure her. In extreme cases, she is practicing medicine without a license. This is a crime.

If it's really an issue, then call in a Licensed Clinical Psychologist to do an evaluation. However, I will tell you right now that real ADD/ADHD is almost never present unless some severe pathology is also present. Crack babies and borderline retarded kids exhibit real ADD. Once you see a case of this, you never mistake normal kid behavior for it ever again.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, teachers tend to be really narcissistic and presumptuous. If you don't keep them on a very tight leash they are liable to do anything. This can result in your child being hurt, which is why you need to be vigilant and keep harsh, real world consequences in the wings as a possibility to use against them if they keep on after you tell them to stop. These are your children we are talking about. Protecting them from crazy people is a priority....even if (especially if) those crazy people are hiding behind a position of pseudo authority like that of being a teacher.