Q: Our son, age 8, has been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. His IQ is well above average but his actual performance in the classroom is problematic. He has difficulty paying attention and finishing his work. We got him a tutor an older retired teacher this year. He worked well with her, but that really didnt solve the classroom problem. The tutor said he was easily bored with third-grade work and needed more of a challenge. She recommended moving him out of public school or even homeschooling. At home, hes respectful and obedient. When we ask him to explain the problem to us, all we get is I dont know. We dont want to put him on the drug thats been recommended, but weve been told it will correct his biochemical imbalance and help him concentrate. What should we do?

A: As a leading psychiatrist has admitted, the term biochemical imbalance is, in his very words, nothing but a useful metaphor. In other words, it has no basis in scientific fact.

To speak credibly about an imbalance in a system, one must first quantify the systems state of balance. Concerning the brains chemistry, that has never been done; furthermore, it may be impossible to do. Is it not fascinating that mental health professionals frequently claim that certain children have brain-based biochemical imbalances, yet do so on the basis of no physical examinations whatsoever? No biopsies, blood sample analyses, MRIs, nothing. And yet they claim to know that these kids brain chemistry is out of whack. Nothing short of amazing or, more accurately, nothing short of hocus-pocus.

The drugs used to treat ADD/ADHD are stimulants. They do not correct the fictional imbalance; rather, they create one. Furthermore, they have never reliably outperformed placebos in clinical trials but unlike placebos (e.g. sugar, bicarbonate of soda) they have verified side effects like anxiety, depressed appetite, headaches, even psychotic reactions. Not that every child taking these medications experiences such side effects, mind you, but the risk is significant.

As is the case with all other psychiatric diagnoses, no one has ever proven that someone has attention deficit disorder. One can have leukemia or some other verifiable physical disorder or disease; one cannot have what is nothing but a theoretical construct.

In the absence of scientific evidence that your son has a brain-based disorder that prevents him from paying attention and finishing schoolwork, Id place my bets on the tutors explanation. She is an experienced professional educator. She has worked directly with your son. She knows him fairly well, much better, probably, than someone whos only given him a battery of tests (that have their own problems, by the way).

The tutor says your son is bored, meaning he can do the work, but its not challenging enough for him. Hes a smart kid; he needs to be challenged. Ive been witness to lots of kids diagnosed with ADD/ADHD miraculously cured of metaphorical hocus-pocus by simply being moved to different schools, the worst side effect of which is a period of adjustment.

Visit family psychologist John Rosemonds website at http://www.johnrosemond.com; readers may send him email at questions@rosemond.com; due to the volume of mail, not every question will be answered.

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Why is our son struggling to pay attention? - NNY360