[dubhrosa]

Yes Edit: I also hear it frequently from parents of children who have been referred to psychiatrists by their schoolteachers for (in my opinion at least) fairly minor disruptive behaviour in class; they are repeating what the psychiatrists tell them. The psychiatrists also quote statistics like "half of Swedish inmates are adhd, so if you don't treat your child's adhd there's a good chance he'll end up a criminal (yes really). Here in the UK the diagnosing psychiatrist is also the one that the child must return to twice a year for a checkup at 500 pounds per visit.

[DanBC]

So, you haven't actually heard it from the doctors? Because (especially in the UK) any prescribing doctor talking about chemical imbalance for ADHD in children is incompetent.

> Here in the UK the diagnosing psychiatrist is also the one that the child must return to twice a year for a checkup at 500 pounds per visit.

This is false. All treatment is available for free on the NHS. Once they have a diagnosis children don't have to see the same psychiatrist - or any psychiatrist.

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg72/chapter/1-Guidance#dia...

> 1.3.1.1 A diagnosis of ADHD should only be made by a specialist psychiatrist, paediatrician or other appropriately qualified healthcare professional with training and expertise in the diagnosis of ADHD, on the basis of:

[...]

> 1.5.3.2 Drug treatment should only be initiated by an appropriately qualified healthcare professional with expertise in ADHD and should be based on a comprehensive assessment and diagnosis. Continued prescribing and monitoring of drug therapy may be performed by general practitioners, under shared care arrangements[7].

[dubhrosa]

Yes, I have heard it directly from the doctors, I also hear it repeated by other parents who have kids going through this.

Unfortunately doctors don't follow the official procedures all the time. My experience in the UK does not appear to be an unusual one when I compare notes with other parents.

The treatment may be "free" on the NHS but that doesn't mean the doctor doesn't get paid, and I definitely have direct experience of the diagnosing psychiatrist being the one who is assigned to the child's follow up.