ADHD, History, and Hope: How the Children of the ’60s Can Help Protect the Rights They Never Had

And Why the Children of the ’80s and ’90s Must Now Protect Those Rights for Their Own Children

I’ve been attending the Annual International Conference on ADHD since 2008 (Co-sponsored by CHADD, ADDA, and ACO). Each year offers something meaningful, but this year in Kansas City felt…different. Urgent, inspiring, sobering, and in many ways deeply hopeful.

This time, I had the joy of attending with my daughter, Carly, a special educator, facilitator of my ADHD Teacher Trainer Academy, and a powerful advocate in her own right. Sharing this experience with her was a reminder of just how far we’ve come as a field, and how far we still have to go.

With roughly 1,200 attendees – researchers, clinicians, educators, coaches, parents, adults with ADHD, and up-and-coming professionals – the energy was electric. The staff at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center even commented on how lively, warm, and kind the group was. They also noted an unusually high number of lost hotel keys, which felt on-brand for all the right reasons.

The Talks That Grounded and Inspired Us

This year’s keynotes were exceptional.
• Dr. William Dodson offered clinical insight that felt both validating and eye-opening.
• Dr. Brandi Bolling combined heart, humor, and deep understanding.
• Special Education Attorney Matt Cohen delivered a powerful, at times painful, presentation about the threats to special education protections—and why advocacy is more essential than ever.

My own session – Putting Parents at the Center of Support: The Value of ADHD Parent Coaching – was highly attended. What fills me up year after year is seeing how hungry parents and professionals are for guidance that validates their experience, honors their child’s neurodevelopment, and gives them a path forward rooted in calm, connection, and shared solutions.

But what struck me most this year wasn’t just the information. It was the palpable sense of hard-earned confidence in the ADHD community.

We are no longer fighting to prove that ADHD is real or that support matters. Instead, we’re working together – more grounded, more unified, and more determined than ever.

And that matters. Especially now.

Putting the 1950s – 1960s Into Context: Why So Many Adults Grew Up Without Support.

Matt Cohen’s presentation reminded us that the adults raising today’s children—and many current educators—came of age in a time when the concept of ADHD as we know it didn’t exist.

Before we talk about why the federal landscape is so alarming right now, we need to understand where we started.

What ADHD Looked Like in the 1950s and 1960s

Children of that era did not grow up with support systems, understanding, or legal protections. Their struggles, and what we now categorize as ADHD or Executive Function challenges, were often misunderstood, minimized, or moralized.

Here’s what the history makes clear:

1. ADHD wasn’t formally recognized.

Terms like “minimal brain dysfunction” or “hyperkinetic reaction of childhood” floated through medical literature, but ADHD did not enter diagnostic manuals until 1980—long after these children were grown.

2. There was no special education law.

Until 1975, public schools were not required to educate children with disabilities.
This included physical disabilities, emotional or behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, and what we now recognize as ADHD.

Schools could – and did – refuse enrollment.

3. No IEPs, no 504s, no mandated accommodations.

There were no legal mechanisms for:
• modified instruction
• behavior supports
• extended time
• specialized interventions
• counseling
• classroom accommodations

Teachers were given no frameworks, no training, and no mandate to support neurodivergent children.

4. Behavior was interpreted through a moral lens—not a neurological one.

Common conclusions were:
• “lazy”
• “not trying hard enough”
• “disruptive”
• “needs more discipline”
• “bad parenting”

The emotional toll of this misunderstanding still shapes adults today.

5. This shapes today’s challenges.

Parents, teachers, clinicians, and school leaders who grew up in that system often internalized harmful messages such as:
“I just had to tough it out,”
or
“No one helped me, so why does my child need help now?”

Understanding this history isn’t about blame—it’s about context. It explains why today’s families need more compassion, more clarity, and more guidance.

Why This History Matters Now: The Alarming Threat to Special Education

In the past year, and especially in recent months, we’ve seen deeply concerning efforts to scale back or dismantle key federal functions that protect students with disabilities, including ADHD.

While I won’t quote directly from any single article, here is what is factually clear and deeply relevant to our community:

The U.S. Department of Education has faced unprecedented proposals to eliminate or drastically weaken it.
These proposals include folding it into other agencies or removing federal oversight of civil rights, special education, and state compliance.

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)—the agency that enforces IDEA—has already faced staffing cuts, hiring freezes, and political pressure over the past several years.

When OSEP is weakened, enforcement weakens.

When enforcement weakens, children lose protections.

Without a strong federal structure, IDEA and Section 504 become vulnerable.

States could interpret regulations differently – or simply ignore them.

Districts could reduce or eliminate services.

Families would lose the support that earlier generations fought incredibly hard to secure.

And all of this is happening at a moment when children and teens face more complex challenges than ever:

• Screen saturation
• Social media influence
• Larger class sizes
• Reduced funding
• Increased academic demands
• Rising mental health concerns
• Overwhelming political uncertainty

History shows us what happens when children do not have protection.
We cannot afford to repeat that mistake.

A Legacy of Advocacy: CHADD and the Work Ahead

CHADD was founded in 1987 by parents and professionals who knew firsthand what it was like to grow up misunderstood and unsupported. Since then, CHADD, along with ADDA and ACO, has been a leading force in:

• protecting disability rights
• educating families
• training professionals
• advancing research
• advocating for ADHD at the national level

Their presence and partnership at the conference are not ceremonial—they are essential.

What Today’s Parents Want—and What Teachers Know

Parents today face challenges that simply did not exist a generation ago.
And yet, something remains consistent:

Teachers still want to help – but the system is breaking them

In every school where I’ve taught ADHD and Executive Function strategies, I see the same truth:

Teachers feel the strain.
They see the pain.
And they desperately want tools that work.

They are often the first ones to notice when a child is struggling. They often understand ADHD’s complexity, the emotional toll it takes, and how much effort kids put in beneath the surface – even when it doesn’t look like effort from the outside.

But here is the part we don’t talk about enough:

Many parents are told they must “fight the school” to get services.

Sometimes they do need to push to secure appropriate support.
Sometimes that advocacy is not only justified, but essential.

But all too often, the battle lands on the shoulders of the classroom teacher—not the policymakers or administrators who control resources and decisions.

Teachers become the collateral damage of a broken system.

They may empathize deeply with parents.
They may wholeheartedly agree that a student needs more help.
But they are beholden to administrators, staffing shortages, rigid regulations, and limited funding. Their hands are tied by forces far outside the classroom walls.

And while parents are fighting for their children, teachers are quietly fighting their own battles:

• constantly rising expectations
• increasing class sizes
• chronic underfunding
• public scrutiny and political pressure
• inconsistent or inadequate training
• escalating behavioral and mental health needs among students
• and the fear – very real – of school violence

It’s no wonder teachers are leaving the profession in record numbers.

We are losing a generation of gifted, passionate educators who entered teaching to make a difference but are burning out faster than ever. Many are exhausted. Many are heartbroken. And many are afraid.

If we want children with ADHD to thrive, we must support the teachers, too – financially, emotionally, and structurally.

Parents need partnership, not battle lines.
Teachers need training, trust, and time.
Schools need resources, leadership, and stability.
Children need adults who understand how their brains work and who are not too depleted to respond with patience and compassion.

We can only build a better system when we recognize that we are not on opposing sides.

Parents, teachers, and professionals are all fighting for the same children.

How the Children of the ’50s and ’60s Can Help the Children of Today

For those of us who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, our experiences were shaped by a world that had no language – and no support – for what we now understand as ADHD.

And yet, we are the generation that helped push for change.

We became the teachers, clinicians, researchers, advocates, and parents who refused to let another generation struggle alone.

We may not be perfect. But we carry a kind of wisdom that only comes from lived experience, resilience, and hindsight.

We can help guide today’s parents and professionals by offering:

• context
• perspective
• compassion
• advocacy
• mentorship
• a reminder to stay the course

Our story is part of the foundation on which today’s progress is built.

Together – across generations, disciplines, and lived experiences – we can create a world where all children truly have the opportunity to thrive.