ADHD Data for States: Prevalence, Treatment and Medicaid Policies

What CDC offers states

CDC publishes estimates of ADHD prevalence and treatment among children and adolescents in every state and Washington, D.C.

• The source: the Health Resources and Services Administration's National Survey of Children's Health, based on parents' reports that a health care provider diagnosed their child with ADHD.
• Why states matter: states can monitor how health resources are used, set ADHD treatment policies, and shape access to behavioral health services.
• CDC's aim: to promote effective treatment for children and adolescents with ADHD — and giving states resources to guide their decisions is a vital part of that.

How the data were collected

Prevalence: parents reported whether a health care provider had ever told them their child had ADHD and, if so, whether the child currently had it.

Treatment: estimates cover children with current ADHD who received medication, behavior treatment, or both.

• Behavior treatment: parents reported whether their child with current ADHD had received behavior treatment for it in the past 12 months.
• Medication: parents reported whether their child with current ADHD was currently taking ADHD medication.

A caution: differences between states are not necessarily statistically significant. A study of state variation shows which states' prevalence is significantly lower or higher than the rest of the country's.

Medication and state policy

• Medicaid: state Medicaid policies on managing the use of ADHD medications in children vary by state.
• Treatment guidance: CDC's ADHD treatment recommendations vary by age group.

More from CDC

• Data on ADHD
• Trends in ADHD among U.S. children
• ADHD materials and resources

Sources

Based on "ADHD Data and Resources for States," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The state-by-state estimates themselves are on CDC's page; its stock photographs are not reproduced.