Is ADHD over-diagnosed?

Professor Philip Shaw discusses research into ADHD diagnosis, which suggests the disorder is under- rather than over-diagnosed.

The question as to whether or not ADHD is over-diagnosed, I think there have been good, very large studies done which have looked at rates of ADHD in the community. Actually, what they have tended to find is that the problem certainly tends to be under-treatment of ADHD. There are an awful lot of children with ADHD who are not getting access to treatment, and they are going unrecognized, and we know that these kids really do struggle at school, and it is a serious condition that deserves the best possible treatment. So I think actually the problem is that children are not getting adequate access to good mental health care, rather than it being too much.

adhd, attention, deficit, hyperactivity, disorder, diagnosis, philip, shaw

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