TBH, I don’t know. I have not really followed this topic aside from the occasional news article. That’s why I find this thread interesting.
I do think this ties in some way to the other thread that’s discussing support for boys in college. It starts in grade school.
So one of the problems of under/over diagnosed is the professional seem to be still learning. Can an A student have Adhd and still need accommodations? Yes and most schools don’t understand this. They don’t see the kid at home reading and rereading 10 times for hours on end. Reading comprehension poor but yet does well in school but not understanding the test anxiety that goes with it. Hyperfocusing for said test or project is great but then the kid is spent.
If you read this book you will see stories of children in here. This is a very classic book. If anyone is wondering about it, it’s worth the read. Adhd comes is many different forms.
You have perhaps unwittingly brought up another important layer to the discussion: socioeconomic class and access to resources. You were able to pull your son out of the public school and put him in a private school which perhaps had the experience and resources necessary to redirect rather than medicate (including smaller class sizes typical of private schools relative to public schools which makes such things more possible).
Many parents do not have the resources to do that (including both financial resources and informational resources that would allow them to navigate the system of private school financial aid).
Those are the kids who were medicated instead of redirected into chess. And perhaps largely because their parents weren’t in a position to resist the public school’s insistence on medication.
So agree. At our private elementary /middle school it was like every kid was being tested for something. At the public not do much.
Well, and in a public school, they just need order otherwise, with large class sizes, things can quickly devolve into chaos. If they aren’t able to personalize the approach to each overly-energetic or distracted student, I can see that they easy way out (at least for the teacher) could be to suggest medication. How many kids are being unnecessarily medicated as a result? And do they really have any underlying condition that would require medication instead of some other kind of intervention?
As people mentioned below, unfortunately not everyone has means for private schools and may not have a happy ending like yours…
And this also makes me wonder if there are stats that breakdown ADHD diagnosis by family income. If so, I wonder if we would see any significant differences between the top, middle, and bottom.
ADHD may be underdiagnosed in the past, but is it overdiagnosed today? It certainly seems that way to me. If so, too many kids have been unnecessarily medicated with great harm to themselves and the society.
However, diagnosis is not a panacea. The key is a solution after diagnosis. And in our society in 90% of the cases solution is medication. Guess what, medication alone is seldom a solution.
If I had to guess, it is simultaneously over diagnosed in some demographics and under diagnosed in others. Do we really believe that ADHD is more common in high SES white people? There is also a cultural bias against seeking treatment and diagnosis among some minority groups. They are much more likely to view a hyperactive boy as “just boys being boys”.
Interesting discussion. So there are many alternative treatments that work extremely well like developmental optometry and biofeedback. I know many never medicated and gotten off their meds or lessen with the above.
I think there are studies that prove out what you are saying.
In many countries, reading is introduced later, when the brain is better developed and able to process "symbolic representation “… (i think that’s what it is - it has been a while since I delved into this”. Kids are exposed to language before that, but not reading. Most learn to read pretty quickly and without frustration. It’s this latter part that I think is often an issue in the US schools. A kid who is struggling will handle that in any number of ways, but we set kids up for that. In our district, they introduce a lot early – probably earlier than is developmentally appropriate for many – in order to identify the stragglers and get them remediation. And for many of those kids, this is a sad introduction to education.
I get your point and agree - partially. The private school was not an ultra - expensive private. The class sizes were very similar to the sizes to our public schools (this was not in a low-income public school area).
Yes, what allowed us to save our son was that we had the money to go private. The cost for the private school? It was ~10% higher than the per-seat funding provided to the public school. That is why I’m pro school vouchers. It would open up this option to more students. I applaud states that are moving to this option. I know that many will disagree, but when it comes to your student it could be a life changer.
And for some the issue is not reading and not math but writing… That is totally different level of discussion… And then all these crazy standardized tests for reading comprehension… Guess what, some ADHD kids do not see in any suggested options the correct answer because they are alternative thinkers… Who could guess? And they can explain to you very logically why absolutely every option is WRONG! Good luck teaching your kid to think like a test maker…
Oh, this heavily depends of the area you leave and also of your religion and views… Most affordable privates in my area are religiously affiliated… And there are no vouchers or state-supported privates (even partially like in NY if I am not mistaken) in my area…
Agree. And that’s a shame.
It’s helpful to remember that ADHD is a spectrum disorder that doesn’t impact every person the same way. The kids who are hyperactive, whether boys or girls, are more likely to be diagnosed than the inattentive kids because of the disruptive behavior. My daughter has ADHD-C, which is the combined type, so she is/was both disruptive and inattentive. Also, ADHD and giftedness, both neurodivergences, have overlapping symptoms. It’s possible that the kid who can be easily redirected and still do well either has less severe symptoms or may not have ADHD at all.
My spouse also has the combined type and was disruptive to the point that no amount of redirection would have mattered. And this disruption impacted home, school, and relationships. Messy, disorganized room. Poor hygiene and disregard for self to the point spouse’s parents thought he was on drugs. If you asked why, the answer was always “I didn’t think about it.” Schoolwork, no matter how interesting, wasn’t done. And, if it was, it was often late and messy. Constant chatter/movement in the classroom despite repeated punishments. Inability to sustain friendships. It can be hard for an ADHD kid to sustain friendships when their minds and body are in constant movement, their moods are mercurial, and they just want to discuss their latest hyperfocus/interest. Add in inattentiveness, and friends who were out of sight were out of mind. Despite living on campus and pursuing his preferred path of study, my spouse failed out of college the first time because he was too busy chasing dopamine to attend class.
I wish my in-laws had intervened instead of chalking it up to typical boy behavior because the dysfunction persists into adulthood where the stakes are higher. And it’s heartbreaking when the symptoms manifest in your child, and you watch them struggle mightily and have to decide: do I medicate my child?
My spouse is kind, creative, and great at math, puzzles, and strategy games. But anything outside of his limited sphere of interest (work and hobbies) is on me. So, everything else. It’s a tough journey.
Russell Barkley has a great series on YouTube that discusses the neurological causes and symptomology of ADHD, if anyone is interested.
Oh, and it is so cool to discuss something on the board of CC. Unfortunately, only people who had significant experience in the family (or at work if you are a special education teacher) have a clue what is going on. All other “good wishers” - well, sorry to offend you, no matter how well you mean you have no idea what it is no matter how much you read about it in the books or online. I also love periodic posts by some arrogant people who say that kids with ADHD do not belong to colleges and should study trades and are lost cause to society.
That’s ridiculous. Like somehow being an electrician or plumber requires less focus.
My sister has classic adhd and has a very important job that she’s excellent at. Just don’t ask her to organize her kitchen or pick up her dry cleaning. Her son also struggles with adhd, I think that’s often part of the issue. Kids with adhd often do best with highly organized schedules and coping techniques but adhd is also genetic so mom or dad struggle with helping.
S25 asked for a file cabinet and label maker for his 7th birthday. I was pretty sure they were wrong about his diagnosis.