Imagine you are sitting in your fourth grade class every day, all day and you feel as though there is a tidal force pulling you away from what you are supposed to be focused on. Imagine that the harder you struggle to focus the stronger this pull becomes. You don’t want to be the kid in the class who is constantly being told to be quiet; you don’t want to be the kid in the class that the rest of the students give a wide berth because you are impinging on their education as well. But you cannot help yourself.

This is the problem that children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have to deal with every day of their lives. These are not kids who suddenly decided they want to be the problem in the classroom. These are not kids who simply one day woke up and decided they had no interest in learning the same things the other kids in their class was learning. What teachers and parents and school administrators have a hard time understanding is that this isn’t a matter of choice any more than being an alcoholic chooses to hurt themselves with booze. This is a disorder they cannot control and need real help to gain any semblance of freedom from the symptoms.

There is treatment out there, there are drugs that can be dispense if the right licensed professional feels that is the way to go, there are also treatments that deals with the way the child feels inside that can at least allow them to tamp down the urges to fidget and squirm and lose focus. This is not a matter of a child suddenly wanting nothing to do with school it is a matter of a child who has a disease that can be treated if properly diagnosed.