I’ll preface this post by saying I’m not an expert in child development. I am a Registered Nurse, and I am a mother. Those two things have caused me to wonder if perhaps our society nowadays has gone overboard on diagnosing children with disorders, and while I’m not saying that some kids don’t have serious issues, I’m just asking are we too quick to label everything as something when maybe it’s not?
When my first child was three years old she became very particular with what she wore. It was almost exasperating to me. Honestly, on the days we were in a hurry it was horrible. She didn’t like anything too tight. She refused to wear denim jeans. I had to buy all her panties in bigger sizes as the elastic bothered her, and she couldn’t stand the seam line of the toe of her socks to touch her feet. In my frustration I reached out to other moms on social media and quickly was informed about Sensory Perception Disorder by multiple friends. I do appreciate their concern and help, but something about that didn’t set right with me at the time. And I wondered, why does it have to have a diagnosis? Isn’t that just a kid thing?
I decided to just let her pick her own clothes and not be overly concerned. Three years later and she wears anything. Jeans, tight socks, whatever. So was she cured of her disorder, or did she just outgrow it?
I’m not saying there’s not such a thing as Sensory Perception Disorder, but I am saying that I think society today conditions us to be quick to diagnose our children with a problem, or to label them in some way. Kids who learn better in motion or adventure are termed ADHD, and I understand that controlling a classroom of thirty kids is tough, but it’s a fact that some children aren’t wired to sit still. As we’ve increased curriculum requirements, especially at a young age, we’ve taken away time for healthy movement and play. The kids who need that physical outlet are sometimes incorrectly termed ADHD. Are they simply energetic and kinetic learners?
Once again, I’m not saying there are not kids with ADHD, but don’t you find it odd how the number of children being medicated for this disorder has grown exponentially in the last 20-30 years? So the question is are we just able to recognize it more readily, or are we more conditioned to seek it out?
If a girl child is a tomboy, or a boy child is gentle and nurturing, do they necessarily have an issue with gender identity? Or are they just kids being kids in all kinds of wonderful ways? I had a cousins when I was little who barked all the time, but no one tried to help him identify as a dog.