I didn't want to dissapoint the teachers. That's never the question. We're looking at the horse from the wrong end. Educators are not willing to change, they're not willing to accommodate an attentional difference. The major reference to diagnosing ADHD comes from the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association, says Mahoney.
Family history is a factor, with strong evidence of genetic inheritance.
Apart from drugs, behaviour management is an option, with care taken to keep patients interested to fend off boredom. She says the route to a medical for any of the board's 102,000 children is a careful one and always involves parents. The number of American children on such drugs was 100,000 in 1991 and 150,000 in 1995. Stephanie Bolton, of the Toronto District School Board, says teachers tell parents if a student is disruptive and are as anxious to help the child as anyone. The doctors say most of their ADHD patients are boys aged 5-12, that diagnosis takes about an hour and symptoms include inattention, impulsiveness and hyperactivity.