ADHD: Medication vs. Behavioral Treatment for Children

According to The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 3% to 5% of children suffer from ADHD, but many experts claim that statistic is actually closer to 8 to 10%. This means that in a standard classroom of 20 children, 2 of those students would be likely to exhibit symptoms of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. It is an issue that is becoming more and more prevalent with each generation, and parents are at a loss of what to do to help their children. While ADHD cannot be cured, many methods of treatment have surfaced that have had success in helping these hyperactive individuals function better in social settings. The two main options for the alleviation of symptoms are, A.) a variety of stimulant, non-stimulant, anti-depressant, and high-blood pressure drug medications , and B.) behavioral therapy. While drug medications have many potentially risky side effects (which has pushed many outside the medical field to strongly advocate behavioral treatment), I believe that a combination of drug medication and behavioral therapy is the best way to encourage a child’s self esteem, performance in school, ability to make friends, and success in the future.
In order to decipher the best option for treating a disorder, it is obviously important to be very knowledgeable of the condition itself. After years of research and testing, what exactly causes ADHD is still a factor of obscurity. Studies have shown that ADHD has a strong genetic component; children are more likely to develop the disorder if one or both of their parents have it (or had symptoms in their childhood years). A staggering one-third of all fathers who had ADHD in their youth have children with ADHD. It is also known that in many cases of ADHD, the root of the probably seems to stem from a neurological perspective; the affected children tend to have dysregulation of neurotransmitters, which are chemicals that are used to transmit messages between nerve cells in the brain. In addition, there can be abnormal functioning in the nerve pathways that regulate behavior, and particular sections of the brain may be smaller or less active than normal. It is also suggested that other external and environmental factors can contribute to the development of ADHD. It is not uncommon for this behavior disorder to be diagnosed in children who had a low birth weight, a head injury to the frontal lobe during infancy, whose mothers smoked or drank alcohol during pregnancy, or who were exposed to lead or other various environmental toxins.
The most common symptoms in children are: inability to concentrate, easily bored/frustrated with tasks, constantly moving/restless, impulsive, forgetful, disorganized, avoid activities that necessitate a sustained effort, excessive talking, defiance, and problems with anger management. Because of these symptoms, many children have trouble with schoolwork, and are unable to thrive in social situations (they struggle to make friends, and have a hard time maintaining healthy relationships with family members and mentors).
Many speculate that ADHD is not a real disorder, that it is simply a fabrication of everyday characteristics and typical childlike behaviors. I know from experience, however, that this is not the case. My younger brother, who just turned 7 years old a few months ago, was diagnosed with ADHD this past year. Since the age of one and a half, he was a handful for my mother and father, and I’m not talking about the normal “terrible toddler” stage that every child goes through. He was constantly running to a fro; even with a large family of six of us to look after him, we could never seem to keep tabs on where he was. At night, getting him to sleep was an impossible task. After hours of trying to calm him down, we had to resort to getting locks for the outside of his room in hopes that he would stop sneaking out and eventually fall asleep. But he would just scream endlessly and kick the door so loud that we were getting complaints from the neighbors who could hear his tantrums through the night. In church, he could not sit still for even five minutes during a meeting. His Sunday school teachers could not handle him; he would fidget excessively, make a mess of the room, and talk excessively and blurt out things during the lesson. It was the same scenario at school but worse, because with a classroom of at least 20 kids, it was nearly impossible for his kindergarten teacher to pay as much attention to him individually as his behavior demanded. The first day of school he was sent to the assistant principal’s office, and nearly every day following that for the entire year. Sometimes he would even spend the entire week in ISS (In-School-Suspension) because he was so out of control. It got to the point where the school called my mother and requested that he be removed from public school and enrolled somewhere else where there were other children with Landon’s unusual “special needs”. Because he could not sit and focus, and long tasks were daunting to him, he was unable to learn to read and became increasingly behind the other children academically. Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is real. It is not an exaggeration, a result of bad parenting, or a lack of discipline. It is a true struggle that kids and their parents are going through across the country and all over the world. As I have watched my mother, I have seen how difficult it is to decide how to help your ADHD child, especially when there are so many options out there each with their own set of pros and cons) while simultaneously being judged and told she was a bad parent with no control over her own son.
When it comes to drug medication for ADHD, the most commonly prescribed (and typically most effective) are stimulants such as Ritalin, Adderall, Dexedrine, Concerta, Focaline, Metadate, Methylin, and Vyvanse. These medications have been used for the longest amount of time and therefore have the most research to back up their effectiveness. These drugs are believed to work by increasing dopamine (the neurotransmitter associated with motivation, pleasure, attention, and movement) levels in the brain. They help ADHD symptoms by increasing the ability to concentrate in addition to suppressing hyperactivity and impulsive actions.
While stimulants can be effective, for some patients the side effects outweigh the benefits. Some common side effects are loss of appetite (capable of causing unhealthy weight loss), headaches, upset stomach, irritability/mood swings, depression, dizziness, racing heartbeat, and tics. A few of these became apparent in the case of my brother, particularly the loss of appetite (he started to lose so much weight that my mom had to take him off the medication during the weekends so he would eat), as well the upset stomach and some minor tics. Also, stimulant medications may also cause changes in personality. Some children are become withdrawn, listless, rigid, develop obsessive-compulsive habits, or are less free-spirited and talkative.
It is crucial that an extensive medical exam (specifically an electrocardiogram) be performed before prematurely being prescribed to any stimulant medication. Because if your child has a heart defect/disease, high blood pressure, hyperthyroidism, glaucoma, or high levels of anxiety, they are at risk for even more serious side effects and even death.