Samuele Cortese, David Daley, Chris Hollis, Sarah Rae, Cornelius Ani, Philip Asherson, Johnny Downs, Bernadka Dubicka, David Foreman, J. Green, Isobel Heyman, Matthew Hodes, Marinos Kyriakopoulos, Holan Liang, Pallab Majumder, Paul McArdle, Ulrich Müller-Sedgwick, Tamsin Newlove‐Delgado, Dasha Nicholls, Dennis Ougrin, Anna Price, Abigail Emma Russell, Gonzalo Salazar de Pablo, Paramala Santosh, Kapil Sayal, Stephen Scott, Philip E. Shaw, Emily Simonoff, Alice Wickersham, Paul Wilkinson, Susan Young, Tamsin Ford
When thoroughly assessed, the prevalence of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children/adolescents is estimated at 5%. There is no evidence that ADHD is over-diagnosed in the UK. Indeed, available data point to under-diagnosis, even though rigorous updated post-COVID-19 pandemic data are not available. Some cases may be misdiagnosed due to low-quality assessment, poor adherence to national guidance or inappropriate differential diagnosis. Beyond the controversy around over- or under-diagnosis and over-medicalisation of ordinary behaviours or emotions, the main issue is that UK clinical services cannot adequately support individuals with ADHD who need help. There is a risk that the narrative claiming 'ADHD is over-diagnosed' could be used to deny people with properly-diagnosed ADHD the care they deserve.