ENG 105 - Commentary Writing Assignment Final Draft PDF

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1 Daniene Khanmanivanh ENG-105 March 22, 2020 Jennifer Chinn The Endlessness Diagnosis of ADHD Should a rise in ADHD diagnosis raise questions? The CDC, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, (2020), a well-known government entity, define ADHD as one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorder that are initially diagnosed in childhood (para. 1). Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, (ADHD), has been described as a childhood on-set developmental disturbance of children and adolescences (Banaschewski et al., 2017). Not only, describe as a common, early on-set, developmental disorder of children, but it is also becoming increasingly well recognized worldwide. There is a global trend of its diagnosis making it an area of growing interest in physicians. The sudden and unneeded rise is a growing trend in ADHD diagnosis driven by over-diagnosis, misdiagnosis, and gender influence diagnosis. Moreover, the spike of ADHD diagnose has been driven by the over-diagnosis of the disorder. According to CDC, (2013), data reports nearly leap 22% in the past four years in the number of children being diagnosed with ADHD. There have been studies that over-diagnosis is seen in clinical practices. Further, studies resulted in significant evidence of over-diagnosis of ADHD disorder, Merten et al., (2017), indicates that research has shown that children who do not fulfill ADHD criteria are being diagnosis of ADHD in daily practices with an increased rate of twenty percent (pg. 1 para. 1). A study conducted by, Bruchmuller, was to evaluate if a child fulfilling or not fulfilling fit the criteria of being diagnosed with ADHD. During this study, 473 children documents sent to psychotherapists and were examined to show which diagnosis would

2 be given. The outcomes were a total of 16.7% percent of the 473 cases were diagnosed with ADHD even though, the criteria were not fulfilled (Merten et al., 2017). An alarming 7% were given no diagnosis even though the case fulfilled the criteria for ADHD. As a result, of this study there has been evidence of overdiagnosis of ADHD disorder that leads to misdiagnosed. Therefore, there are just as many individuals who have been faultily misdiagnosed with ADHD. According to Mullet and Rinn, (2015), expertise in educational psychology, researched that 75% of children with ADHD also, meet the criteria for another psychiatric diagnosis (pg. 196, para. 5). Studies had indicated that medical professional would diagnose a patient with ADHD even though other mental health symptoms relates to a disorder like giftedness, bipolar or obsessive-compulsive. Over the last decade, giftedness was diagnosed as ADHD due, to the overlap of symptoms (Mullet, D. R., & Rinn, A., N., 2015). Misdiagnosed occurs due to the lack of specialized training by educators or mental health professionals by using variations in diagnostic decision-making and assessment materials. Educators use a rating scale assessment to determine if the individual shows signs and symptoms in the classroom. This places the teacher in a position to make diagnostic decisions on an individual who is a prospect for the disorder. Not only educators, but medical professionals: psychologists, physicians, psychiatrists, or therapists, are more than likely to make a diagnosis of ADHD without a comprehensive assessment (Mullet, D. R., & Rinn, A., N., 2015). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), a diagnostic assessment, be properly utilized by professionals to reduce the amount of misdiagnosed in ADHD. The rise of ADHD misdiagnose plays a tremendous factor in the rise of gender influence diagnosis. In addition, gender influence diagnosing is when a mental health professional diagnosis by the gender of the patient. The estimated male-to-female ratios range from 3:1 to 9:1 has

3 shown gender influence diagnosing children affected by the disorder. Certain studies indicate that girls exhibit fewer behavioral and conduct problems than boys. Also, girls were less aggressive and hyperactive. According to Fresson et al., (2019), Applied Neuropsychology Child, indicated that ADHD diagnosis is known to be more prevalent towards boys. Thus, population stereotypes describe boys as hyperactive and impulsive that may lead to overdiagnosis of the disorder (Fresson, M., et al., 2019). However, girls display the inattention deficit of the disorder such as procrastination, hesitation, and forgetfulness. This goes onto the media making claims that ADHD portrays as a male phenomenon by stereotypes of traditional perceptions of how boys behave; i.e. dominant and aggressive. For this reason, there are mental health professionals that do not adhere to the criteria of the DSM diagnostic tool while assessing a child for ADHD (Bruchmuller K., Margraf, J., & Schneider, S., 202). Mental health professionals would make judgments by assumptions. A resemble of a prototypical ADHD that leads mental health professionals to omit certain criteria. As a result, ADHD diagnosis have increased in recent years due to the uncontrolled overdiagnosis, misdiagnosis, and gender influence diagnosis. Children that are not fulfilling the criteria are automatically being diagnosis of ADHD by clinical professionals. Untrained educators are put in the position to conduct a diagnostic assessment on children that display signs and symptoms of ADHD that leads to misdiagnosis. The gender of boys is being diagnosed with ADHD due to the traditional perceptions of being dominant and aggressive. Therefore, assessments are being conducted by perceptions of mental health professionals. In attempts to decrease the rise in ADHD diagnosis, policies and procedures should be mandated for continued education of diagnosticians working with children and adolescents affected by the mental disorder.

4 References Banaschewski, T., Becker, K., Döpfner, M., Holtmann, M., Rösler, M., & Romanos, M. (2017). Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Deutsches Aerzteblatt International, 114(9), 149– 159. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.3238/arztebl.2017.0149 Bruchmüller, K., Margraf, J., & Schneider, S. (2012). Is ADHD diagnosed in accord with diagnostic criteria? Overdiagnosis and influence of client gender on diagnosis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80(1), 128–138. https://doiorg.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/a0026582.supp (Supplemental) Davidovitch, M., Koren, G., Fund, N., Shrem, M., & Porath, A. (2017). Challenges in defining the rates of ADHD diagnosis and treatment: trends over the last decade. BMC Pediatrics, 1. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1186/s12887-017-0971-0 Fresson, M., Meulemans, T., Dardenne, B., & Geurten, M. (2018). Overdiagnosis of ADHD in boys: Stereotype impact on neuropsychological assessment. Applied Neuropsychology: Child, 1–15. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/21622965.2018.1430576 Merten, E. C., Cwik, J. C., Margraf, J., & Schneider, S. (2017). Overdiagnosis of mental disorders in children and adolescents (in developed countries). Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 1. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1186/s13034-0160140-5 Mullet, D. R., & Rinn, A. N. (2015). Giftedness and ADHD: Identification, Misdiagnosis, and Dual Diagnosis. Roeper Review, 37(4), 195–207. https://doiorg.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/02783193.2015.1077910 New CDC data on ADHD shows increase in diagnosis, raises questions. (2013). Brown University Child & Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update, 15(5), 1–7....