Manufacturer, psychiatric group accused of overdiagnosing to sell Ritalin. “The American Psychiatric Association and the makers of the drug

Ritalin are encouraging overdiagnosis of behavioral problems in children to boost sales of the drug, according to two lawsuits filed this week.

Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp. and the psychiatric association promoted the belief that a large number of children need to take Ritalin for

attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the suits filed in New Jersey and California allege.” Nando Times My take on this, in a few words, is that the lawsuit is pure litigious nonsense. The medical evidence for the reality of ADHD as a brain dysfunction is incontrovertible, as is the positive impact of medication treatments. At the same time, it is overdiagnosed, but not because of any unholy conspiracy. There is an inherent cycle of fascination with faddish diagnoses and an unfortunate capacity for self-fulfilling prophecy to shape diagnosis of psychopathology among less careful clinicians.