Rising number of people seeking ADHD diagnosis without treatment, say experts

In The Great ADHD Myth?, the NHS psychiatrist Max Pemberton says emphasis should be on improving schools’ accommodation of pupils rather than medicating children to fit a norm. Photograph: Minnow Productions

People are increasingly seeking to an obtain an ADHD diagnosis without pursuing treatment, according to experts who have called for more research to understand why.

Some people now regard ADHD as “an identity, rather than a disorder”, with the result that many obtain assessments from poor quality private providers, which lead them to “believe they have a condition needing treatment”, said the psychiatrist Dr Marios Adamou, the founder of the UK Adult ADHD Network.