Cross-stakeholder initiative will connect experts with policymakers to drive balanced,
data-centered approaches to ADHD diagnosis and treatment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jakara Eason
[email protected]
September 25, 2025
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, top leaders in the clinical, patient, community leader and
innovator sectors announced they have launched Mindful Choices for ADHD (Mindful
Choices), an organization whose goal is to ensure that policies impacting treatment for
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are centered in science and the unique
needs of patients. As national attention has focused more on possible causes of and
therapies for ADHD, the new organization will provide a platform for experts, patients and
other stakeholders to inform ADHD policies and prioritize a balanced approach to ADHD
treatment.
ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental conditions in the world and affects
an estimated 21.5 million U.S. children and adults, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC). Common as it may be, ADHD is also a complex condition
that shows up differently from one patient to another. Even so, misperceptions and
inconsistent public messaging about ADHD cloud public understanding. This reality has
resulted in regular overdiagnosis and under-diagnosis of the condition and has invited
questions about whether policy changes are needed to address this imbalance.
Jakara Eason, Mindful Choices’ new Executive Director, said this environment creates an
urgent need for the group’s advocacy and education work: “Public awareness is critical to
ensure ADHD patients get access to appropriate medical treatment and needed education
about lifestyle modifications to manage their condition. Today, too often, many people are
hastily and wrongly diagnosed with ADHD, while many others with true ADHD are
undiagnosed and unsupported. That imbalance comes at a cost to patients, society and
the medical system. We can do better. Mindful Choices will foster collaborative, evidencebased partnering between experts, stakeholders and policy leaders to make sure of it.”
The nonprofit association was founded following a breakthrough National Leadership
Summit on the Appropriate Use of ADHD Treatments early this year. At the Summit,
more than 500 leading clinicians, patients, community leaders, researchers and
innovators met to understand opportunities for collaboration and shared learning.
“What we learned from the Summit is that ADHD is not well understood, that there has not
been enough focus on getting diagnoses right, and that we have done too little as a nation
to ensure that treatments are not one-size-fits-all, but rather are tailored to individual
patients,” Eason explained. “Those who have access to the best science and most
comprehensive lived experience have an opportunity and an obligation to help policy
leaders who are confronting some of these questions to unpack these issues and identify
solutions that serve patients, caregivers, and the healthcare system.”
Many of the leaders who have come together to launch Mindful Choices are serving on its
national Steering Committee, and include:
- James Anderson IV, MD, Austin Regional Clinic
- Jeff Copper, MBA, PCC, PCAC, CPCC, ACG, DIG Coaching Practice
- Stephen Faraone, PhD, World Federation for ADHD
- Dawn Garzon, PhD, CPNP-PC, PMHNP-C, PMHS, FAANP, FAAN, National
Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners - David Goodman, MD, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
- Jim Potenziano, PhD, Tris Pharma, Inc.
- Debbie Witchey, MHA, Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness
About Mindful Choices for ADHD
Mindful Choices for ADHD is a nonpartisan, nonprofit association working to ensure that
individuals living with ADHD have access to evidence-based, appropriate, and equitable
treatment. We focus on fostering consensus, countering misinformation, and advancing
practical solutions grounded in science and lived experience. For more information, please
visit choicesforadhd.org.