[TomK32]

Over-diagnosis would mean we'd see a lot of kids and adults being diagnosed with ADHD despite being normal/typical. Granted ADHD shows in a spectrum of symptoms but I can't find any study that systematically re-tested patients to find over-diagnosis.

There might be clinicians who diagnose ADHD much more freely than others and whose verdict might not withstand the critique of a more experienced clinicians, but that can happen with any other disease, especially when it's still being studied and not every doctor has learned about it during his medical education. Just look at the speciality of psychiatrists near you, you might for 10 times more for depression than for ADHD. Despite both having the same prevalence and depression often being a comorbidity of ADHD.

Over-prescribed medication, well it is a problem because of the myth that Ritalin would help studying but at least here in Austria it there's enough hurdles to get a prescription. And the meds alone won't fix ADHD.

What we know from studies are under-diagnosis in women and the severe effects an undiagnosed ADHD can mean for a person. What we also know from studies is the under-diagnosis of girls, only in adulthood the gender-ratio of late diagnosis is almost even. Please don't talk ADHD down, it's too severe and we have a hard enough life already without being told by others that suddenly everyone has ADHD...