Objectives: To collect prevalence data on the percentage of elementary-school-aged youth in a large suburban school district in northern Utah receiving medication at school for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Method: A survey of medication prescribed and taken at school for ADHD was completed by collecting counts of children by grade and gender receiving medication at school.
Results: Of the students surveyed, a total of 434 were receiving medication for ADHD at school, yielding a percentage of 1.39% for elementary school students taking medication for ADHD treatment
Conclusions: These data reinforce the increasing perception among clinicians and researchers that the diagnostic incidence and subsequent treatment for ADHD varies dramatically across geographic location. These findings are less than the recently reported very high incidence of medication use in Virginia and more moderately reported incidence in other parts of the country (e.g., LeFever, Dawson, Morrow, 1999; LeFever et al., 1997; Wolraich, Hannah, Pinnock, Baumgaertel, & Brown, 1996).
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