Children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and using medications like Ritalin think the drugs assist in controlling behavior, a new study reveals.
The findings come in the midst of an ongoing debate worldwide about the negative impact of ADHD drugs on children.
The benefits and risks of providing ADHD medicines to children have been a topic of controversy from a long time. Ritalin or Methylphenidate, the stimulant commonly used to treat narcolepsy (uncontrollable sleepiness) and ADHD can lead to severe side effects including addiction, insomnia or trouble sleeping, nausea, dizziness, decreased appetite, headaches, bed-wetting, depression, weight loss, seizures and heart palpitations. According to drug enquirer, it has other severe side-effects like slowing children's growth and leading to a blurred vision.
ADHD is one of the most common neurobehavioral disorders of childhood. Nearly one in 11 children in the country suffers from the disorder that cannot be fully cured and lasts into adulthood.
Children experiencing ADHD will have problems with paying attention, difficulty in controlling impulsive behaviors (acting without thinking about the consequences), and hyper activity.
"ADHD is a very emotive subject which inspires passionate debate," Reuters Health quoted Ilina Singh, a biomedical ethicist from King's College London, who led the research. "Everyone seems to have an opinion about the condition, what causes it, how to deal with children with ADHD, but the voices of these children are rarely listened to. Who better to tell us what ADHD is like and how medication affects them than the children themselves?"
For exploring the children's view of the disorder and its treatment, Singh and colleagues interviewed 151 children aged between nine and 14 and their families in Britain and United States. A significant number of children in the study reported taking either Ritalin or Concerta.
Results showed children willing to take the medication and happy with the outcome, breaking the common belief about the drug turning them into "zombies" or "robots."
"I forget things a lot and I have trouble focusing and being mature," Ian, a 12 year-old in a lower-middle-class suburb of a major east coast U.S. city, taking medicines for three years, told the researchers, according to the the guardian. "That means I'm not doing my work like I'm supposed to. The last time I felt good about my behaviour was when I got all Bs and Cs on like my gradecard, except for one D. That was a few weeks ago. My mom freaked out she was so happy. I want to keep doing better."
Previous studies have proved the benefits of taking Ritalin and Concerta early. Researchers from Medicine and University of Iceland found starting an ADHD medication at an early stage helping children perform better on standardized tests, especially in math.
