Mistaking immature classroom behaviour with ADHD

Catherine Haeck, Pierre Lefebvre, Geneviève Lefebvre and Philip Merrigan

CIRANO Papers from CIRANO

Abstract: Original analyses on the connections between school entry age and ADHD diagnoses for children in Quebec → Read the full report In Quebec, children must be 5 years old before October1st to be admitted to kindergarten. In the same class, the youngest students are therefore up to one year younger than the oldest. In this study, the authors show that children born in September have 35% higher rates of ADHD diagnosis and medication than those born in October. ADHD could be confused with inattentive or more turbulent behaviors. Based on unpublished data from the RAMQ, including the medical services records of nearly 800,000 young people born between 1996 and 2005, the authors draw unequivocal conclusions about the extent of the phenomenon and sound the alarm on an issue of great concern. Original analyses on the connections between school entry age and ADHD diagnoses for children in Quebec → Lire le rapport complet Au Québec, les enfants doivent avoir 5 ans avant le 1er octobre pour être admis en maternelle. Dans une même classe, les plus jeunes ont donc jusqu’à un an de moins que les plus vieux. Dans cette étude, les auteurs montrent que les enfants nés en septembre ont des taux de diagnostic et de médication du TDAH 35 % plus élevés que ceux nés en octobre. Le TDAH serait confondu avec des comportements d’inattention ou de plus grande turbulence. S’appuyant sur des données inédites de la RAMQ incluant les dossiers de services médicaux de près de 800 000 jeunes nés entre 1996 et 2005, les auteurs tirent des conclusions non équivoques sur l’ampleur du phénomène et sonnent l’alarme sur un enjeu extrêmement préoccupant.

Keywords: ADHD; Quebec children; diagnosis rate; medication rate; school entry age; TDAH; enfants québécois; taux de diagnostic; taux de médication; âge d'entrée à l'école (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-03-26
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