The youngest children in class are 38% more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than the oldest
Teachers may be misrecognizing the immaturity of younger children as signs of ADHD, according to a new meta analysis. The study suggests that chances of diagnosis may be significantly affected by a child’s age relative to their peers in the classroom.
The review of studies is published in the journal European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and reveals that the youngest children in their class are 38% more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than their oldest classmates.
The authors looked through seven major databases to identify as many studies as possible examining the link between a child’s month of birth and their risk of an ADHD diagnosis or prescription of ADHD medicine. They found 30 studies in total, from Taiwan, Norway, Canada, the US and other nations.
Younger children were also shown to be 28% more likely to take prescription ADHD medication like Adderall or Ritalin.
These effects appear to be being driven by teachers in particular, rather than parents.
There is also evidence extending the link between relative age and diagnosis to autism, but the authors note that further research is needed in this area.
“This review shows that adults involved in identifying or raising concerns over a child’s behavior—such as parents and teachers—may be inadvertently misattributing relative immaturity as symptoms of ADHD. The child’s age in relation to their classmates (their ‘relative’ age) needs to be considered when making this kind of diagnosis,” explains one of the study’s authors.
Although this phenomenon has been attested in research for over a decade, little notice appears to be being taken of it in practice, either by teachers or by physicians and medical professionals.
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