I re-read your original essay to see what I was missing. All I can say that your life is more complicated than mine.

My elementary school was in the 1960s. I had a few "ants-in-the-pants" classmates (mostly male) that would be diagnosed with some version of neurodiversity today. But at that time, these kids mostly got yelled at by parents, teachers, and other adults as the main means to get them to comply. And in those days, corporal punishment was often applied.

If the choice is between the old-fashioned techniques, the pharmaceuticals, or just letting these kids do whatever they wanted, I choose the pharmaceuticals.

Having said that, I would like a better alternative. I did not see much of a solution from your original essay or from your recent response.

I have a better alternative. We need to replace the factory model of schooling with a system that allows students to progress at their own rate. I have written about it here:

https://medium.com/@davevolek/unit-based-curriculum-81d610bfc857

It would be interesting to get some feedback from ND people.