ADHD Without Drugs

Posting Date: 09/01/2004

Push to Medicate ADHD Children Ignores Successes of Behavioral Treatments

Teachers nationwide say about five percent of children in their classrooms have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and they estimate another 5 percent have ADHD but are undiagnosed, according to a survey conducted by University at Buffalo graduate student Gregory Fabiano and William Pelham, Jr., UB distinguished professor of psychology, pediatrics and psychiatry.

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Many of these children likely will be placed on psychoactive medication by their family physician, often prompted by their child's school.

For parents of children who will be diagnosed with ADHD during the upcoming school year, Pelham, a national authority on ADHD treatment, has this important message: There is an effective alternative to medication for treating ADHD.

"Doctors and professionals in the ADHD field overemphasize the role that medication should play in the treatment of children," says Pelham, who has authored hundreds of studies on ADHD treatment and has conducted clinical trials of ADHD drugs Ritalin, Adderall and Concerta.

"Unfortunately, the end result is that many parents of ADHD children are not made aware that there is a well-established, evidence-based alternative to medication -- behavior therapy," Pelham adds.

Most physicians, he says, routinely prescribe medication to children without first discussing with parents the risks and benefits of drugs or discussing alternatives to drugs. Yet, research has shown that if you start ADHD children on behavioral therapy, half of the children don't ever need ADHD medication, Pelham says.

"Instead of immediately prescribing the drugs, physicians should be recommending to parents a sequential approach -- behavior therapy first and then add medication if needed."