Raising Awareness of Misdiagnosis

Nearly one million children in the United States are potentially misdiagnosed with ADHD (Todd Elder, Andy Henion, 1). When comparing younger children to older children, ADHD is commonly misdiagnosed in younger children due to the lack of maturity in comparison to that of their peers in the classroom.

Jane Sylvester, a first grade teacher in the state of New York, agrees that misdiagnosis of ADHD is an occurring issue among children in today's society.

Nearly one million children in the United States are potentially misdiagnosed with ADHD (Todd Elder, Andy Henion, 1). When comparing younger children to older children, ADHD is commonly misdiagnosed in younger children due to the lack of maturity in comparison to that of their peers in the classroom. The Center for Disease Control shows that ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder for kids in the United States. Nearly 4.5 million children, under the age of 18, have been diagnosed with ADHD according the CDC. (Todd Elder, Andy Henion, 1).

Todd Elder and Andy Henion conducted a study which showed that ADHD diagnoses is based on a child’s age relative to their classmates. This study was also based on the teacher’s perception of whether a child displayed symptoms of the disorder compared to that of their classmates. Elder and Henion explain that when a child is being evaluated for ADHD, the age of the child needs to be considered. (Todd Elder, Andy Henion, 1). When a child is impulsive, fidgety, and inattentive, this can simply be because the child is the youngest in the class. When comparing a five year old child to a six year old child, there is a vast difference in maturity as children mature and develop at varying rates.

According to the American Psychological Association, “The brain begins to mature even before birth. Although it continues to mature throughout most of life, the brain does not mature at the same rate in each individual” (APA, 1). Elder and Henion sampled 12,000 children and together they examined the difference in ADHD diagnosis in the youngest and eldest children in kindergarten. Their findings reported that the youngest kindergarteners were more than 60 percent more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD compared to the oldest children in the same class. (Elder, Henion, 1). When the same group of children reached the fifth and eighth grade, the youngest in the class was more than twice as likely to be prescribed stimulants. Elder and Henion took their study and compared it to that of the CDC (Center for Disease Control) statistic and found that twenty percent of the 4.5 million children, roughly 900,000 children to put things in perspective, have been misdiagnosed with ADHD. (Todd Elder, Andy Henion, 1). This study shows that teachers often misinterpret a child’s immaturity and associate rambunctious behaviors displayed in the classroom to symptoms of ADHD. Children are misdiagnosed with ADHD due the misunderstanding that children develop and mature at the same rate. It is important to understand that all individuals mature and develop at different rates, and a child’s age is an important factor to consider when being evaluated for the disorder.