<p>I would agree that schools in general are not set up for active alert learners, and that it can be very difficult to accurately diagnose a young child, if the conditions are exacerbated by the environment.</p>
<p>But for example- I knew from shortly after birth that something was going on with my daughter. She refused to wear clothes many times- I couldn’t put cloth diapers on her at all. ( I couldn’t hold her to nurse her…) she would wear the same clothes every day ( she slept in the nude after potty training), but if she noticed that I had washed her clothes while she slept, she would run outside and rub soil on them. ( she has sensory integration disorder, something not uncommon with those with ADD)
I luckily found a school of about 20- with classes of 8 that she attended from K-2 grade. But even for that- getting ready for school every day was an ordeal. It took hours.
Many rituals involved and if one of them was hurried, we had to stop and start all over again.
I was fortunate enough to find a dr who prescribed a medication for her when she was almost 6. THis cut the ritual down from hours, to 20 minutes.</p>
<p>ADD doesn’t always “go away” once a child is an adult.
If “speed” ( as prescribed) enables an adult to function in society, then why would we want to ban it?</p>
<p>If you have ADD it isn’t addictive- if it was- sufferers wouldn’t forget to take their medication or get a prescription refill.</p>