The use of drug treatments for children diagnosed with ADHD has proved controversial within the medical community for many years.  Parents often see Ritalin and Concerta, two of the more popular ADHD treatments, as cause for hope that their child's behaviour can finally be brought under control.  Today's news that drug treatments are no more effective than therapy will come as a shock to many parents and doctors in the UK and should hopefully bring about a major rethink in how this disorder is dealt with.  In fact, the author of the original study supporting the use of drugs to treat ADHD has said that "there's no indication that medication's better than nothing in the long run", which is a truly astounding comment.
 
It doesn't take a medical genius to appreciate that giving children a daily dose of strong medication when their brains and bodies are still developing puts them at risk for developing serious side effects, and in the case of ADHD drugs children have poorer growth rates and do not physically develop in the same way as other children.  Society's obsession with prescribing drugs to children and adults for a range of disorders such as ADHD and depression is a dangerous habit and opens up problems with dependence and tolerance rather than treating the root causes of these problems.  Perhaps today's report will be the wake-up call that doctors and patients so desperately need.