<p>Why, in a thread about methods of discpline, is ADHD even coming up? Legitimate, true ADHD has nothing to do with discipline, and if we are on the correct medication and at the correct dosage it does not make us dazed or drugged. Any medication has side effects, I am not sure why the side affects of ADHD prescriptions are so much more fascinating than any other. I also don’t know why we don’t talk about one “getting their fix” of an antibiotic, or “getting their fix” of motrin, either, if that’s what taking a medication prescribed by a doctor for a medical condition is. You say you would not criticize people who do benefit from ADHD medications, but throughout your entire post you question the validity of ADHD and judge the use of medications, in a thread about what constitutes proper discipline and what doesn’t. Forgive me, maybe you’re trying not to sound judgmental of something you don’t thoroughly understand, but I don’t quite buy your act.</p>
<p>Some children with ADHD are not adequately disciplined, the same as many children without ADHD are not adequately disciplined. Maybe even more kids with ADHD lack the proper discipline, I haven’t done any broad research on the matter-- though I can imagine why a parent would struggle to find the "right’ way to discipline in that situation given that the introduction of a medical condition is a complete game changer and very little of the specifics you know about child rearing are applicable anymore. Some parents flounder with that. A lot of parents give up and give in when presented with an overwhelming challenge. Not all parents are good parents. None of you had to pass a test that proved you would know what to do if your child was born with a medical condition. Just because some parents don’t know what to do and the result is annoying to you doesn’t mean that the child is not suffering from a valid medical condition that needs treatment, and bad parenting and ADHD are not intrinsically linked any more than any other behavioral condition no matter what way you want to spin it. </p>
<p>Given that myself, my cousins, my nephews, and my mother were ALL spanked and ALL have ADHD, I fail to see how these two conversations are even remotely relevant. Lack of discipline is not ADHD. If someone is diagnosed with ADHD by the proper testing, you can rest assured that they are legitimately different from the typical child and the condition may result in the child needing a different style of parenting than some parents can pick up in a day. Like when raising any child, it is a process that changes depending on the child and depending on how much and what you learn along the way. Are some kids illegitimately diagnosed? Sure! But if we have a population of people who saw irresponsible doctors and were screened for cancer incorrectly, are we going to start questioning every cancer diagnosis there is regardless of if we know how they were tested? Would we doubt the validity of chemotherapy, and suggest that all cancer patients just needed to work a little harder at managing their condition? I don’t think so! That would be asinine and offensive. Kids with ADHD and their parents should not be getting that backlash, save that for the doctors who actually screwed up.</p>