There was an interesting discussion on Slashdot yesterday about ADHD. I know I’m evil, but so help me, this comment made me laugh out loud. This one was pretty good, too.
I do think that ADHD is over-diagnosed these days. When I was student teaching and subbing, I saw a lot of kids whose problem was lack of discipline. And I don’t mean self-discipline. I mean their parents weren’t being parents. They didn’t know how to control their kids, so they medicated them. One girl in the eighth grade English class that I student taught was diagnosed and medicated during my time there. She became a total zombie, and her friends kept encouraging her to go off her meds so she’s be herself again. It was really sad.
This is not to overlook the genuine cases out there. I know there are people who really suffer from a disorder and really need help. I just think we’re overdoing it a bit. Makes me think of the article in The Onion on Youthful Tendency Disorder sometimes.