Organizations should increase understanding, not diagnoses

An ADHD diagnosis can be a turning point for someone who has spent decades struggling without an explanation. The writers say it may help a person stop seeing themselves as lazy, stupid, or incapable and begin to understand their own experiences.

They respond to psychiatrist Eila Sailas’s criticism of the growing number of depression diagnoses by welcoming the broader discussion. Society should examine how often ordinary life challenges are being viewed through medical concepts, they write. But an increase in diagnoses should not automatically be treated as failure.

Greater awareness of ADHD has helped identify people who previously went without support. The writers cite a recent University of Helsinki study as showing that an early ADHD diagnosis leads to better educational outcomes and less school dropout. An adult diagnosis can also have an enormous effect after years of unexplained difficulties. Even when an assessment does not result in a diagnosis, reflecting on and putting words to one’s traits can help people find practical ways to manage everyday life.

The ADHD Association says its purpose is to expand access to reliable, research-based information and help people identify their strengths, challenges, and useful forms of support. Psychoeducation remains important whether or not medication is used. The writers reject comparisons between patient organizations’ awareness work and pharmaceutical disease marketing.

At the same time, they acknowledge that overdiagnosis and misdiagnosis occur in the current healthcare system. The answer, they argue, is not less information or more difficult identification, but careful assessment, strong psychoeducation, and timely support. That approach should reduce overdiagnosis without making people who genuinely need help invisible again.

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The task of organizations is to increase understanding, not diagnoses.