I understand your point polarbear, and I think there is a benefit to explaining disabilities in some cases in terms of the children. It's the parents that are a problem. Once a disability is known, things are seen through that lens. People expect the worst or people look for behaviors that confirm their small knowledge of the disorder. That's why I only tell people who already know us. There's a big difference in how a person would perceive a child with something like Developmental Coordination Disorder or a learning disability like dysgraphia vs. ADHD. People hear "ADHD" and immeditely think "hyper" or "impulsive" and those characteristics are indeed a part of the disorder. I bet that teachers go through their stack of files at the beginning of each school year and sigh when they see kids with ADHD 504's or IEPs. "Great, I have 5 of them this year. Last year it was only 2." Then they expect the child to be difficult before the child even gets there. That's why I'm wary of even writing a 504 for DD. Her problem is processing speed and she has NO problem behaviors in school but when teachers see the 504 they are going to expect more than just processing speed issues. And if she went there unmedicated, she would indeed be a behavioral problem just like they would expect.
