Rates of diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are skyrocketing, throughout America and the rest of the world. U.S. rates of youth diagnosis have increased 40% from just a decade ago. Adults with ADHD are now the fastest-growing segment of the population receiving diagnosis and medication. The disorder is painful and sometimes disabling for individuals and tremendously costly for society; yet, widespread misinformation, skepticism, and unanswered questions have jeopardized effective diagnosis and treatment.

Researched and written by Stephen Hinshaw, an international expert on ADHD, and Katherine Ellison, a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist and author, ADHD: What Everyone Needs to Know® is the go-to book for authoritative, current, accurate, and compelling information about the global ADHD epidemic.

This book addresses questions such as:

· Is ADHD a genuine medical condition or a means of pathologizing active and exploratory behavior?

· Do medications for ADHD serve as needed treatments, or are they attempts at social control, designed to bolster profits of pharmaceutical firms?

· Has the ADHD label become a ruse by which parents can game the educational system for accommodations?

· How do symptoms and impairments related to ADHD differ between girls and women and boys and men?

· Why are ADHD medications often used as performance enhancers by college and high-school students?

ADHD: What Everyone Needs to Know® clears the air of the most polarizing and misleading information that abounds, providing straight talk and sound guidelines for educators, policymakers, health professionals, parents, and the general public. It shows the reality of ADHD but does not ignore the forces that have pushed up rates of diagnosis to alarmingly high levels.

Stephen Hinshaw, PhD, is an internationally recognized research investigator of child and adolescent disorders, award-winning teacher, and author of more than 280 research articles and chapters plus 12 books. His most recent book, with Richard Scheffler, is The ADHD Explosion: Myths, Medication, Money, and Today's Push for Performance. He is a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and vice chair for psychology in the department of psychiatry at UC San Francisco.

Katherine Ellison is a Pulitzer-prize winning reporter and author of several books. She specializes in writing about neuroscience, learning disorders, and education. Her books include The Mommy Brain: How Motherhood Makes You Smarter and Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention.

Introduction

Part I: Facing the Facts
Chapter 1: What is ADHD? And Why Does it Suddenly Seem to be Everywhere?
Chapter 2: How Widespread Is It?
Chapter 3: What Causes It?
Chapter 4: How Do You Know If You Have It?
Chapter 5: How Does ADHD Change Over the Lifespan?
Chapter 6: How Much Does It Matter Who You Are and Where You Live?

Part II: Taking Action
Chapter 7: How Helpful-or Harmful-Is Medication?
Chapter 8: How Helpful is Behavior Therapy, and What Kinds of Behavior Therapies Help the Most?
Chapter 9: What Other Strategies May Be Helpful in Treating ADHD?
Chapter 10: What Do You Need to Know About the "ADHD Industrial Complex"?
Chapter 11: Conclusions and Recommendations

Resources