I have a 9 year old son who has had trouble at school since pre K. Nothing serious, mainly calling other kids names and pointing out the mistakes his teachers make (he is generally correct about this, he actually does it with everyone, adults and kids alike). He does not make friends easily and does not seem to care that he has no real friends (I find this hard to accept). He is extremely intelligent and up until recently was in gifted classes at school. He despises the extra work associated with these classes and has convinced the gifted teacher that he does not belong in the classes, something he told his mother and me he would do if we insisted that he go into the program. He is a "schoolhouse" lawyer and is always "negotiating" with adults and other kids. This is, of course, because we participate in these negotiations with him.

We have been asked recently to consent to having our son screened for ADHD. We refused to allow the school to do any such thing as the research that we have conducted suggests that the majority of ADHD dignoses, especially when conducted because of a suggestion from a school, are misdiagnosed.

This morning we were asked to meet the school counselor and his teacher and the suggestion was made that we should have him screened for Bipolar disorder and depression as well as ADHD. The reason being that he has trouble sleeping (until two months ago when we finally kicked him out of our bed he had no trouble sleeping) and he was drawing "morbid" pictures (He draws Batman, the Joker, Spiderman and the Death Figure from the TV Show "Family Guy") and he has recently told a classmate that he was supposed to be "invisible" because he has been placed immediately adjacent to the teachers desk due to his lack of organization and his lack of concentration in class. It has also been suggested that his unwilligness to work in groups at school and his insistance that he be allowed to work alone is an indication of some sort of disorder.

My question is how do you know if your child is having problems or is simply marching to a different tune? I know from experience that adults do not like to be told that they are wrong by kids, especially when they are wrong. The research that I have done suggests that dignosing bi-polar disorder and depresson in children has grown almost in direct proportion to the development of high dollar drugs aimed at treating such ailments. I would place my child on such drugs in a minute if I knew that he truly needed them but from what I have read the jury is out as to their effectiveness and even if there is any such thing as these types of disorders in kids.

ANy comments that any of you have would be very appreciated. I, like most parents want to do what is best for my child but I just do not trust most medical professionals and I know from personal experience that not all educators always have the best interest of their students at heart.

HELP