Kids Awareness Series

The question as a parent of a child with ADHD is often, “should I give my child medication or not?” Parents are often at odds with themself and with their spouse on the decision of whether or not to give their child medications because of the potential side effects. In addition, they often hear other parents saying negative things about the medications. As a therapist, what I often hear from parents is, “I don’t want anything that will make my child like a zombie.” To make the decision to medicate your child is often a difficult one and you and your doctor will have to consider many factors in making this important decision.
As a parent, if you decide to medicate your ADHD child then you need to monitor your child’s reactions to the medications and if their are adverse effects then the trial of medication should be stopped immediately.

Stimulant medications are the most popular medications used with children with ADHD, especially when your child’s inattention or impulsivity/hyperactivity is interfering with their school work or in their ability to get along with other children due to behavioral problems. Also to consider as a parent are alternative treatments such as individual counseling for your child as well as holistic treatments such as Attend, Focus or Omega 3 with Fish Oil, which are considered alternative treatments. Your child’s dietary intake should also be considered as well as if they are getting enough exercise. The food your child eats really does make a difference in their behaviors.

There is no way to predict which children will respond well to ADHD medications and which children will not, which is unfortunate because children often have to be tried on a number of treatments before something finally works for them. The most helpful criterion to date in predicting which children will respond to medications is the degree or severity of the child’s hyperactivity or inattention. The more severe these symptoms, the better a child will respond to the medications. However, a diagnosis of ADHD does NOT mean that a child should automatically receive ADHD medications. There are other things to consider before medications are used and these need to be discussed with your child’s doctor. For example, the age of the child should be considered, have other approaches been used, have all physical or developmental disorders been ruled out, can the medications be properly supervised by you as a parent, is the child’s behavior severe enough to warrant the use of medications, and lastly how does your child typically respond to medications.

If all of these things have been taken into account and have been discussed with your child’s doctor, then medication for ADHD can be considered. ADHD medications should never be used as a first resort but as a last resort when all other treatment approaches and factors have been looked at. If a parent makes the decision to medicate their ADHD child, then medications should be monitored regularly by their child’s physician. The decision to medicate your child is a difficult one and all factors need to be considered before making the choice to give your child ADHD medications.