Diagnosis and management of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children, young people, and adults: summary of NICE guidance

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood condition that may affect different areas of the child’s life, seriously impairing academic achievement, peer relationships, and self care. Many affected children become socially isolated and develop conduct problems. Some 15% of children with ADHD will still have the condition in adulthood, and even more will develop a personality disorder and/or a substance misuse disorder in adulthood.1 2 3 Diagnosis rates for ADHD and prescriptions of stimulant medication have risen substantially in England during the past decade, with 220 000 prescriptions for stimulants (costing about £5m (€6.3m; $9.4m)) in 1998 and 418 300 (almost £13m) in 2004.4 The prescription of stimulants, which are potential drugs of misuse, to children remains controversial, with concerns about their safety and the potential for misuse and diversion (where the drug is passed on to others for non-prescription use).This article summarises the most recent recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the diagnosis and management of ADHD in children, young people and adults.5 NICE recommendations are based on systematic reviews of best available evidence. When minimal evidence is available, recommendations are based on the guideline development group’s opinion of what constitutes good practice. Evidence levels for the recommendations are given in italic in square brackets. ### Service organisation and training of professionals Specialist ADHD teams for children and young people and equivalent teams for adults should jointly develop training programmes on the diagnosis and management of ADHD for all mental health, paediatric, social care, educational, forensic, and primary care providers who have contact with people with ADHD. [ Based on opinion of the Guideline Development Group ] ### Diagnosis and assessment