ADHD Medication
If a person is determined to have ADHD, a psychiatrist can begin pharmacological treatment. This treatment usually consists of prescribing one of several stimulants to help combat the symptoms of the disorder. For many people, the stimulants dramatically reduce their hyperactivity and impulsivity and improve their ability to focus, work, and learn.The stimulant drugs, when used with medical supervision, are usually considered very safe. Stimulants do not make the person feel "high," although some people say they feel different or funny. Although many stimulants are classified as addictive substances, to date there is no evidence that stimulant medications, when used for treatment of ADHD, cause drug abuse or dependence.
A review of all long-term studies on stimulant medication and substance abuse, conducted by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, found that teenagers with ADHD who remained on their medication during the teen years had a lower likelihood of substance use or abuse than did ADHD adolescents who were not taking medications. Medications for ADHD help many people focus and be more successful at school, home, work, and during leisure time.
In addition to medication, studies have shown patients who seek the help of mental health professionals have shown dramatic improvements in controlling some of the negative behaviors that are associated with ADHD. Several intervention approaches are used to achieve these improvements.
Psychotherapy is a technique that involves a patient working with a therapist to help them to like and accept themselves despite their disorder. It does not address the symptoms or underlying causes of the disorder. Instead, patients talk with the therapist about upsetting thoughts and feelings, explore self-defeating patterns of behavior, and learn alternative ways to handle their emotions. As they talk, the therapist tries to help them understand ways to change and better cope with their disorder.
Behavioral therapy works by helping people change their thinking and coping skills, which in turn can lead to a positive change in behavior. For example, the patient may be taught helpful ways to organize tasks or methods to deal with emotionally charged events. Overall, these therapies are shown to be very effective in the treatment of ADHD.
A study performed by the NIMH reaffirms the effectiveness of multi-modal treatment (medication used together with psychotherapeutic intervention). To determine the effectiveness of multi-modal treatment for ADHD, the NIMH examined three experimental conditions: medication management alone, behavioral treatment alone, or a combination of medication and behavioral treatments.
The study compared the effectiveness of these three treatment modes with each other and with standard care provided in the community (the control group). Results of the study compares the 14-month outcomes of 579 children randomly assigned to one of the four treatment conditions were presented in the fall of 1998. At 14 months, medication and the combination treatment were generally more effective than the behavioral treatment alone or the control treatment.
The combined treatment produced significant improvements over the control condition in six outcome areas—social skills, parent child relations, anxiety symptoms, reading achievement, oppositional and/or aggressive symptoms, and parent and/or consumer satisfaction.
The conclusions from this major study are that carefully managed and monitored stimulant medication, alone or combined with behavioral treatment are extremely effective in the treatment of ADHD.
Although there is no real cure, there are effective ADHD treatments to considerably increase the quality of life of persons suffering from the disorder.