Ritalin as treatment for ADHD

These changes in the child seem to result from his enhanced arousal state and his increased ability to focus his attention (Moghadam 45). As a consequence, the use of these medication for children with ADHD continues to be controversial in the public’s mind, although there is absolutely no controversy among the scientific communities to the safety and effectiveness of these medications . Some stimulants, such as cocaine and amphetamine, often leave the abuser craving another hit of the drug. The claim is that to most people, stimulants cause a burst of energy or a buzz, high, or feeling of euphoria that can last from a few minutes to several hours. It has been the most commonly prescribed drug for these disorders since the early 1980’s (Beal 20). Their teachers and parents see an improvement in their attitude, behavior, and work habits. The child becomes more available to instruction and thus, easier to teach. Some research studies suggest that stimulant drugs such as Ritalin increase the concentration of dopamine within the brain , and, in doing so, enable the child to gain control over his behavior, to pay attention to the most important stimulus entering his brain, to concentrate on the task at hand , and to filter out all irrelevant stimuli. Medication is used to improve the symptoms of ADHD so that the individual can function more effectively (CHADD).

as Another concern surrounding the controversy of medicating our children with Ritalin is the addictive effects some experts claim it can have. A major research study done by the National Institute of Mental Health (MTA) in 1999, called the Multimodal Treatment Study was conducted with 579 children with ADHD/ADD (Combined type), the subjects received one of four possible treatments for over a 14-month period. Only more scientific research, not more rhetoric, can tell us if the present rate of Ritalin use for children is safe and justifiable.

During the 1980s and again in the mid-to late 1990, an inaccurate and regrettably successful media propaganda campaign against the use of stimulants, particularly Ritalin, with children was waged by a fringe religious group, causing a dramatic rise in media coverage of this medication.

Furthermore, whether stimulant drugs improve the child’s attention so that he can allocate his cognitive resources to a task, or improve his attitude so that he applies himself and does what he is capable of doing, is irrelevant.