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A study performed in British Columbia has determined that, of children in the same grade level, the younger they were the more likely they were to be misidentified as having ADHD.

The study was done in British Columbia due to the fact that regarding school ages, the calendar is the typical January - December calendar (rather than September - May as in most place in the US).

Students who were born closer to December were more likely to be misdiagnosed as students who were born closer to January, suggesting that the children might simply be slightly less mature than their peers due to being slightly younger.

Anyone else really just think that most ADHD cases are bogus anyway?

What you speak of, Teilhard, has more to do with the medical progress of identifying a symptomatic pattern as belonging to a disease with a label whoch previously was just non-categorised and hence spread all over the place but lacking a label.

And less with fashion waves, as you make it sound.

When racial segregation was abolished in the 60s, this wasn't a fashion wave either, after all. It's just progress towards truth - here medical, there social.

Mar 5, 2012 -- 5:17PM, Ironhold wrote:

...Anyone else really just think that most ADHD cases are bogus anyway?

I don't know about "most" but I will go along with "many". I know of at least one mother that pushed the doctor to diagnose her son, an active little boy, so she could be in the same circle of friends that her friend was in - all with ADHD. Hopefully, that's an isolated case. Another mother sounded boastful, like she was a martyr, whenever she talked about her "special needs" child that was diagnosed with ADHD. Her boy was active, but in no way "special needs." Another child I know was "diagnosed" by a 3rd grade teacher. How the HELL! can a person with a two year degree make a medical diagnosis. She insisted the boy (almost always boys) be put on drugs. Instead of drugging their child into submission, the parents moved the boy to another school where he did great.

My point is that it is not always the doctors diagnosing ADHD. Sometimes it's the parents, or others, pushing for it.

I do believe in ADHD but I also believe there are plenty of over diagnosis going on too. 

There are a few people I know diagnosed with ADHD that did not have it but had something different.  One young man had an occular disorder (who would have thunk that?).   He attended therapy to rewire how his eyes moved and rest on objects and he was right as rain after that.

Taking ADHD medication will make you incredibly hyper and racy if you don't really need it.  My son has ADHD but here is the thing, before he was diagnosed I too thought it was a load of crap.  Then I was forced to confront it and I realized he got it from me.  Like alot of girls with attention problems I was not a consistent behavioral problem but I was a classic ADD undiagnosed girl.  I still have problems with attention but around the age of 24 I shifted and was able to seize control.  My friends say I have a unusual perspective, not sure if that is from ADD.    Anyway my poor son got it from me, also dysgraphia.  But there are great things about us too.

I think the problem with attention problems today is that kids have so many more interesting things to focus on than school.  So many distractions and so much more school work.  I hardly think it is indicative of problematic attention that a kid does not want to do several hours of homework a night. 

Mar 5, 2012 -- 10:32PM, REteach wrote:

ADHD is a neurotransmitter problem.  Just because not everyone on stimulants has ADHD does not mean that ADHD is not real. Some genes have actually been identified.  

sheesh. 

This isn't news, RE.