According to a report in MSN news, a new study suggests that younger kids among their peers are more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
"Educators and health-care providers should take children's ages in relation to their [classmates] into account when evaluating academic performance and other criteria for ADHD diagnosis," said study author Helga Zoega, a postdoctoral fellow at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, according to a report in MSN news. "Parents can use these findings to help inform their decisions about school readiness for children born close to cutoff dates for school entry."
A new study included 12,000 children in Iceland who were born between 1994 and 1996. The children's (aged between 9 and 12 years old) test scores were assessed and checked if any of the kids were prescribed of ADHD drugs. Found that 740 children were prescribed of ADHD drugs at some point from 2003 to 2009, Zoega said in the same report.
"Children behave and perform according to their own maturity level within the classroom," Zoega added. "Being younger relative to one's classmates affects academic performance throughout childhood. When evaluating whether a child has ADHD, this should be taken into account to prevent unnecessary diagnoses and prescribing of stimulants."
According to MSN news, Richard Morrow, a health research analyst at the University of British Columbia who studies ADHD, also urged that the teachers and parents not to diagnose the kids with ADHD even without trying few other options like athletics.
"In the education system, it leads to the question, 'What strategies or resources do we need to help ensure the well-being of all children in the classroom, where children vary in age by up to a year?'" Morrow questioned. "Parents need to be aware that if behavioral issues arise for their child, this may be related to their child's relative age in the classroom." He further added as a precaution that, "doctors need to consider a child's relative age in school or other settings such as athletics before making a diagnosis or writing a prescription."
