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In 2003, approximately 4.4 million children aged 4- 17 years were reported to have a history of ADHD diagnosis; of these, 2.5 million (56%) were reported to be taking medication for the disorder.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Many professionals follow specific protocols before taking action. A pilot completes a checklist to ensure that taking off is the right thing to do. A surgeon does the same diing before making an incision. Before tearing down a building, a contractor completes a demolition checklist to make sure the building is ready to come down. We expect diat moment of pause, focus, and caution from other professionals, and we should expect the same of ourselves and our colleagues.
Over the last 40 years, the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) industry (clinicians, academics, publishers, pharmaceutical companies, etc.) and the American Psychiatric Association have done a great deal to redefine our role as teachers. This redefinition has led to a burgeoning pharmaceutical culture that is having an ever greater influence on our schools and our society. The role of ed- ucators in this shift has been primarily one of spectators and flunkies. At a time when we should have been extending leadership, we have waffled and acquiesced. We have negated our values and traditions and embraced diagnostic theories though we know little about them. Before we go any further, we need to pause, focus, and wrestle with some difficult questions.
1. Are you willing to be part of a process that will label a child with a disorder for which there is no cure?
Before any decision about your role in the ADHD assessment process, consider die prognosis regarding a cure. According to die National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (2008), "There is no 'cure' for ADHD," which means that a child labeled as having ADHD will be tagged with that wherever he goes. Since people don't "outgrow" ADHD, such a diagnosis will shape diat child's sense of himself and how others view him for the rest of his life.
2. To what extent does witnessing an event or a behavior mean that you understand the cause of that behavior?
Teachers know that understanding the context in which a behavior occurs helps them understand that behavior...