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Attention Defecit Disorder (ADD)

Ritalin and other stimulants are commonly used for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in elementary-age children because they reduce disruptive and allow children to focus.  A new study has found that Ritalin can also improve the academic performance and behavior of teenagers.

Steven W. Evans, Ph.D., and colleagues William E. Pelham Jr., Ph.D., and Bradley H. Smith, Ph.D., have found that the use of Ritalin combined with behavior modification, can improve teenagers diagnosed with ADHD performance in note taking, assignments and test scores, without significant side effects.

It was found that while the teens were taking the medication, they were more likely to get their schoolwork finished more accurately than when taking a placebo.  In fact, the research showed that scores improved an average of seventeen percent, or two or three letter grades.
The subjects of the study were forty-five teens that were diagnosed with ADHD who had enrolled in a University of Pittsburgh summer treatment program.  Because ADHD affects more boys than girls, most of the participants were male.

During the eight week study, the teens were given either Ritalin or a placebo three times per day with each day's third dose being half the size of the first and second.  The students received each dose one day each week in a random order.  This allowed the researchers to compare their behavior and academic performance in each of the drug conditions.

In addition, each teen attended a one-hour history class four days a week and all of them participated in other activities, like note-taking instruction, social skills learning, and problem solving groups that were designed to help them learn to control their behavior.  The researchers measured the participant's quality of note-taking, performance on daily quizzes, in-class worksheets, and writing assignments.  They also measured how often each teen completed his or her homework assignments.

The results showed that the combination of Ritalin and behavior change interventions significantly improved the quality of each teen's schoolwork.  In fact, eighty percent of the participants showed improved academic performance while taking some dose of Ritalin.

The research also revealed that increasing the dosage did not necessarily improve the student's performance.  Two-thirds of the teens showed moderate to large improvement in academic performance while on the lowest dosage of Ritalin when compared to those taking a placebo.  Of those who did not improve on the lowest dose, fewer than half showed improvement when the dose was doubled, and very few showed significant gains on the highest dosage administered.  Furthermore, some students' performance declined as the dosages increased.

I enjoyed this article due to the fact that for so long ADHD has only been thought of to be a childhood disorder.  It seems as though the old adage of "He'll grow out of it." does not apply to this condition.  In fact, both ADD and ADHD were not diagnosable conditions during my own childhood.

Since no long-term studies have been conducted on ADHD, one cannot help but wonder how these and other children manage this condition while aging.  It seems to be a life long condition that one must learn to manage.

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