Is ADHD Overdiagnosed in Children?

According to Wikepedia.com Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is generally considered to be a developmental disorder, largely neurological in nature, affecting between 3 and 5% of the population.[1] This is not an over diagnosis. It has however, become a common term among family and educators as something to watch for in children. If a child is hyper, or easily distracted, it can automatically be viewed as ADHD. Some times it can be the sugar a child consumes or a trauma in the family that causes these behaviors. A diet change will take care of the sugar and talking with the parent's and the child can help with dealing with trauma.

It isn't easy to diagnose either. In order for a doctor to diagnose it properly the ADHD symptoms must be present for at least 6 months.[3]This isn't easy on the child or parent's dealing with this disorder because it is so disruptive in home life, school and public outings.

It's characterized by a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity, as well as forgetfulness, poor impulse control and being distracted easily.[4] Certain things have to be ruled out by the doctors also so it can be a long process.

Once it is accurately diagnosed then comes the learning how to treat it. There are stimulant medications that can work, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy and working closely with their physician will help them be successfully in accepting and overcoming this disorder. The good news is now the family knows what they are dealing with and treatment can begin.

Adults seem to be the ones who are diagnosed too often. The difficulty to determine a clear medical life history seems to be the issue there. Over diagnosis and over treatment are probably a result of not clearly differentiating the various behavioral disorders of childhood.[5] This makes for a painful complicated process for both doctor and patient in determining the problem.

Although both children and adults have ADHD, the over diagnosing has to be stopped. Make sure to do your research before calling someone ADHD. It may be something else.

Sources

[1][3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention-deficit_hyper activity_disorder
[2] http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/medical/learning/ad hd.html
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention-deficit_hyper activity_disorder#Diagnosis
[5] http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3225/is_n1_v5 6/a