Atlanta – A new report found that nearly one third of US children under the age of 6 were diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).
Despite the alarming rates shown in the statistics, researchers involved in the study said the data indicates promising developments on how children with ADHD are being diagnosed.
The rates of the neurobehavioral disorder have been increasing year by year over the course of this decade with 5%. A comprehensive test for diagnosis has not yet been conceived. There are few accurate measures for the diagnosis of children younger than 6.
The lead author of the report – Dr. Susanna Visser, said that the characteristic traits of ADHD closely resemble typical young child behavior, and it is important to distinguish them in order to put a diagnosis. The epidemiologist said that their findings offer valuable information about how physician’s approach the diagnosis of children with ADHD. The news are good. First response physicians tend to recommend a number of clinical evaluations and feedback from multiple sources, including their family and school teachers.
Though the current approach is very effective , it has its limitations. The inspection of the collective feedback of a child’s behaviors is a lengthy-process, and not all first physicians have the time to go through all the input. Dr. Robert Doyle, child psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital, said that pediatricians and physicians are expected to do so much, that providing a comprehensive evaluation for the popular neurobehavioral disorder can be challenging.
Diagnosing ADHD is a difficult thing to do, adds the psychiatrist, since there is a large combination of factors at play. He also informs us that ADHD is a genetic condition and that the chances for a child to suffer from the disorder improve to 75% if both of the parents have ADHD.
This particular report looked only for diagnosis statistics and did not consider its treatments. One of the most concerning findings of the study indicates that the ADHD rates have increased by 42% since 2004.
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