I guess putting a label on these kids makes it more convenient for those who are trying to help.
I taught many years before they began to search for the cause of these problems. My own grandson is an Aspergers child, and I now realize that I have had many such cases in my classes over the years. It makes me want to raise my eyebrows and exclaim, "Who knew?"

Aspergers kids are often intelligent and mature for their age. But they don't function in large groups. They get labeled as trouble-makers, class clowns, and even as retarded, when in reality, they just can't handle a normal classroom situation. They relate well to adults, or one or two kids at a time, but a class of 25 is too much for them. They don't like any situation that is not completely under control.
I guess the lesson here is tolerance. We can't expect everybody to be the same as everybody else. And yes, I think I see the possibility that I was an Aspergers kid, myself.

Somewhere, in every school system, there is a person who understands the problem. They know that funds are usually available to provide some one-to-one teaching for special kids. You may have to go through the hassel of testing to "identify" the problem, but then you can get help. You may have to push a little to get things moving, but there are solutions. Schools really do make an effort to provide the right education for each child.
Howard


> > Just curious what everyone else's thoughts are on this?
>
> I have a hard time buying it. So-called "Attention Deficit Disorder" is not a new phenomenon. We've just created a label for something that's always existed.
>
> My brother was having a hard time in school, considered to have one of the afore-mentioned problems-my parents took him out, decided to homeschool him, and give him the personal attention, instruction, and care he couldn't get anywhere else. He's doing great now, and we're pretty sure the problem was more with the way he was treated by the system.
>
> I can understand skepticism with labelling children the way we are trying to, and trying to drug them to normalize them. But I'm not willing to buy that there's no problem with a child that isn't capable of concentrating on a single topic for a long period of time, and is rebellious. We can't define away a problem like that, and consider it normal. It may be a natural reaction to the world we're living it, but it's not inevitable, and it doesn't have to stay that way.
>
> It's a nice idea, but I think it's taking the easy way out. We've been able to progress and improve ourselves because we instruct our children, help train them to be good citizens, and teach them what they'll need to know... not because we try to have them teach us, and accept them for what they are.
>
> You can say that the children of this generation as special, and need love and support, and I'd say that's true for all children. But they also need discipline, and instruction.
>
> Mark"I imagine having your name be one letter must make sig quotes kind of awkward"N