Friday, February 1, 2008

ADHD: Medication--Is It Worth It?

Does using medication for ADHD improve outcomes in the long run? Long term studies done in the US and Finland suggest that:

-Medication does not seem to affect long term outcome :while about 60% of American children with ADHD are medicated while virtually no Finnish kids are medicated, these two populations are very much alike (on various measures) by the time they are 16-18 yeras old.

-Children who are "fidgety" and "can't-sit-still" have a higher chance of out-growing these symptoms; while those who have symptoms of being "dreamy, inattentive and forgetful" are more likely to struggle with this condition.

In a separate note, this article also suggests that cognitive-behavioral approaches (where children can learn tools of how to focus, learn material etc) as an alternative to medication.

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