In my practice, I've seen a notable shift: More children and teenagers are initiating requests for neuropsychological evaluations. They arrive informed, detailing symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, learning disabilities, depression, and anxiety, and how these disorders impact their lives. This contrasts sharply with the past, when parents primarily drove these evaluations, and teens often resisted. Now, these young people are vocal, prompting their parents to seek help and articulating their struggles with school, social life, and emotions.

This trend extends beyond my practice. One study of more than 100 psychiatrists attending the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry’s annual meeting indicated that 74 percent of respondents reported that they “somewhat often” or “very often” see patients who believe that they suffer from a psychiatric or neurological condition because of what they saw online (Weigle, 2023). While social media certainly plays a role, there are many contributing reasons for the increasing number of teens and preteen kids identifying as neurodivergent.

One major factor is the increased accessibility of information online. While TikTok and social media's influence is undeniable and warrants its own dedicated discussion, the........

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