At a glance
- CDC uses datasets from parent surveys and healthcare claims to understand diagnosis and treatment patterns for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
- Estimates for diagnosis and treatment can vary depending on the source.
- This page includes ADHD data from different sources.
ADHD diagnosis
Millions of U.S. children have been diagnosed with ADHD.1
An estimated 7 million (11.4%) U.S. children aged 3–17 years have ever been diagnosed with ADHD, according to a national survey of parents using data from 2022.
Did you know?
ADHD estimates by sex, race, and ethnicity:1
- Boys (15%) were more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than girls (8%).
- Black children and White children were more often diagnosed with ADHD (both 12%) than Asian children (4%). American Indian/Alaska Native children (10%) were also more often diagnosed with ADHD than Asian children.
- Approximately 6% of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander children were diagnosed with ADHD.
- Overall, non-Hispanic children (12%) were diagnosed with ADHD more often than Hispanic children (10%).
ADHD symptoms can vary in severity.
- About 6 in 10 children had moderate or severe ADHD.
- Children with both ADHD and another co-occurring condition, such as behavioral or conduct problems, learning disorders, anxiety, or depression, more often had severe ADHD than children with ADHD without other co-occurring conditions.
Estimates for ADHD diagnosis and treatment vary by state.3
- ADHD diagnosis estimates among U.S. children aged 3–17 years vary from 6% to 16% across states.
- Estimates for receiving any ADHD treatment among children with current ADHD vary from 58% to 92% across states. ADHD treatments include:
ADHD Treatment Types
State Estimates
ADHD Medication
Vary from 38% to 81%
ADHD Behavior Therapy
Vary from 39% to 62%
Other concerns and conditions with ADHD
Many children with ADHD also have other co-occurring conditions.1
According to a national 2022 parent survey, nearly 78% of children with ADHD had at least one other co-occurring condition:
- Almost half of the children with ADHD had a behavior or conduct problem.
- About 4 in 10 of the children with ADHD had anxiety.
Other conditions affecting children with ADHD include depression, autism spectrum disorder, and Tourette syndrome.
Co-occurring Conditions with ADHD – Interactive Data Charts1
Keep Reading:
Other Concerns and Conditions with ADHD
Treatment of ADHD
Did you know?
Treatment for ADHD can include behavior therapy and medication. Recommendations for the use of ADHD medication and behavior therapy are age specific. For children younger than 6 years of age, behavior therapy is recommended as the first line of treatment. For children 6 years of age and older, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends behavior therapy and medication, preferably together.
Read more about ADHD treatment recommendations.
Read more about ADHD treatment recommendations.
Nearly 2 million U.S. children with ADHD did not receive ADHD-specific treatment in 2022.1
A national parent survey from 2022 reported on medication and behavior treatment for children 3–17 years of age with current ADHD:
- About 30% of children with ADHD did not receive medication treatment or behavior treatment, compared with 23% of children 2–17 years of age with ADHD in 2016.13
- About 32% children with ADHD received both medication treatment and behavior treatment.
- Overall, the total number of children receiving behavior treatment increased from 2016 (2.5 million) to 2022 (2.8 million).
Treatment of ADHD – Interactive Data Charts1
Children with ADHD receive different types of services.
There are many treatment options for ADHD, and what works best can depend on the person, their family, and their environment. Different types of behavioral treatment or skills training for ADHD include:
- Parent-delivered behavior therapy
- Social skills training
- Peer interventions
- Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT)
Keep Reading:
Treatment of ADHD
ADHD care is provided by many different healthcare professionals.4
In addition to parent-reported data, healthcare claims data from Medicaid or employer-sponsored insurance provide another way to understand treatment patterns. In 2021, among U.S. children ages 3–17 years:
- Many children received ADHD care from a primary care clinician, such as a pediatrician or family doctor. Almost half of children covered through private insurance and about 1 in 4 children with Medicaid received ADHD care from a pediatrician.
- Nurse practitioners and psychiatric nurses also play an important role in ADHD care for children, providing care for nearly 1 in 5 children with Medicaid.
- Children with Medicaid were less likely to receive ADHD care from a healthcare specialist, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist.
See Also:
Clinical Care for Children With ADHD
Where the data come from
- MarketScan® Commercial Claims and Encounters (CCE) Database & MarketScan® Multi-State Medicaid Database | Merative™
- National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) | MCHB (hrsa.gov)
- National Survey of the Diagnosis and Treatment of ADHD and Tourette Syndrome
Content Source:
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
- Danielson ML, Claussen AH, Bitsko RH, et al. ADHD Prevalence Among U.S. Children and Adolescents in 2022: Diagnosis, Severity, Co-Occurring Disorders, and Treatment. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. Published online May 22, 2024.
- Bitsko RH, Claussen AH, Lichstein J, et al. Mental health surveillance among children—United States, 2013–2019. MMWR Suppl. 2022;71(2):1-48.
- Danielson ML, Holbrook JR, Bitsko RH, et al. State-Level Estimates of the Prevalence of Parent-Reported ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment Among U.S. Children and Adolescents, 2016 to 2019. J Atten Disord. 2022;26(13):1685-1697.
- Danielson ML, Claussen AH, Arifkhanova A, Gonzalez MG, Surman C. Who Provides Outpatient Clinical Care for Adults With ADHD? Analysis of Healthcare Claims by Types of Providers Among Private Insurance and Medicaid Enrollees, 2021. J Atten Disord. 2024;28(8):1225-1235.