Health
Improving ADHD care pathways should be prioritised for children and young people
Key Points
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterised by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, overactivity, and impulsiveness that impacts on functioning. It affects 5% of children and adolescents globally, but clinical recognition and diagnosis rates have increased in recent years, raising challenges in ensuring affected children receive timely help.1234 It is well established that unsupported ADHD can lead to multiple adverse...
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterised by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, overactivity, and impulsiveness that impacts on functioning. It affects 5% of children and adolescents globally, but clinical recognition and diagnosis rates have increased in recent years, raising challenges in ensuring affected children receive timely help.1234 It is well established that unsupported ADHD can lead to multiple adverse impacts across different domains, requiring input from health, education, employment, social care, and criminal justice systems.56 Support should therefore start early and made available across different sectors. However, current systems in the UK are failing. ADHD is often recognised too late, and support is unavailable despite robust evidence on different interventions, which are synthesised in the accompanying BMJ review (doi:10.1136/bmj-2024-082507).4 The review highlights the breadth of interventions for ADHD that do not necessarily require a clinical diagnosis (such as psychosocial, school-based, and lifestyle management),4 which is in...