Because many of the symptoms of ADHD overlap with those of many other conditions, misdiagnosis can occur. If ADHD is not the cause of the symptoms, they can become worse with the stimulants the doctor prescribes for treatment.
Overall, the study found that about 20 percent – or 900,000 – of the 4.5 million children currently identified as having ADHD likely have been misdiagnosed.
Findings. In this systematic scoping review of 334 published studies in children and adolescents, convincing evidence was found that ADHD is overdiagnosed in children and adolescents. For individuals with milder symptoms in particular, the harms associated with an ADHD diagnosis may often outweigh the benefits.
It's possible that there was a misdiagnosis. After all, misdiagnosis is common in ADHD, considering how its symptoms often overlap with other neurodivergent conditions.
“Nobody has perfect memory… but for [people with ADHD], it's extreme. They feel like they're lost all the time,” Almagor said. He believes this is why people don't take ADHD seriously. “I think that's why some people don't respect the severity of what [a person with ADHD] can experience,” he said.
Children with ADHD are less well-liked than their neurotypical peers [18] and are more likely to be bullied during their school years [19].
ADHD brains typically expect the worst, and stressful times and situations just further encourage and validate this negative thinking.
Positions range from the view that ADHD is within the normal range of behavior to the hypothesis that ADHD is a genetic condition. Other areas of controversy include the use of stimulant medications in children, the method of diagnosis, and the possibility of overdiagnosis.
One type of ADHD masking — known as mirroring — involves intentionally or unintentionally mimicking the speech, movements, or behaviors of someone else. While ADHD mirroring and body doubling may seem similar at first glance, you can work alongside a body double without imitating them in any way.
Misdiagnosis can occur because symptoms of ADHD can mimic other conditions. Also, ADHD is multifaceted, and symptoms often present differently from person to person.
Instead, the rapid increase in people with A.D.H.D. probably has more to do with sociological factors — changes in the way we school our children, in the way we interact with doctors and in what we expect from our kids. Which is not to say that A.D.H.D. is a made-up disorder.
(Another big part of the explanation is, of course, the internet and social media, which have contributed to increasing self-diagnosis. Pharmaceutical marketing over the decades is yet another factor that has contributed to increased diagnosis).
CDC warns that Americans may be overmedicating youngest children with ADHD. U.S. health officials are urging parents of preschoolers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to try behavior therapy first before trying drugs — and they're calling on insurers to cover the treatments.
Confusing the picture of whether or not it is anxiety or ADHD is the fact that generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and inattentive presentation of ADHD clinically show much the same symptoms of inattention, leading to frequent misdiagnosis (e.g., ADHD misdiagnosed as anxiety and vice versa).
Hyperactivity (talks a lot, fidgets, always on the go, etc.) Impulsivity (blurts out, interrupts, lies, angry outbursts, difficulty waiting, etc.) Inattention (forgetful, loses things, disorganized, makes careless mistakes, etc.)
ADHD can be similar to other mental health conditions, so it's easy to misdiagnose. Mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder can have some crossover symptoms with ADHD, like inability to focus and impulsivity. So can learning disabilities.
Similar to the hyperactive symptoms, impulsive symptoms are typically seen by the time a child is four years old and increase during the next three to four years to peak in severity when the child is seven to eight years of age.
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that causes differences in brain growth, development, and function. ADHD can also cause delayed maturation and activity differences in certain brain regions. The differences of the ADHD brain can affect thinking, behavior, and emotions.
It is possible for ADHD to be both underdiagnosed and overdiagnosed, as well as being both undertreated and overtreated. The evidence suggests that some people who do not need treatment still get it and that many people who do need treatment get inadequate treatment.
If left untreated, ADHD can lead to problems with productivity, interpersonal relationships, and further mental health problems.
ADHD can make completing tasks such as school work, homework, or work projects much more difficult. However, there is no clear link between ADHD and IQ. A person may have a high, average, or low IQ score and also have ADHD. ADHD may cause a person to interrupt in class or perform poorly on tests.
While most people associate ADHD with hyperactivity and impulsivity, it can also manifest in more subtle ways, such as through intrusive thoughts and overthinking. Intrusive thoughts are unwanted and repetitive thoughts that can be distressing or disturbing.
Similarly, people with ADHD can also experience 'meltdowns' more commonly than others, which is where emotions build up so extremely that someone acts out, often crying, angering, laughing, yelling and moving all at once, driven by many different emotions at once – this essentially resembles a child tantrum and can ...