Some children are better at paying attention than others. Some can cope with, or even enjoy, a school classroom setting. Some kids have more energy than others. Some are good at following directions, and some are easily distracted.

But just because a classroom is not a good environment for many children does not mean they have a disorder. They may have an Attention Deficit because they are bored. They may he Hyperactive because they are cooped up and forced to sit still at a desk. But this does not constitute a Disorder.

What happened to the belief in the uniqueness of a child? Aren't they told they don't have to fit in? And then if the factory school system doesn't work for them, they have a disorder.

Instead of treating children like individuals, schools and parents act like they have no other choice but to let drugs make the behavioral adjustments. How sad that there is more willingness to drug kids to make them fit in, instead of changing the system, or being attentive to individual needs.

The Tragicomedy of ADHD

An article about ADHD from Healthline would be funny if it weren't tragic.

Who gets ADHD, a graphic asks? Children living below 2x the poverty line are at an increased risk. Boys are 3x more likely to be afflicted than girls. Children with mild ADHD are usually diagnosed at 8 years old, while children with severe ADHD are diagnosed at 5 years old.

Wow! What genius did this research? Boys run around more than girls? You can tell which kids have more energy at a younger age? Kids with a less stable upbringing are less well behaved? Somebody deserves a Nobel prize.

Girls symptoms are less obvious, the article says. To act withdrawn or have a tendency to daydream constitutes a disorder. Of course, this couldn't have anything to do with the system! Surely being force-fed boring and irrelevant lessons couldn't have anything to do with a tendency to daydream.