In the United States, where there are over 63 million children, three to five percent of these children are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Skeptics suggest psychiatrists are too ready to make a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and too quick to dismiss them with a chemical fix. Despite the high rates of diagnosis, this condition is often overlooked by many parents, teachers and health professionals and scoffed at by others who suggest the condition is simply a grab-all term for children with a range of behavior problems. Children with these disorders, particularly those with ADHD, are often dismissed as hyperactive children and misdiagnosed as emotionally disturbed, or deficient in proper home training. To the affected individual, however, the condition is very real. Many children have difficulty sitting still, paying attention or controlling impulsive behavior; and for a select group of children, it is a daily struggle to cope with these behavioral problems, which never seem to go away. ADD often interferes with their daily life, school assignments and social interactions. Progress has been slow but despite scientific obstacles and ongoing skepticism among some professional and lay people there is an increasing body of research that has helped clarify our understanding of the disorder and promises hope for better diagnosis and treatment in the future.
             Attention Deficit Disorder, as defined in the American Heritage Dictionary, is a syndrome usually diagnosed in childhood that is characterized by a persistent pattern of impulsiveness, a short attention span, and often hyperactivity. This disorder interferes especially with academic, occupational, and social performance, and is an exaggerated and excessive form of problems common to all adolescents.
             There have been major disagreements in the diagnosis of ADD especially between American and...