The attitudes of parents towards drug treatment for ADHD in their children highlight extreme levels of division (Patridge, Lucke & Hall, 2014). Thus, there is no uniform public attitude towards drug treatment of ADHD in children. More intently, many parents of children diagnosed with ADHD are of the opinion that too many children have undergone the ADHD medication. Additionally, using Australia as an example, approximately two-thirds of parents with children diagnosed with ADHD opine that there is an over-diagnosis of ADHD in children. The points outlined above endorse the fact that there is an over-diagnosis of ADHD in children. .
Some perspectives indicate that there are an increased prescribing rates in ADHD drugs. Such drugs include methylphenidate HCl (Ritalin et al.), and dextroamphetamine sulfate (Dexedrine et al.), and these particular studies attribute this increase to other reasons (Wells & Perring, 2014). Such reasons include the existence of a widened diagnostic criterion, the use of off-label drugs, and efficient marketing by the pharmaceutical industry. Without a doubt, that is not the actual scenario, and the increased prescribing rates prove that that there is an apparent over-diagnosis of ADHD in children (Alfano & Biedel, 2014). Additionally, there is an overtreatment of mental disorders, and this causes ADHD in children to be overly diagnosed. Although drug treatment is often the first line response to a diagnosis of ADHD in children, there is strong evidence indicating the presence of over-diagnosis. The apparent increases in drug treatment are an indication of over-diagnosis of ADHD in children (Bunte et al., 2014).
There is worldwide controversy linked to the proper identification and diagnosis of ADHD in children (Greener, 2014). More precisely, research strongly indicates that some behaviors related to inattentiveness and excitability may be misinterpreted as symptoms linked to ADHD in some children especially the boys.