Drugs aids 'disorder' children at school

Published on Monday 27 April 2009 01:10

CHILDREN given stimulants to treat attention-deficit hyper- activity disorder (ADHD) symptoms score higher on maths and reading tests than children with the condition who do not get drugs, according to new research..

A study of 594 children with ADHD from kindergarten through primary five found the 60 per cent prescribed drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall performed better on standardised tests than peers with ADHD not given medication.

But the scores of children treated with drugs for ADHD still lagged children not diagnosed with the condition.

"We're not promoting drugs as the answer," said Richard Scheffler of the University of California, Berkeley. "But we did find medication does improve standard-ised maths and reading scores in the long term.

"Our study found that the children with ADHD who used the medication were several months ahead of their non-medicated peers in reading and maths, which is significant as early progress in school is critical to ongoing academic success."

Mr Scheffler said children with ADHD who are left untreated do poorly in school, with higher drop-out rates and more substance abuse, arrests and social isolation.

"They're labelled as bad kids," he said. "Drugs are part of the answer. But we need parent involvement, understanding what this is and how to work with the kid. We need the school to be involved."