ADD is diagnosed by checking off 6 of 9 items on a list. Items include things like "Is often easily distracted" which could pretty much describe any kid. And its generally not parents that seek the diagnosis, it's teachers who don't want to or can't deal with difficult students. They check off the sheet, send the kid to their physician, and BAM they have a diagnosis for a psychological disorder without ever actually seeing a psychologist. Drug them up and the teachers lives (and a lot of times the parents' as well) become much easier. Its just a symptom of a culture which is addicted to seeking to cure all its problems through drugs. Sure some kids really do have ADD/ADHD and benefit from recieving treatment, but that is by far the minority.

The problem with this that I don't think alot of parents don't realize is they carry this diagnosis for the rest of their lives. I mean my peditrician is hesitate to say my son has asthma without further testing because this is a diagonsis that he will have for the rest of his life.

i'ts greatly overused. I used to work with preschool aged children and the number of medicated kids would surprise you. I think a lot of times an energetic child is labelled as ADD or ADHD when they're very easily just an energetic child.

I've only seen a small handful of TRUE ADD cases out of hundred of children.