According to the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), young children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a greater likelihood of receiving prescribed drugs than behavior therapy.
These statistics and prescribed drugs continue to be a trend despite health recommendations for behavioral therapy instead of prescriptions.
Over six million children living in the U.S. received ADHD diagnoses from 2011 to 2012. This statistic makes ADHD the most common neurodevelopment disorder that people between the ages of four and 17 experience. The latest ADHD statistics show a 42 percent increase in diagnoses since 2003.
Approximately 53 percent of children from four to 17 years old who have ADHD received their diagnoses from primary care physicians; 18 percent received their diagnoses from psychiatrists, 14 percent from psychologists and 15 percent from other physicians, such as neurologists.
"In this month's Vital Signs, we're drawing attention to behavior therapy, which is an important and recommended first step for young children with ADHD," CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat said. "Behavior therapy is a form of treatment in which parents learn specific ways to improve the behavior of their young child with ADHD. This treatment can work as well as medicine -- and without the risk of side effects in young children. And research shows the benefits of behavior therapy can last for years."
