why do you believe their are so many kids with ADHD and ADD?

Question

when most parents went to school there was no ADD or ADHD. There may have been a couple of kids that were high spirited in the whole school but now it seems there are at least two ADHD/ADD kids in every class. What do you think is the cause of such a huge rise in behavioural problems like ADHD/ADD. I am not talking about just kids that are naughty, i mean kids with medically proven, unable to control behaviour type ADHD/ADD.

Answer 1

Well, I think I'm gonna go against everybody on here when I say this. My oldest son has ADHD. He physically can't sit still. He was doing poorly in school and was constantly getting in trouble. The doctor prescribed him a low dose of Ritalin. His grades all improved. Not just a little improved but vastly improved. He went from N's to E's, from F's to A's & B's. He is on a time release and it gets him through the school day. By the time he gets home, the mediciation is pretty much out of his system. If I forget his pill, you can definitely tell. He will be bouncing off of the walls. He doesn't eat a lot of sugar/junk food. Hardly gets fast food. His favorite snack is frozen peas & brocolli! His father was diagnosed with ADHD back in the 70's when he was a kid and he never outgrew it. My other son has no sign of it. I think ADHD is very real. There is a big difference between ADHD/ADD & behavior problems. I am also a teacher and deal with 20+ 3rd graders everyday. There is one boy in there who should be on meds, but his mom sells them every month for extra cash! He can not sit still, can not stop talking, can not stop moving. He has to sit by himself cause he bothers EVERYONE around him. I also have kids who are behavior problems. Try to discipline them at school, but if the parents don't care, then there isn't much that I can do! Anyway, that is just my 2 cents!

Answer 2

As far as I know, you can't MEDICALLY PROVE ADHD/ADD....it's a series of 'sypmtoms' and 'behaviors' and if you have enough of them on the list, THERE you go, suddenly you have a MEDICAL problem. There is no one definitive blood test or scan that will reveal the 'disorder.' It's a combination of parents not parenting, diets, perservatives, hormones and additives in food, environment, and lack of creativity and support in the school system to help these kids who need it. Public school is about MANY things before it is about education. The teachers and administrators have so much pressure to pass this requirement etc (guidelines and qualifications slapped down in an effort to make improvements in the schools that do nothing but take the focus away from quality education.) If they get a kid who might need a little extra attention or needs help because they learn better being taught a different method, there is simply no time, effort, or support for/from the teacher and school system. Plus, then that kid is disruptive, and the teacher can't even do what they were going to do....

I had a teacher tell me that perhaps my son was showing some Attention Defecit Disorder because I told her that I saw him focus intently when he was interested in a subject, and have trouble focusing when he wasn't excited about something. So the conclusion then is that ALL KIDS focus well ON ALL subjects? That's ridiculous....

Anyway, I believe there are some true sufferers of ADHD and ADD, but in general it is over diagnosed and used as a crutch by both parents and schools who lack the energy, support and resources to address the behavior in more practical and natural ways, like first changing diet and routines at home.

Answer 3

I would never give my child mind altering drugs to turn them into zombies---My little boy was in preschool and just because he would disrupt the class and not do everything the teacher told him he had to go see a therapist who the teacher first had a good talk with and then from what the teacher told him decided he had adhd-he perscribed capsules for him to take and I tried it a few times by emptying the med in some pudding and he threw up everytime!!!and he said it made him feel funny---so I got rid of the meds and kept him off them--So I really dont know if he has it or not but at least he doesnt have to be all drugged up so the teachers wont have to put up with a naughty boy that is the class clown and likes to have attention!!!! Jill R

Answer 4

I don't think there are more children with ADHD or ADD. I think some Dr.'s like to push pills on kids when maybe all the kids need is some more sleep or some more boundaries and discipline. A zombie kid is easier to deal with than one that's full of energy. I think this whole ADHD thing is out of control and unfairly labeling children.

Answer 5

i have 4 kids and was told 2 of them have adhd and should be on medication i think its all BS and never put them on meds one is now 19 working 2 jobs and has a good life the other is 14 and going to school and has a part time job neither have had any of the problems that they say they should have or that the kids with adhd that have been medicated have


i think
that adhd is just a way for teacher to not have to deal with active kids and parents way of saying my kids are huge brats but its not my fault they have a disorder

Answer 6

First of all adhd/add is very OVERLY diagnosed. There are a LOT of underlying problems such as bipolar, some forms of autism, thats symptoms are so similar to add that thats just what the dr diagnoses. The "why" was already answered very well by your first answerer.

Answer 7

Because it has a treatment. almost any problem that a parent takes a child in for these days that has a behavioral component is diagnosed as ADHD or ADD or ODD or one of the new childhood syndromes. The good doctor then whips out his pad and writes an Rx and everyone is happy except of course for the child who has a head full of brain altering drugs. The effect and long term outcome of which we do not understand at all.

Answer 8

I have been formally tested, twice, by two different doctors (pediatric ADD specialist and psychologist), and have ADD. Of the kids I have met who have ADD/ADHD, less than 1/3 have been formally tested. I think the doctors just like to give out meds to the kids who are happy, outgoing and rowdy. A lot of ADD, or believed ADD, can be helped through diet, exercise, structure and discipline. Others, like me, need all that PLUS the added help of medication. It is sad I think.

Answer 9

I agree with a lot of the answers on here but as a parent with a child who has ADHD, i always said I would never put her on medicine and finally after three years of dealing with it she is on a low dosage and with counseling I see a complete turn around. Also (not saying me) but it is a chemical imbalance that happens when the child is in the womb and the mother is on drugs. A lot of adults have it also not just kids. My kids do not eat a lot of fast food or junk. We eat healthy.

Answer 10

I've been teaching for 26 years and I have seen that kids are worse behaved than the kids I had in the 1980's. I have seen kids who are not capable of sitting still for more than a few minutes, I have kids who suck on their own shirts and hair, I have seen kids who are soooo nervous, they worry about every little thing, kids who don't care about school, are always bored, "there's nothing to do", kids with NO imagination, I could go on and on, but who is to blame? The teachers blame the parents, the parents blame the teachers.