NikiL

Good grief.

I'm appalled by the complete ignorance of so many people in this thread.

My kid was diagnosed with ADHD at 12, the school suggested we go to a pediatric psychologist as they suspected Aspergers. ADHD diagnosed, and yes, my parenting had strong boundaries, I'm an extremely old fashioned parent, and Ritalin prescribed. 6 months later my kid turned around to me and told me how pleased he was that he had been given Ritalin as it helped him actually focus and concentrate on school work. His grades in one term went from D's and E's to A's, B's and C's. He still struggles with subjects he's not interested in, but lets face it, who didn't.

Yes, there are kids who are diagnosed when they have no boundaries, no parenting etc. But there are a large number of people who are diagnosed who do genuinely have brain functionality that works differently to the rest of us. In that way they are no different to anyone diagnosed with depression, bipolar personalities, schizophrenia. The brain chemistry is just different.

Those of you who have worked in mental health and spout the whole "its not real" should be bloody ashamed of yourselves.

Grayling

So someone who agrees with you is well informed

But the rest of us have 'confused opinions'.

Grayling

Nobody has said it is not real. What has been said is that there is no professional consensus and that in many learned opinions it is overdiagnosed.......nothing to be ashamed of

knockoff nige

I agree with questioning the diagnosis of anything. I don't really agree with someone having 3 different views on a subject and getting backed up by some because they have studied a certain profession.

Grayling

You believe what you want....good luck with it

BadgeIsBack

A lot of middle class kids are very average - it's only a lot later that they start to accelerate away as the advantages they get come to the fore, or even get noticed. I have a distinct memory that the kids who did well academically were invisible right up until about 15 or 16 - plodding away in the background, yet with hindsight they were the ones who were destinied perhaps to do well. Many of the popular kids often burnt out or straight-lined at that age.

My daughter excels in a few areas, (areas I consider to be those that will help in middle childhood) and is bang on in others. This is good.

Yet we know people who are obsessing over stuff at primary school age. It's not necessary.

And I think G is right - I see a tad over diagnosis. When I was a kid there were always noisy 'urchins' who were not socialised into school and it was sort of expected they would probably leave at 16. They did not need to be labelled.

knockoff nige

As you've had several views on it on this thread, perhaps the advice to you should be to believe what you want and keep believing it.

Grayling

I have been pretty consistent

You believe what you want to believe.....makes no difference to me.

Pom_Chch

No one is saying it doesn't exist and that it's a made up condition. I am acknowledging it does exist but in some cases it is a label put on kids who aren't being bought up in the old fashioned way with boundries and discipline. It is overdiagnosed but that is not to say that some kids do not have it...

knockoff nige

Calling it made up, being skeptical of it and then deciding its over diagnosed suggests you've not been consistent.

moneypenny20

With the greatest of respect, perhaps you should, if you wanted to of course, go back and read what he's written. Don't read what you want it to read, read what he's put.

DeadVim

Yep ...

knockoff nige

No disrespect to you of course but perhaps that's what you need to do.

IvanM

The knowledge is based on experience of getting my kids the right help from the DOE.

knockoff nige

I have to take back some of the things I said yesterday as i had been drinking when typing. I apologise.