ADD and ADHD are definitely waaaaay over diagnosed, particularly in children. It's actually normal for many kids to be hyper and/or inattentive--most grow out of it. But teachers today are so overtaxed in their huge classrooms, that they can't cope with this and send these children to get diagnosed for ADD/ADHD so the kids will get drugged to calm them down. It's bad for the kids, but makes teacher's job easier.

I was talking to a teacher one day who joked that "half the kids in our school are on ADD/ADHD drugs."

And unfortunately, impatient, over-stressed parents who can't deal with very active kids can do the same thing.

(There was a scene on the TV show Silicon Valley where one of the characters needed something to keep him awake, so he went to what they decided was the most "logical source," a group of kids playing down the block.)

And doctors make a lot of money on their ADD/ADHD patients by making them come in regularly (usually every three months) to get refill prescriptions. Even when the prescription won't change, year after year, they still make you come in every three months.

There's also doctor incompetence. I can't believe some of the criteria I've heard doctor's using to confirm an ADD/ADHD Dx.

And some doctors are just drug dealers who will give patients whatever they want. (That's why so many people are getting addicted to prescription drugs.)

--Ceara1010