Authors address a critical reflection on the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, focusing on evaluation protocols, diagnostic tools and use of drugs. Regarding tha latter topic, after reporting the strategies used by pharmaceutical industry, indications and side effects of drugs are described and studies that show a limited efficacy of drugs in the short term and an equivalence of efficacy with psycho-social treatments are discussed. In the light of the interactions between genetic aspects and psychosocial variables, a revision of ADHD nosological classification is hypothesized, and a limitation of drugs for symptomatic and limited in time treatment is proposed.
Keywords: ADHD; Diagnosis; Psycho-Social Interactions; Drugs.