Myth # 3: ADHD is Over-Diagnosed

The rate of diagnosed ADHD in children has increased approximately 5% every year, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health, 2003—2011. This has led many to wonder if the condition is being over-diagnosed. But the report based on the 2014 National Survey of the Diagnosis and Treatment of ADHD and Tourette Syndrome found that children are being carefully diagnosed by healthcare practitioners. The vast majority (9 out of 10) of the 2,976 children diagnosed with ADHD had been diagnosed by practitioners using best practice guidelines (Visser et al. 2015). Possible explanations for increased diagnostic rates include improved awareness about ADHD among healthcare practitioners and parents, more screenings by pediatricians and other primary care givers, decreased stigma about ADHD, availability of better treatment options, and more cases arising from suspected environmental causes such prenatal exposure to toxins or high blood lead levels.