The Overdiagnosis and Overprescription of ADHD

            Within the past couple of years, the validity of ADHD as a psychiatric disorder and the effectiveness of its treatment methods have been controversial topics. After bursting from obscurity, there have been huge surges of diagnoses which is calling to attention the why and the how – why have there been so many diagnoses in recent times and how is this happening? In his article “Problems of Overdiagnosis and Overprescribing in ADHD,” Dr. Daniel F. Connor addresses this ongoing public debate on the puzzling ways in which ADHD is being diagnosed and treated and he attempts to explain how treatment has evolved over the years to become this excessively recognized phenomenon that raises much concern today. Much of Connor’s article is motivated by the following questions: is there a possibility of overdiagnosis of ADHD in youths and the overprescribing of stimulant medications? What are the implications for psychiatric practice and can we view ADHD as a genuine medical disorder? With these questions serving as his primary intentions, Connor sheds new light on how ADHD came to be as prevalent as it is nowadays all the while providing evidence of the overdiagnosing of this disorder and its effects.

Despite being the most extensively studied pediatric mental disorder, there is continuous controversy on the increase in ubiquity of diagnosis as