Before being diagnosed, a child is often not able to establish good peer relationships, due to interrupting conversations or not waiting for her turn. In school a child's inability to sit still, or pay attention can have serious effects on their academic performance, thus they get labeled "troublemakers", lazy... These labels can have significant effects on their self-esteem that lasts a lifetime. ADHD children also need more one-on-one attention to learn, and are put into special ed classes where they are labeled "slow learners".

Patrick J. Kilcarr, Ph.D., and Patricia O. Quinn, M.D. published the study "The impact of ADHD on the Family" where they concluded that parent child relationships can be strained because the child cannot meet the parent's expectations of learning in school, or are unable to learn cause and effect at home therefore

Recent articles emphasizing the increased number of children diagnosed with ADHD, the controversies of children taking psychotropic medications, and the debate whether ADHD really exists has left the general public with a skeptical and low opinion of ADHD. At the same time such articles do nothing to educate the public about ADHD. In a random survey of 15 adults 53% agree or strongly agree that they lack knowledge about ADHD. Of this same group an overwhelming 77% feel that ADHD is over diagnosed, with over half (53%) believing it is just a behavioral problem; less than half (47%) feel that children with ADHD just needed to learn to control themselves. The actual number of children diagnosed, in the most recent survey (1997) by the Center for Disease Control, is estimated to be 2.5 million children or 6% (Fast Stats A-Z, CDC), compared to 1970, and 1980 where the rates were 4%-5%. According to the CDC, even at 6% many children go undiagnosed and untreated. An article in the American Family Physician states the "Prevalence rates for ADHD vary substantially, partly because of changing diagnostic criteria over time and partly because of variations in ascertainment in different settings and the frequent use of referred samples to estimate rates." (Review of Educational Research)

Because the Federal Government considers ADHD a disability, school children who are diagnosed with it have special rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These special rights are often carried out with what is called an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that is designed for each student in coordination with the child's parents, teachers and other school administrators. The IEP can contain any number of provisions including counseling services, school work modification, increased individual instruction, or even as suggested by the NIMH, "the teacher may seat the child in an area with few distractions, provide an area where the child can move around and release excess energy, or establish a clearly posted system of rules and reward appropriate behavior." However, a growing number of parents are choosing to remove their child from public school either sending them to private school where there is a lower student-to-teacher ratio, or they home schooling them. This way of dealing with ADHD, while it seems to be advantageous in that the side effects of medication are alleviated, these children are still labeled and segregated, making them to feel different.

Children whose parents do choose to medicate are stigmatized as bad parents, often being cited as unable to control their child or they are considered lazy parents. They

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Approximate Word count = 1791
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)