A resolution designating September 18, 2008, as "National Attention Deficit Disorder Awareness Day".

Whereas Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (also known as ADHD or ADD), is a chronic neurobiological disorder that affects both children and adults, and can significantly interfere with the ability of an individual to regulate activity level, inhibit behavior, and attend to tasks in developmentally-appropriate ways;

Whereas ADHD can cause devastating consequences, including failure in school and the workplace, antisocial behavior, encounters with the criminal justice system, interpersonal difficulties, and substance abuse;

Whereas ADHD, the most extensively studied mental disorder in children, affects an estimated 3 to 7 percent (4,000,000) of young school-age children and an estimated 4 percent (8,000,000) of adults across racial, ethnic, and socio-economic lines;

Whereas scientific studies indicate that between 10 and 35 percent of children with ADHD have a first-degree relative with past or present ADHD, and that approximately 1/2 of parents who had ADHD have a child with the disorder, suggesting that ADHD runs in families and inheritance is an important risk factor;

Whereas despite the serious consequences that can manifest in the family and life experiences of an individual with ADHD, studies indicate that less than 85 percent of adults with the disorder are diagnosed and less than 1/2 of children and adults with the disorder receive treatment and, furthermore, poor and minority communities are particularly underserved by ADHD resources;

Whereas the Surgeon General, the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Mental Health, among others, recognize the need for proper diagnosis, education, and treatment of ADHD;

Whereas the lack of public knowledge and understanding of the disorder play a significant role in the overwhelming numbers of undiagnosed and untreated cases of ADHD, and the dissemination of inaccurate, misleading information contributes as an obstacle for diagnosis and treatment;

Whereas lack of knowledge combined with issues of stigma have a particularly detrimental effect on the diagnosis and treatment of the disorder;

Whereas there is a need for education of health care professionals, employers, and educators about the disorder and a need for well-trained mental health professionals capable of conducting proper diagnosis and treatment activities; and

Whereas studies by the National Institute of Mental Health and others consistently reveal that through proper comprehensive diagnosis and treatment, the symptoms of ADHD can be substantially decreased and quality of life can be improved: Now, therefore, be it