High school teacher (grade 9) one of my best students got diagnosed with "muh ADHD" this week. Here's what he told me.
The doctor (a GP) gave him a list of ten questions. It went something like this:
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Do you sometimes struggle to finish tasks?
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Do you sometimes have problems paying attention in class?
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Do you sometimes get bored?
Who the F is going to say no to any of this? Anyway, he got diagnosed with muh ADHD and now he's on pills, probably for life. The pills he gets are amphetamines by the way. Yes, really.
I'm a fucking teacher and I get bored by my class sometimes. Guess I need speed too.
This is 90%+ student by the way. Imagine diagnosing a complex mental condition (if it even exists) in five minutes, tops, and then being put on pills for life.
Absolutely disgusting.
Usually to get any legit diagnosis, you'd go to a neuropsychologist and they'd put you though several hours of testing along with weighing input from parents, teachers, etc. A 10 question questionnaire wouldn't even come close. Even with the diagnosis, I'd never agree to put any kid on meds. They should be just getting extra time (on tests and such) and help in school rather than medicating. Most people grow out of the hyperactivity in adulthood anyway.
Extra time on exams probably won't do shit for ADD and variants, they'll just be even less focused without the pressure. Extra time in classes might work. Smaller class sizes almost certainly would.