Health
More Kids Getting Diagnosed with ADHD at Young Ages
(AP Photo)
(WTSP) – The number of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been rising steadily over the last two decades, prompting concerns about the potential of over-diagnosis.
Now, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one-third of children in the U.S. with ADHD were diagnosed before the age of 6.
Overall, the CDC says 9.5 percent of children in the U.S. between the ages of 3-17 have ever gotten a diagnosis of ADHD; that’s about 5.9 million kids.
For the study, the researchers interviewed almost 3,000 parents of children who’d been diagnosed with ADHD. They learned that the average age at which a child was first diagnosed was 7, but many children were diagnosed even earlier.
