Attention Deficit Pays at Shire

For a while, Gretchen LeFever was able to draw national television coverage to her crusade: what she calls the excessive diagnosis and treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The pediatric clinical psychologist made a name for herself after studying the apparent prevalence of ADHD in her eastern Virginia community. At one local school district, for example, LeFever found that 17% of the children in grades two through five had been diagnosed with ADHD. Moreover, she discovered that the vast majority of those diagnosed with the disorder were being treated with prescription stimulants like Ritalin and the next-generation drugs manufactured by Eli Lilly (LLY Quote), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ Quote) and Shire Pharmaceuticals (SHPGY Quote).

On average, only about 5% of the nation's children supposedly suffer from ADHD. So LeFever's findings, representing the highest rates of ADHD ever documented, led to stories by major news outlets including CBS, CNN and NPR. ...