It is probably true that the term ADD or ADHD is applied inappropriately in some cases. Sometimes, a child does just have trouble sitting still (especially 6 - 8 year old boys!) and the youngster will just grow out of it. Sometimes, however, a child really does have a neurologically based disorder that requires some sort of behavioral and/or medical intervention. Only a professional psychologist or psychiatrist trained in the diagnosis of ADD/ADHD can actually determine whether or not a child has this diagnosis. A classroom teacher CANNOT make this diagnosis. To find out whether your child really does have ADD, get a professional assessment and follow their recommendations.   Sarah Chana

Jon, My little brother is 8 years old and my mother was told the same thing- she started taking him to do things in the afternoons on days when he "behaved appropriately" at school and it really helped him put forth more effort into controlling his actions. If that doesn't work for your time schedule/work schedule, may I suggest a weekend or day off outing with just the two of you based on X amount of days behaved with pyramiding rewards? Also, she cut out sugary cerals and o.m.g. did his behavior improve drastically. He's not on any medication and he has only had one "bad" day in the last month and a half. I'm a firm believer that in a lot of cases ADD is a cop-out, and there are many non pill oriented homeopathic and non medicated ways to cope with ADD if that is indeed what your son is dealing with. Hope I've been of some help :)

~T