The symptoms of ADHD, as described above, may simply be the behavior of a normal child. "Except for a minority of cases involving distinct medical problems such as hyperthyroidism and explicit brain injuries, most youngsters diagnosed with ADHD may simply be normal, highly playful children who have difficulty adjusting to certain institutional expectations." (Panksepp) Ritalin is used by so many people because it seems to be easier than dealing with the untreated child, or seeking alternative treatment options.

Despite increasingly widespread concern over ADHD medications being given to some children unnecessarily, drugs have unquestionably helped children who truly do have ADHD." (Meyer) The question, however, remains regarding whether or not ADHD can be properly diagnosed at all. Until ADHD was introduced to the public, children with this supposed disorder were only known...

Yet children are being diagnosed with ADHD constantly, and one may ask how this is possible if the disorder is not as common as some doctors claim. "Parents of normal children have actually asked for Ritalin just to improve their child's grades," and if parents cannot convince one doctor to diagnose and drug their child the way they want, then they will just go to another doctor. (Hancock) Doctors often do not perform a complete evaluation of the patient, but instead rely on the information relayed to them by parents, who have often received the information second-hand from the child's school.
Sometimes ADHD is a misdiagnosis of a real condition, "such as learning disabilities, depression, or anxiety-disorders that look like ADHD, but do not need Ritalin," (Hancock) however just