U.S. News recently reported that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnosis rates have climbed to 11 percent in American children. Because of these climbing rates, many professionals are concerned that many of these cases are misdiagnosed and overtreated.

In order for a child or adult to be diagnosed with ADHD they have to meet certain requirements. A child must meet six of these specified “symptoms” to be considered afflicted with the condition, according to Mayo Clinic. Some ADHD symptoms include difficulty staying organized, forgetfulness and reluctance to do school work. Several more of these traits are extremely broad such as often fidgeting or being easily distracted.

After looking at these symptoms, I, an 18 year old and never diagnosed with ADHD, had 11 of the characteristics. This means that if my parents had taken me into a medical facility the chances of me being diagnosed with ADHD would have been extremely high, despite my ability to function without any ADHD treatments throughout my entire life. 

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) showed concern with the broad terms used to diagnose ADHD as well. The journal study stated that 86 percent of U.S. ADHD diagnoses were in the “mild” to “moderate” category, leaving only 14 percent in the severe range. 

Minnpost.com analyzed the journal study and pointed out that 87 percent of kids in the United States diagnosed with ADHD were prescribed some form of medication, such as Adderall, to help them treat their disorder. Yet, the journal pointed out that these medications were designed for “severe” cases of ADHD, which forms the minority of diagnosis’s. The journal also stated that while severe cases of ADHD are easy to determine, the mild to moderate cases can be harder to pinpoint, which can lead to more subjective and opinion-based diagnoses. 

The National Center for Biotechnology Information agreed that some children could be misdiagnosed based on their age. Its study found that 8.4 percent of kids who were born in the month before their state’s kindergarten cutoff date, and were thus the youngest in the grade, were diagnosed with ADHD.

Only 5.1 percent of the older kids in the grade received an ADHD diagnosis and treatment. This shows that the younger kids could have been suggested for ADHD treatment based solely on the fact that they were less mature than their slightly older counterparts, possibly making ADHD diagnosis based on relative maturity instead of true disorders.

German researchers have also made a discovery concerning the possibility of overdiagnoses. The experiment used 473 child and adolescent psychotherapists, who were each given case studies and asked to give the “child” a diagnosis. 

The results showed that boys were far more likely to receive an ADHD diagnosis than girls, even if their profiles showed the exact same symptoms. Boys were also overdiagnosed if they showed the “typical” symptoms such as restlessness and impulsiveness. Boys were often diagnosed even if their profiles lacked all of the required criteria to have a true diagnosis, resulting in many unwarranted ADHD labels being put on children. 

While many people, adults and kids alike, live with the hardships of ADHD, some of them may be living with a misdiagnosed problem. I too should be afflicted with ADHD, according to renowned medical facilities such as Mayo Clinic. Yet, I have gone my entire life without prescriptions and therapies, and I feel many Americans could also live a normal life without an unnecessary medical label.

The spike in diagnoses has caused alarm in many medical professionals, and hopefully parents as well. Many children who bear common qualities of ADHD may in fact just be normal children. Slightly restless, loud and defiant against homework does not necessarily mean ADHD positive.