MYTH: ADHD is overdiagnosed
Fact: The rates with which ADHD is diagnosed vary so much primarily due to diagnostic criteria and measurement methods used.
Myths
Is ADHD Caused By Bad Parenting?
Researchers do not yet know exactly what causes ADHD.
Children with ADHD just need more discipline: MYTH!
FACT: Developmental studies that have followed families over time concluded that discipline and relationship problems in families are the consequences of ADHD behavior problems in the children, not the cause.
People with ADHD just can’t concentrate: MYTH!
Fact: Individuals with ADHD can concentrate when they are interested in or intrigued by what they are doing.
Myth: Only boys have ADHD
FACT: Boys are diagnosed two to three times as often as girls, but about 4.2% of girls have received a diagnosis of ADHD at some point in their life.
Everyone has a little ADHD: MYTH!
Fact: Everyone does have a physical difference in their brain. But it’s not necessarily ADHD!
ADHD is caused by bad parenting: MYTH!
FACT: Parents do not cause ADHD. The disorder comes from the accumulation of many environmental and genetic risk factors.
ADHD medication is addictive: Myth!
FACT: The therapeutic use of stimulant medications for ADHD prevents addiction
ADHD is just an excuse for laziness: MYTH!
Fact: ADHD is really a problem with the chemical dynamics of the brain and it’s not under voluntary control. by Thomas E. Brown, Ph.D. It’s easy to see why many people believe that ADHD is just an excuse for laziness. Everybody who has this disorder has a few activities or tasks where they have no … Read more
Children Grow Out of ADHD: MYTH!
Fact: While some children may recover from their disorder by age 21 or 27, the full disorder or at least significant symptoms and impairments persist in 50-86% of cases. Russell A. Barkley, PhD In the 1970s, when I first came into my profession (clinical child neuropsychology), it had been commonplace to view ADHD, or its … Read more