Is it ADHD or just normal child behavior?

When my step son was in kindergarten, he wouldn't go to school. For the first week or so of the school year, he fought tooth and nail to stay home. He wasn't nice about it either. He bawled and kicked and screamed and made school mornings a living hell. His sisters were all in school, 4 to be exact, but they couldn't even talk him in to it. He plain and simply wouldn't go. His Mother went to the school about it, my husband went to the school about it, and they told him that if this continues maybe they needed to consider putting him on Ritalin, a drug commonly used to treat the symptoms of ADHD, Attention Defecit Hyperactivity Disorder. What?? The kid doesn't want to go to school because he's 5 years old and just spent the whole summer with his Grandad on the farm and now has to be pulled from that to go somewhere all day with people he doesn't know and kids he's never played with and be expected to sit still. Of course, my husband was irate with the school and adamantly refused any medication or counseling. Fortunately, after a little ass chewin' from my husband, it changed and my step son stopped doing that and within a few days started going to school with out a hitch. Kids are just fickle. They aren't always hyper or require medication. Sometimes they just need an old fashioned growling.

Most Common Symptoms of ADHD, (Wikipedia)

• Impulsiveness: a person who acts quickly without thinking things through.
• Hyperactivity: a person who is unable to sit still.
• Inattention: a person who daydreams or seems to be in another world.

Now, tell me. Can you honestly look at those symptoms and tell me that they don't describe normal childhood behavior!!?? How many 5 or 6 year olds DON'T act impulsively? You know the old saying...Kids'll do it every time. They say wrong things at the wrong time, tell on you for something without realizing they were just a tattle tale and blurt things out without thinking.

As far as the hyperactivity, have you ever been in a room full of 4 year olds at preschool with 200 toys they want to play with, a book shelf full of every book known to man and a playground full of really cool slides and playhouses and teeter totters?

As far as daydreaming, if we've gotten to the point when a kid can't daydream (or an adult for that matter), when a child is told it's wrong to daydream, then we have gotten to a very sad place.

This is how ADHD is diagnosed, also taken from Wikipedia...

DSM-IV criteria
I. Either A or B:
A. Six or more of the following symptoms of inattention have been present for at least 6 months to a point that is disruptive and inappropriate for developmental level:

Often does not give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities.
Often has trouble keeping attention on tasks or play activities.
Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly.
Often does not follow instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behavior or failure to understand instructions).
Often has trouble organizing activities.
Often avoids, dislikes, or doesn't want to do things that take a lot of mental effort for a long period of time (such as schoolwork or homework).
Often loses things needed for tasks and activities (e.g. toys, school assignments, pencils, books, or tools).
Is often easily distracted.
Often forgetful in daily activities.

B. Six or more of the following symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity have been present for at least 6 months to an extent that is disruptive and inappropriate for developmental level:

Hyperactivity:
Often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat.
Often gets up from seat when remaining in seat is expected.
Often runs about or climbs when and where it is not appropriate (adolescents or adults may feel very restless).
Often has trouble playing or enjoying leisure activities quietly.
Is often "on the go" or often acts as if "driven by a motor".
Often talks excessively.

Impulsiveness:
Often blurts out answers before questions have been finished.
Often has trouble waiting one's turn.
Often interrupts or intrudes on others (e.g., butts into conversations or games).

II. Some symptoms that cause impairment were present before age 7 years.

Am I the only person that sees a problem with this? I think this is an abomination. I blame society and poor parenting for "ADHD", if you want to label it. I watch kids and parents in stores and other places out in the world. Kids walk all over their parents because they have it pounded into their heads that 'no one is allowed to spank you' and 'if someone ever hits you, tell another adult about it' and 'if your parent hits you, call the cops'. Kids are demanding, 'Give me this, I want that', screaming if they don't get it, hanging on the front of the cart and pitching fits, and Mom gives in usually just to keep peace. Well, my kids are 24 and 21 and when they were small and they started acting up at all in a store or restaurant, we left. Right out to the car. They were told about their behavior, got a chance to see that I was really pissed, (without everyone in the store hearing it and looking at you like you were a Charles Manson follower) and given another chance to go back in the store. There were no scenes, there was no screaming from me or my kids and it didn't take long for them to learn that if they acted up, they would get an ear full, and yes, a smack on the ass. Oh my God! Yes, my kids got their asses fanned on a few occasions. Guess what? They tell me now they don't even remember me doing that. It apparently made an impression then, but doesn't matter now, and they never ended up in therapy for it. People can't smack their kids now because someone will turn them into CYS. That's pure bullshit.

I also blame society for labeling kids the way they do. Everyone has a diagnosis nowadays. Everyone has ADHD, Bi-Polar, has Depression, Anxiety or Autism. Why? How? What caused us to label people all of a sudden? The counselors? The schools? The government? Doctors? I think it's just easier to give everyone a title...a diagnosis...a label so they can pass the buck instead of just simply dealing with the issues and living with it. How many people had ADHD in the 40's or 50's or 60's. How many kids were autistic? Ya know, when a child is left alone for hours a day while parents work or the babysitter watches TV or the older siblings play with Playstations and Nintendo, maybe the younger kid is so used to NOT talking that it's just easier. Maybe it isn't always autism.

So when kids act up in school, they are sent to a counselor, put on medication and there you have it. A zombie. I've seen kids on this medication and I've also known kids in their teens and early 20's that were started on Ritalin as a young child and guess what??? They're using drugs now. I'm not saying that anyone put on this medication will turn into a drug user, but many do. For one thing, some kids sell their Ritalin or other drugs to other kids. It starts to be a way to make money. They become drug dealers. This is not fiction. This is not a story on TV. This is REAL. WAKE UP PEOPLE. We live in a time when we watch ads on TV for medications and can go to our doctors and ask for this medication because we had those same symptoms! Have you ever seen the commercial about depression? It makes you depressed. You know the one...'Who does depression hurt?' How does depression hurt?' God! If you aren't depressed before, you'll be depressed after you see it. Isn't everyone depressed at times? Get over it.