The New York Times reports that an estimated 6.4 million children ages 4 through 17 in the United States received a medical diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at some point in their lives. The disorder affects nearly one in five high school age boys and 11 percent of school-age children.
This is a 53 percent increase over the past decade, according to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and there is growing concern that the A.D.H.D. diagnosis and its medication (typically stimulants like Ritalin or Adderall) are overused in American children.