Commentary Essay

Commentary Essay: ADHD Diagnosis

Courtney Volz

DeVry University

COMMENTARY ESSAY ON ADHD DIAGNOSIS

There are quite a number of behavioral disorders diagnosed among children and youth, but Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common. This is a disorder characterized by symptoms including hyperactivity, inattention, and/or impulsivity. It inhibits the ability of an individual to concentrate or focus on a given task for a long period of time. In most cases, ADHD is treated with medication and/or behavior therapy. The medications that are used to treat this disorder are usually stimulant medications which are unnecessary for the young children to be taking on a daily basis. Diagnosing ADHD is a several step process. There is no single test that is used to diagnose the disorder. Many other disorders have very similar if not exact symptoms of ADHD. With the troubling rise in the amount of children diagnosed with the incurable behavioral disorder, all parents need to make certain they are well informed and be sure that a trained, knowledgeable health care provider is the one making the diagnosis.

It is believed that between 3%- 5% of all the children in the world are affected by this behavioral condition (Sheen, 2009). This implies that out of a classroom of between 25-30 children, at least one of them is affected by ADHD. In the United States alone, the most recent survey conducted by the CDC has resulted to show that approximately 11% of the children between the ages of 4 and 17 years of age have been diagnosed. Diagnosing children between the ages of 4 and 6 almost seems ridiculous except for in the most severe cases. Parents and doctors of these children should be very careful when testing for the disorder. Parents need to be sure that the doctor is looking at all the background information and administering the correct tests necessary to determine if the young children have the symptoms beyond the normality for that...