Countering the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder epidemic: a question of ethics?

In Australia in 2007, a media skirmish erupted after a respected District Court judge claimed that doctors were creating violent juvenile offenders by prescribing Ritalin to young children identified as having ADHD. This chapter is written in the context of a policy in Queensland which required a medical diagnosis of impairment for disability support eligibility. Within the UK, the paediatrician may not be involved, but the educational psychologist or general practitioner is very likely to be. Linda Graham's personal interest and subsequent research in the field began when her daughter was diagnosed with ADHD. She subsequently realised that her daughter met many other diagnostic criteria for other labels, but neither ADHD nor any other diagnosis provided any clear way to proceed at school.