The psychiatric diagnosis of Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has attracted an assortment of critical positions that individually challenge the ontology or preconceptions of the diagnosis as it is defined in the DSM IV-TR.

Among the criticisms are disagreements over the cause of ADHD, differences over research methodologies, and skepticism toward its classification as a mental disorder.

Critics also express concerns over the effects of diagnosis on the mental state of patients and the effects of the medication available for the condition.

Further, some critics suspect ulterior motives of the medical industry, which both authorizes the psychiatric definitions of mental disorders and promotes the use of pharmaceutical drugs for their treatment.

The ADHD diagnosis identifies characteristics such as hyperactivity, forgetfulness, mood swings, poor impulse control, and distractibility, as symptoms of a neurological pathology.

But critics point out that the etiology of this mental disorder is not yet well defined by neurology, genetics, or biology..

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