You know, I will have to claim the same as many here. When I was young, I was down-right weird. I suffered a lot of pain due to the fact that I did not “fit in,” and also due to the fact that I had a really hard time focusing in school. At this point in my life, it’s pretty obvious to me that I’ve always had a pretty clear case of ADHD with a touch of lysdexia. And the fact of the matter is that now, I’m better for having learned to work around my weaknesses rather than taking medication. I see the world from a perspective that most people (or robots ;-D) cannot, and I embrace such things.
Instinct, I will now tip my hat to you, as you hit the nail squarely on the head. These “disorders” are strengths when treated appropriately. My son is brilliant, moody, and lazy. As Meezer Mama said, they would like to label him as having ADD and pump him full of meds, but I believe that would cripple him as the wonderful person that he promises to become. If he was labeled as having “Disorder-X” to explain whatever said ill behavior, he will use that as an excuse and a crutch to be lazy. If he is taught that these are weaknesses that he can work through to augment the strengths that come hand-in-hand with them, he will eventually be able to do things that not even you or I can now.
Besides that, Meezer Boy has a whole lot more focus than Mama or I had growing up, and he is no more apathetic about school than I was at his age. As we have learned from Spiderman, “Great power comes with great responsibility.” Sometimes, that means that we will suffer because of our God-given privelages. It’s still worth it, and it is irresponsible and ungrateful of us to take a bunch of wacky-pills to make it all normal.
At my fluffiest,
Meezer Roboto