Undiagnosed and unmedicated: Children being left untreated for ADHD
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The study, published in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology in December, screened 3700 seven year olds from 43 schools across Melbourne for ADHD.
It found 179 children who could be diagnosed with ADHD, but that only 17 per cent of them had been clinically diagnosed with the condition and only 14 per cent of those were taking medication.
By age 10, 38 per cent of those children had been clinically diagnosed and 26 per cent of those were taking medication.
Lead author and clinician scientist Associate Professor Daryl Efron said ADHD medication was safe, effective and backed by a large body of scientific evidence. Its use must be monitored, he said, butr stressed there was no evidence it is over-prescribed in Australia, as it had been in the United States.
“Some kids are not taken for assessment because some people are worried they will be put on medication without valid reasons. It is an emotional response. In fact when used appropriately for the right children and when monitored appropriately there is high quality evidence that medication is the best treatment.”
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