Are we seeing more cases of ADHD these days? We are. But, according to research done by Todd Elder, a Michigan State University economist, about 7 million children in the US have been misdiagnosed with the problem.
The reason? They happen to be the youngest and therefore deemed most immature kids in their kindergarten class. The youngest children in kindergarten are 60% more likely to e diagnosed with this disorder than the oldest ones.
According to Elder, many ADHD diagnoses are driven by teacher perception of disruptive and unacceptable behavior in the classroom; however, this behavior is perhaps more a reflection of emotional immaturity and age than attention deficit disorder.
Statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that there are at least 4.5 million diagnoses of ADHD among children under 18 in the US. The fear is that children are given the diagnosis and medicated for the “problem” simply because they are less mature than older students in the same class.
More information can be found in these articles.
Nearly One Million Children in US Potentially Misdiagnosed with ADHD, Study Finds
Birth Dates, School Enrollment Dates Affect ADHD Diagnosis Rates, Study Shows
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