Does being the youngest in the class up your child’s odds of being erroneously diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)?
It might. New research suggests these kids appear to be about 30 percent more likely to receive a diagnosis of ADHD. However, it probably doesn’t change a child’s actual risk of developing ADHD.
So if your child was an August baby and your school district has a Sept. 1 birth date cutoff for school admissions, your child will be one of the youngest in class. And, particularly in the early grades, those age gaps can make a big difference in behavior, researchers said.