It can be difficult when it comes to ADD or ADHD because a child can be born with this challenge and yet a child can develop what can be confused as ADHD or ADD due to the stressful dysfunctional environment they are growing up in. Also, a child can have both ADHD and also experience dysfunction that creates hyper vigilant behavior problems that can interfere with that child's ability to learn and focus normally.

You are correct in that when you were a child and going to school and trying to learn they did not know about ADD or ADHD so they did not give the proper attention and extra help for these children and sometimes these children were punished when what that child really needed was to be educated according to how that child "can" learn.