ADHD - Learning Disability or Situational Mismatch?

Over the years I have taught a multitude of students with this...label.  ADHD.  ADD.  As a young teacher, I drank from the company Kool-Aid and accepted that this was a learning disability.  Some students were born with it, others develop it through their environment (nature vs. nurture).  It became a topic that teachers would talk about in hushed voices beyond the reach of students' ears.  "Little Ronnie Runamuck is sooooo hyper today.  I wish they would put him on some meds already."   And me? Guilty as charged also.  Having an 11 year old boy that can't sit still, won't listen to directions, and is constantly tapping, talking, or prodding at other students can be devestating to a teacher's classroom management.  I too, wished lil Ronnie's mother would finally take her son to the doctor and have him evaluated.  Medicate that kid.  Calm him down.  I need some peace and quiet and my classroom back.

Now?  I've had some time to marinate with this idea.  Perhaps the problem isn't that lil Ronnie has a learning disability, but that our traditional model of schools isn't equipped or designed to deal with kids who are so kinesthetic.  Would these children excel if they were in a charter or private school that was designed to allow kids to get up, move around, and learn in a way that fit them?  The Montessori movement was designed to address this need, but primarily for elementary students.  Think about it.  Are we medicating them because they have a learning disability and CAN'T LEARN or because THEY CAN'T LEARN IN OUR CURRENT SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT?  If the answer is the latter, should we really be medicating them to make them fit this mold?  Is it a biological problem or a logistical problem?

Some of our best business leaders are walking posterboys for adult ADHD.  They change gears and multitask constantly; holding conferences, making snap decisions, and quickly analyzing information.  Try to hold a steady, focused conversation for more than 5 minutes though and you'll see what I mean.  For them, their learning style is an asset.  It actually gives them an edge over the rest of us in that environment.  In school, their learning style was a disability, in the "real world" its their edge.  So was it ever a disability to begin with?