"ADHD does not exist as a real psychiatric disorder; rather, it is an unfortunate labelling of normal childhood behaviour promulgated by ineffectual parents, incompetent teachers and the pharmaceutical industry."

Myth or fact?

The symptoms distractibility, impulsivity, and hyperactivity are consistent with the 'normal' behaviour of many pre school children although the age range 5-7 years is usually considered the 'transition' period during which young children begin to show more "executive control", they become better at planning ahead, thinking abstractly, focusing attention, and inhibiting socially inappropriate behaviour - the sort of age in which children would be expected to adhere to the rules in games for example

Where do we draw the line between developmentally normal behaviour and medical disorder?
There remains a considerable controversy

Concerns have been expressed about the over diagnosis of ADHD coupled with a corresponding upsurge in the prescription of stimulant medication
Some of the criticism does not reject the concept of ADHD as a valid disorder, but alleges that children with problematic behaviour are often diagnosed with ADHD when the behaviour may result from other causes
The symptoms of ADHD can occur with several different disorders, for example the attention span, the activity levels, and the impulsivity can also be observed in depression, psychotic disorders, and other conditions and there is also a risk of misdiagnosis


However people like Sami Timimi, an NHS child and adolescent psychiatrist, attempt to explain ADHD as a social construct rather than an objective 'disorder' and opposes pathologizing the symptoms of ADHD
This is not necessarily to deny a valid condition, for example obesity has different cultural constructs but yet has demonstratable adverse effects associated with it.
{Remember 'willie' that even halitosis has a significant impact —personally and socially — on those who suffer from it}

A minority of critics maintain that ADHD was "invented and not discovered" and insist [ADHD] is a fraud perpetrated by the psychiatric and pharmaceutical industries on families anxious to understand or explain their children's behavior

The Scientology cult and other organization who regard psychiatry as hegemonic have also campaigned vigorously against diagnosis and medication while proponents of neurodiversity assert that atypical neurological development is a normal human difference that is to be tolerated and respected as any other human difference.

Additionally, the drug firms financial conflict of interests in the US (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, CHADD, an ADHD advocacy group based in Landover, MD received a total of $1,169,000 in 2007 from pharmaceutical companies - 26 percent of their budget) has also added to cynicism and controversy
In the 1990s the United States used 90% of the stimulants produced globally!

Despite such criticism, NHS guidelines consider ADHD represented a valid clinical condition with genetic, environmental, neurobiological, and demographic factors