Everywhere you look, a child is being diagnosed with ADHD! Kids are running around on anti-ADHD medicine (or not running around for some as they get zombified!).
Do they really have ADHD? What's happening in the world?
In the USA according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the percentage of children ever diagnosed with ADHD increased from 7.8% in 2003 to 9.4% in 2017 among children aged 4-17 years in the United States.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which healthcare professionals use as a guide for diagnosing mental disorders, has undergone revisions that could impact ADHD diagnosis rates. The transition from DSM-IV to DSM-5 in 2013 broadened the criteria for ADHD, including changes in the age by which symptoms must appear and reducing the number of symptoms required for a diagnosis in older adolescents and adults. This revision has made it possible for more individuals to be diagnosed with ADHD.
First of all, some kids "may" have a severe form of hyperactivity which is genetic and may need medication. People having kids late in life may also affect a tiny percentage as does pre-natal alcohol and tobacco consumption.
For the most part, no your child does NOT have ADHD. They probably have what we used to call hyperactivity! You give a child a ton of chocolates, sweets, carbs, colours, additives, heavy metals and they will be over-active and hyper-active and doctors will jump to classify them with ADHD.
A tiny percentage of 11+ parents will also love the idea of their child having ADHD as it gives them another 15 mins in exams!
But seriously, be a good parent and don't just start medicating your child with DRUGS. Gradually reduce their sugar dependance and increase their protein intake. Get them out of the sugar habit and they will be very unlikely to have ADHD.
Also I have it on very good authority that pharmaceuticals are directly targeting young girls with ADHD medicines and have incentivised doctors to dish out such medication. Be careful! I am not saying your child may not be the exception that may actually have ADHD but for the most part, you probably should reconsider the sugar addiction first.
