ADHD is believed to be one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders of childhood, however, the cost of ADHD is not well understood. OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of ADHD on indirect costs and resource utilization associated with scheduled and unscheduled visits to healthcare professionals. METHODS: In 1997, 150 primary caregivers for ADHD children completed a telephone survey. Scheduled and emergency visits to providers were collected for the past 12 months. Indirect costs associated with primary caregiver work absenteeism or reduced productivity due to ADHD were also collected. RESULTS: The mean number of ADHD children per caregiver was 1.3 (range 1-4); 60% were in 6th grade or lower. Mean number of visits over 12 months to pediatricians, psychiatrists, psychologists, and counselors for ADHD was 2.0, 3.8, 3.0, 6.8 respectively. In the past 3 months, 17% of the visits were emergency unscheduled visits. Parents accompanied their child on 92% of visits, overall. Sixty-three percent of caregivers reported some change in their work status as a result of their child’s ADHD. Of these caregivers, 15% changed job type, 47% reduced hours worked per week, and 11% stopped working completely. In the past 4 weeks, caregivers lost an average of 0.8 days from their primary responsibility and were 25% less productive on an average of 2.4 days due to their child’s ADHD. This would result in 39 days of reduced caregiver productivity per year. CONCLUSIONS: ADHD in children results in substantial impact on parents due to changes in work status, absenteeism and productivity loss. Management of ADHD results in routine scheduled physician visits. Effective management of ADHD may minimize these costs to employers and the health care system.