<p>They actually offer kids with ADD extra time? Isn’t their medication supposed to remedy the fact that they can’t concentrate?</p>
<p>"ADHD is what mediocrity uses to rationalize the fact they fall on the wrong side of the bell curve. Nearly every person I know who uses this for testing abuses the system.</p>
<p>I know somebody who received a 1580 (out of 1600) because he had extra time.</p>
<p>Really? I can’t understand how somebody like that needs extra time.</p>
<p>I think the whole system is ludicrous."</p>
<p>I get extra time and I got an 800 on the reading section on my first attempt with no preparation. Without extra time I would have been unable to finish the section. I have a learning disability and reading takes me longer. I have always been a voracious reader which has given me the skills necessary to be successful on the reading portion of the SAT. I want colleges to have an accurate picture of my critical thinking ability. High scorers CAN be learning disabled and benefit from extra time. I plan to write about the challenges of overcoming my learning disability in my college essay so colleges will know I receive extra time, if that makes you feel better.</p>
<p>I’m not entirely comfortable sharing this even anonymously on a forum because I work hard so I won’t be judged based on my “disability” but until people speak out misconceptions will persist</p>
<p>2% of public schoolers receive extra time compared to 12% of private schoolers. Only ten percent of those who are enrolled are in private school, clearly there is abuse but it is not the majority of cases.</p>
<p>Ahappyaccident,
What about all the students that haven’t been diagnosed with an official learning disability, but still don’t finish every section? If I had extra time on the math portion, I think it would improve my score significantly. However, I never quite make it to those last few questions, and subsequently I am forced to guess. Then, other students who claim to have ADD will come out with a near perfect score. If the purpose of the SAT was to measure a student’s knowledge of the material at his own pace, then shouldn’t there be extra time for all?</p>
<p>Borb, as a student with ADD and the son of two psychologists (one of which lives with ADD themselves), I find that highly offensive.
ADD is often misdiagnosed in children, as a way to justify why they are so lazy or so hyper. However, ADD is a real thing, and it is not anything like laziness. For instance, I’m a 4.0 student, I take the ACT’s and SAT’s without extended time, I recently got at 32 on my ACT… I am not a lazy person. However, all of this is with daily medication, and yes, it does help, and no, I don’t get high from it. On the days I forget to take it, I am extremely unproductive- there is a very tangible difference. I am lucky- because of my parents’ profession, it was caught early in me. However, the real thing goes undiagnosed in millions of kids each year because of attitudes like yours, and as a result, they grow up thinking that they’re inadequate or stupid. Most don’t find out until their late teens or early twenties, if they do find out at all.</p>
<p>Most “cases” of ADD are just lack of self-discipline</p>
<p>
Um, yea. That means you’re not as good at reading, which is what the test is supposed to judge.</p>
<p>I mean, it’s a TIMED test for a reason. If people think that being slow shouldn’t be a factor, why are <em>any</em> students required to do it in time?</p>
<p>First, I need to say that ADD and ADHD are real, but I do think it’s over-diagnosed. Yes, I do think that **some **who are wrongly-diagnosed were poorly-parented. And, some who have ADD/ADHD were poorly parented - which makes the situation worse. </p>
<p>Before people have a fit, what I mean by poorly parented is that the parents didn’t know how to handle certain types of kids. Perhaps the parents were the “laid back” types or their earlier kids were easy to manage. Therefore, they weren’t equipped/prepared to handle a more challenging child.</p>
<p>*ADD is often misdiagnosed in children, as a way to justify why they are so lazy or so hyper. However, ADD is a real thing, and it is not anything like laziness. *</p>
<p>*Also, if ADHD were caused by poor parenting or lack of discipline, wouldn’t it be likely that all or at least most of the children in one family (raised by the same parents) would have ADHD?? *</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>No. My in-laws are a perfect example. Their first kids were very mellow in personality. Easy going, etc. My MIL was a very laid-back, easy going mother. She got “spoiled” by having easy kids at first. </p>
<p>Then she had a child who was not easy-going. He was busy, busy, busy. He would “act out” to get her attention. She thought she could just parent this child the same way she parented the others - laid-back and from afar - in a lounge chair with a cigarette in one hand and a coffee cup in another. That was not the right decision. My MIL was not willing to admit that her laid back style was not what this child needed. She worsened the problem. When the child became unmanageable, she had to have him severely medicated. </p>
<p>Some parents do not know how to handle/raise a difficult child. People often parent the way that they were parented. If no child in their own family needed such strong guidance, then the parent doesn’t know what to do when his/her own child needs strong guidance. </p>
<p>I have had enough children in my home to see a variety of parenting skills and yes, there are some loving parents out there that are not responding when their very young children are misbehaving. I’ve seen young children touch the controls of our electronic equipment in front of their parents and the parents say NOTHING. I’ve seen young children open our fridge or pantry and their parents say NOTHING. I’ve seen young children jump on our couches and the parents say NOTHING. I’ve seen I’ve young children do all kinds of things that parents of the “olden days” would have jumped in and said, “no, don’t touch” or “no, you can’t do that.” </p>
<p>I don’t know what these naive parents are thinking. Do they think this is “cute”? Do they realize that if the child doesn’t learn boundaries now, he’ll never learn/accept them later? I’m sure it never enters their minds. I don’t think these people think…“Hmmm, if I let a 2 year old touch whatever he wants, then he’ll grow up thinking he can do what he wants, when he wants.” I think they think, “oh, he’s just a baby. He doesn’t know any better.” Right, so teach him NOW!</p>
<p>So, yes, ADD/ADHD exists. Yes, it is also over-diagnosed. Yes, there is also inadequate parenting going on.</p>
<p>ok borb, you should shut your mouth because CLEARLY you have no idea what it is like to have ADD. let me just educate you a second. I’m a smart kid, i work my butt off. i dont take medicine because i believe in trying to do with out medicine. and let me tell you, it is HARDDD. you have no idea what its like to try SO HARD to stay focused in class but the next thing you know you just missed 10 important minutes of class because your brain wanders. it is a MEDICAL condition, it has to do with your BRAINNNN this is not some made up thing. I HAVE IT. i will agree with you that MANY kids are mis-diagnosed. when i took medicine, it was like i didnt have add. class was so much easier. never having to use ALL of my energy to stay focused. and i am NOT LAZY, i play 3 sports, im in high school, i have a job and i still manage a good gpa and act score. so screw you for saying that, cause you have no idea what you are talking about and it really upsets me to hear you talk like that knowing how hard i work everyday. and dont tell me i have DISCIPLINE issues, i am very disciplined, probably more than kids without add because i have to work so much harder to keep up! you are extremely ignorant and it upsets me and disgusts me.</p>
<p>thank you for standing up for people with add. i too have add and i am in a very similar situation to you, it was caught early in me. I tried medicine all through childhood and even in my teens but it really was not for me. I am also pretty hyper and I don’t like that medicine takes that away from me, but its helps ALOT. I also agree kids are often mis diagnosed, but many are not. I wish people who say its not real knew what it was like to have it. ignorant.</p>