To understand the mechanism of this condition and explore the influence of ADHD on a quality of children's life it is crucial to study requirements for the proper diagnosis of the illness.
"Information obtained from rating scales can be used for several purposes including screening, diagnosis, or monitoring the effects of treatment" (Angello, L. M.; Volpe, R. J. et al., 2003, p.241). To enhance and improve the ability to diagnose mental disorders the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) was renewed in 2013. It is a fifth edition of DSM (DSM-V) which changed the specifications of approach and diagnosis of ADHD. The alterations were made in several criteria comparing to the DSM-IV. DSM-V states that children show the symptoms by the age of twelve, rather than six as it was in DSM-IV. The changes were made in the age range of the adults as well. For individuals who reached the age of seventeen and older only five symptoms are required to diagnose ADHD. A comorbid diagnosis with autism spectrum disorder is now allowed. Subtypes have been replaced with presentation specifiers that map directly to the prior subtypes. There are also some additional descriptions for the condition among the adults. As to the criteria, DSM-V requires several symptoms in more than one parameter. As one can see, the alterations concerned the improvement of the diagnosis of the condition to narrow down the range of children which can be diagnosed with the disorder.
As the disorder influences directly the social life of an individual, ADHD must meet criteria of Other Health Impaired (OHI) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). For a school to provide special treatment for a child with ADHD it must recognize the diagnosis of the external specialist or provide it by the school district. The premise for the diagnosis has to consist in adverse effect of the condition on the academic performance and the effect of ADHD has to be acute.