ADD / ADHD seems to be getting a really bad rap with children’s behavior. I’m convinced that a lot of the bad behavior is not truly ADD / ADHD related as many children with these conditions are quite sweet and very frustrated and even sad. Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), intermittent explosive disorder (IED), etc. better explains bad behavior and those are the kids (and adults) that I stay the hell away from as they are uniformly nasty and unpredictible.
Does it seem like ODD / IED and things like bi-polar conditions get overlooked b/c it is easier to blame bad behavior (more complex to treat, more baggage with parents, etc.) on ADD / ADHD?
If these kids / adolescents got help earlier, they might not morph into the trult horrible adults they can be and other kids would avoid getting such a bad rap.