Myths about ADHD

Professor Philip Shaw rebuffs the myth that ADHD is not a serious disorder.

Amongst the foremost myths surrounding ADHD is that it’s not a serious disorder. I think the response to that is that for ADHD to be diagnosed, it has to be impairing, it has to really have quite a negative and substantial impact on the child’s functioning at home, at school, and with their peers. So, the very core of the disorder, the very definition of it is that it’s causing problems for a child. It is not a trivial disorder. We also know whenever you look at the costs to the individual, to families, and to society at large of ADHD, that these are enormous. So, it’s a very serious disorder which does deserve the best possible treatment.