this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2023
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Probably over diagnosed by people self-diagnosing. Probably significantly under diagnosed officially/clinically.
And the above is true for a LOT of conditions, not just ADHD.
I don't have numbers but my personal experiences tends to show me what it's over diagnosed, at least in California. Got many people around me that are diagnosed, with meds, and they take it as part of their identity, bringing it up all the time.
My kid talked to a therapist a few times for some minor anger issues, and he's already talking about getting him diagnosed for ADHD. He's the top student in his class, can focus for hours building anything he wants, is outgoing, and gets along with all his friends. He just has a few emotional outbursts at home, which don't affect his functionality or happiness. I don't understand the point of a diagnosis. It feels like a label would just follow him around and box him in, so we decided not to pursue.
Please, diagnose your kid even if you think he doesn't have ADHD
So...your child is exhibiting symptoms of being high-functioning ADHD, according to their therapist?...
The point of a diagnosis is to allow them to get help with things that are challenging for people with ADHD. It's not something that is going to do them any harm or cause them to be discriminated against, contrary, if it is a correct diagnosis, it can be of great help. I did but get an official diagnosis until I was in my 30s and had a very similar experience in childhood, with my parents but moving forward with diagnosis. Not having access to resources when I was younger caused measurable harm and issues that I could have otherwise avoided.
Would you mind elaborating? Understanding what your issues where that were addressed by help could help see what I'm misunderstansing. I obviously want to do what's best for my child.
Not the person you replied to, but I definitely had emotional outbursts but was the top student in my class. I was diagnosed as ADHD in graduate school, at the age of 23. Meds were life-changing for me - I not only had classic ADHD, so I had study patterns to unlearn (studying with music + TV + snacks + distractions) but I also had Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria - basically, I would hyper-focus on any perceived critical comment, rejection, slight, etc. I would contemplate whether I could ever show up in class again after a side comment from a teacher. It took so long to unlearn that (and some antianxiety meds as well). If your kid actually has ADHD, the best thing you can do for them is have them work with a therapist to learn coping skills and the proper way to do things. Meds may enter the picture eventually, but a therapist that works with ADHD and autistic people primarily will be the most helpful. Little things - fidget toys that help you pay attention to auditory stimuli, weighted lap blankets to work at your desk, etc. help so much sometimes, and they're relatively simple fixes, but if you don't know to look for the issue, you don't find a solution.