Originally posted by Aristotle
Any child that presents even the slightest challenges in (generally public) schools is getting hit with the ADHD label. Then the parents are commanded to medicate the child. In some states, there are efforts afoot to empower the state to require such medication when the state deems it necessary in order to attend school.
And, to make it even worse, many of these parents are encouraged by the schools to apply for Social Security disability for these children. At least, that's how it is where I live. At my job, we get way too many calls for parents trying to get their kid on SSI. I would wager that 90% of children's cases that we get calls for are for AD/HD.

Certainly, there are true instances of this disorder. However, I agree that it is far too widely diagnosed. Given that, for the schools (or perhaps just the general community mood) to encourage parents to get support from the SSA (especially with all the current talk about it's impending crisis), it does not exactly inspire the most sympathetic view of AD/HD.