Teachers don’t want to change or adapt. Kids with ADD, their parents and the people who support them are all on board and ready for change….but teachers 
just can’t let go of their closed minded thinking regarding ADD. Now, that is a very broad and generally sweeping comment, so I do apologize to any teachers out there who are on the forefront of working with students who have ADD. Bottom line, there is no where even close to the numbers of teachers required on this forefront and students with ADD all over the world are suffering as a result.
Locally, I have spoken with special education teachers and consultants who all support this new approach. Strategies have been presented to teachers of students with ADD/ADHD and while on occasion some teachers will have an open mind and see value in doing things differently, the majority of teachers can’t adapt or don’t want to adapt. Perhaps they have an undiagnosed case of ADD and can’t process this? 
We must find a way to get this issue resolved. The answer isn’t to pull every ADD kid out of public school and drop them in a private school, hoping that some support and specialized approach might be successful. It all starts with your local board of education, they need to understand that not all students learn the same way. They need to understand that in all likelihood, there are a few kids in every single class in their district who has ADD, a learning disability or can’t be dropped into a canned classroom and be successful, nor reach their potential. Next, teachers need to be educated and understand this process. If a teacher has an ADD child in their class and ignores him or her, that child suffers, the rest of the class suffers and the teacher is burdened. A simple strategy can ensure the exact opposite of this, where the ADD child wins, as does the class and teacher. It’s not rocket science, it’s more about our educators opening their eyes, minds and doing something a little different…and in some cases, not hiding behind their Union. Yes, that was a sarcastic comment.
I definately agree with you, although I don’t think we can paint all teachers with the same brush. I have run into some very good ones (generally, I think they also have ADD!!) I seem to have missed something in your blog though- what is the new approach that you are suggesting, exactly? Our school district certainly pays “lip service” about educating kids the way they all individually need, but it doesn’t seem to translate well into practice!!
Hold on to your hat — I am a teacher (20 years) and I have ADD. I teach Kindergarten – and because of budget cuts — I don’t have any assistance with my students. I am stretched well beyond what anyone should be. But — as with many things — this isn’t about me.
Having been in education for as long as I have — the only thing that is constant is change – so I’m not sure that it’s a fair assumption that we don’t want to change — or can’t. (I saw your disclaimer) I also don’t think it’s fair to put the teacher in a no-win situation. The bottom line is likely that we’ve been forced to do “more with less” and the list of “more” grows on a daily basis — so many teachers are just overwhelmed and all of us are under an amazing amount of pressure. I heard that we make as many on-the-spot decisions on any given day as a surgeon. I can’t verify that with data or anything — (but based on my own experience — it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s true.) I also know that the decisions made about me & my job, my paycheck, my supplies, my curriculum materials, my working conditions, bargaining rights (or lack thereof) and my evaluation are made by people whose only qualification is having been a student in the k-12 system. But I digress. Today’s families aren’t the same as they were even 10 years ago. The kids think nothing of announcing what they are going to do rather than asking permission, and some parents think nothing of going directly to the principal or the District to complain rather than coming to the one person who can make the change in the classroom. Some parents come to the initial 504 meeting with a 5-page list of things they think their child “should have”. Pages and pages or demands — then get offended when anyone mentions the needs of the other 25 – 30 kids in the room with one adult. The needs are so great nowadays — I can’t even begin to think about it without feeling overwhelmed.
Additionally, not all teachers are given a true sense of what a person who has ADD has to overcome just to function “normally”. Many teachers think ADD symptoms are a moral issue — and not many teachers are convinced otherwise. Even fewer teachers are trained on how to manage the requests on a 504 quickly & easily and see them as a bonus for that child (and maybe others like him/her). Most teachers see a 504 as “One. More. (insert expletive here) Thing. We. Have. To. Do.” (The List of Things We Have to Do to Still be Able to Teach grows exponentially every year, thanks to the political nature of education laws & regulations — but that’s a discussion for another day.)
Here’s another thing that ties our hands as teachers — we are not medical/mental health professionals and are not qualified to make any diagnosis. We can’t offer any advice or make any suggestions other than — “You might consider talking about that with your pediatrician”. Here’s the bottom line — it’s up to parents/proactive educators/ADD advocates to teach the education community about ADD — without perpetuating an “Us-vs-Them” dichotomy. Nothing — and I mean Absolutely Nothing in my world is “A Simple Strategy” — not anymore, anyway. Wow — sorry I got so wordy — but stuff like this just gets under my skin — as a teacher — with ADD.