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Working in a preschool, I often see children with "problems". Children often run around the room, not listening to their teacher's pleas for them to sit still and listen to directions. A lot of times, these problems can be traced back to the parents. Poor parenting skills have been the blame of several "problem children" over the years. One child at the preschool, Madison, is one of these "problem children". I often hear her teacher having to repeat her name over and over until she finally gains her attention. Madison is four years old and is very obstinate when it comes to doing what she is supposed to. One evening a few weeks ago, her teacher came up to me and stated that she needed to be punished not just at the school, but when she got home as well. She automatically assumed that Madison's behavior was a reflection on her parents. Last week, Madison's mother came in and informed our director that she took Madison to the doctor and that she was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and was to take Ritalin everyday. This intrigued me. Was Madison's problem truly a medical defect? Or was it merely just bad parenting. I decided to look in on this subject further.

The first aspect that I looked at was the history of it. Several years ago, as was mentioned above, these children were merely known as "bad" children. They seem to get into everything and are never happy. Such medical terms as, "minimal brain dysfunction," "brain-injured child syndrome," "hyperkinetic reaction of childhood," "hyperactive child syndrome" and, most recently, "attention-deficit disorder" have progressed and evolved throughout the years. It was once believed that an "iron fist" in the home, and stern punishment would fix the problem child, however, if it truly is a medical problem¡Khow can that solve it?

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service states that ADHD cannot be linked...