Have we Really Been Over-Diagnosing and Over-Treating AD/HD?

From the most recent edition of Unconventional Wisdom, a publication of the Council on Contemporary Families:

Most surveys of parents, educators and pediatricians indicate a belief that Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) is being over-diagnosed and over-medicated. By 2011, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) noted that nearly 1 in 10 children had received an AD/HD diagnosis. Despite the increased media attention and significant rise in diagnosis and pharmacological and behavior treatments, my clinical practice consistently sees a failure by school personnel, parents, pediatricians and even many clinicians in the mental health field-especially those working with adolescents-to understand the criteria for making accurate diagnoses of AD/HD-PI (predominantly Inattentive Type) and AD/HD-Combined Type. In general, teachers, parents, doctors and mental health clinicians think of AD/HD as related to hyperactivity and automatically assume that the treatment for the disorder involves stimulant medication. Basic misinformation about AD/HD subtypes, prejudice and lack of knowledge about the range of treatment options and ongoing mistakes in diagnosis constitute significant barriers for treatment and understanding of teens suffering with AD/HD-PI and Combined Type. All these contribute to ongoing learning, social and familial difficulties for teens.

Michael Simon, MFT, Psychotherapist, Author of The Approximate Parent: Discovering the Strategies that Work with Your Teenager