The first question of many parents is should they give their kids medications. While teachers may urge parents to do so, using medication or not is a matter of personal decision. Using medication will bring some positive effects that help the kids learn better but definitely it’s not prerequisite to treat ADHD.
Medications that are used to treat ADHD usually stimulants such as amphetamine and methylphenidate. These stimulants will help increase the amount of neurotransmitters in the brain and help the kids become less hyperactive and more attentive. With more focus, they are expected to produce more and better result when working and studying. Parents can also expect lesser misbehaviors in both school and family environment.
While medications can bring the positive as mentioned above, you should not think that it’s the cure for ADHD. Up to now, there is no drugs is proven to have the ability to stop the symptoms of ADHD completely. The best thing drugs can do is to reduce those symptoms. Also, medication doesn’t bring long term effects. Soon after the treatment course ends, the effects will reduce and disappear.
Another question related to medication is “is using medication alone enough?”. Stimulant medications do not bring long term effects (social skills, relationships). There was a research to confirm this matter. To make long story short, the answer is “no”. You cannot expect to see the improvement of the children in long term if you rely on medication only. Medication works best in combination with behavioral modification.
When using medication, the kids can expect to suffer from some side effects. The most common ones are lose appetite, headache, insomnia, anxiety, and stomachache. These side effects can be expected in the first few weeks having the medication. After this period, when the kids get used to the medication, the side effects will disappear. However, in some rare cases, the problem persists even after few weeks of treatment.
As you can see now, medication is not the magic pills that can cure ADHD completely. Fact is, there is no cure for ADHD right now. The best way to use medication is in combination with the behavioral modification. Take time and be patient when dealing with ADHD.