Some people believe that the diagnose of ADD, ADHD and so forth are overused. Do you believe this is true?

Yes I think it is. It seems that there are so many so called children nowadays compared to when I was younger. I think it partially comes from environmental factors also, such as pollution and diet.

I think that's a hard call. Yes, it's possibly overused by parents/educators/physicians who are looking for an explanation for children's behavior. Sometimes I think that we are creating, if you will, a society ripe for such disorders because our expectations are so different for children than that of generations past. On the other hand there are truly some children who benefit from treatment. And I think such disorders are more diagnosed and recognized now than they ever were before which may add to the illusion of massive overdiagnosis.

I think part of the reason we might see this more than in the past has to deal a lot with how our society has changed. In the old days kids did a lot of playing outside with each other rather than sitting in the house playing video games. There was very structured daily routine because families worked together to be sure some time was spent together. I also agree that our medical advances has brought some things more to attention when in the past it would have been just "a stage".

I don't think it is over used. I DO think that the diagnosis being associated with more boys than girls reflects how society's expectations have changed. Behaviors that were once accepted under the "boys are naturally that way" heading, are starting to receive the same scrutiny that would be applied to a girl manifesting the same behavior; an all out effort to get rid of the behavior.

I think we are also seeing some culture lag. I have a feeling that in the next 15 years we won't see more boys saddled with this diagnoses as their parents spend more effort grooming them for quiet obedience, much the way girls were groomed during the 20th century.

Yes I do. I think that it tends to be a catch-all term when there maybe something else going on.

Definitely, and I think a lot of it is parental behavior. You look at a show like "Supernanny" or "Nanny 911", where the nannies change the children's behavior almost entirely by changing the parents' behavior.

Originally Posted by technoflutemom

Definitely, and I think a lot of it is parental behavior. You look at a show like "Supernanny" or "Nanny 911", where the nannies change the children's behavior almost entirely by changing the parents' behavior.

I don't necessarily disagree that sometimes a child's behavior is reflective of the parenting in the home. I DO think it's important not to jump to that conclusion and make sure that if you are a professional listening to a parent you don't discount their concerns and assume it's a parenting issue. A lot of disorders show a lot of symptoms at home because that's where the child is most comfortable.

It's grossly overused because it's far easier to control a drugged child than it is to actually parent a child.

Yes, I will agree that it can be overused but in the sense that it is the first thing that is diagonosed. I feel that the child should not be diagnosed right of the bat with a disorder and it just seems like that is happening more and more.