CHILDREN’S HEALTH: Pediatricians Issue ADHD Guidelines

      Hoping to prevent overmedication of "merely rambunctious" children, the American Academy of Physicians (AAP) yesterday issued its first guidelines for diagnosing attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD). Recent studies have shown "dramatic increases" in the use of psychiatric drugs like Ritalin to treat children with ADHD causing many to worry that the condition is overdiagnosed. Harvard Medical School pediatrics professor Dr. James Perrin, who authored the guidelines, said they should "standardize the diagnosis and make it easier to identify which children really need help." The AAP now recommends that children ages 6 though 12 should be diagnosed with ADHD only if they show symptoms in at least two settings, such as home and school, and only if the symptoms impair the child's academic or social functioning for at least six months. The guidelines are the first set of rules produced by AAP for a behavioral disorder. Treatment guidelines are still under development. An estimated 3.8 million children have ADHD, which is characterized by short attention span, impulsive behavior and difficulty focusing and sitting still (Tanner, AP/Boston Globe, 5/2).