Medication and Therapy to Treat Adhd

Medication and Therapy to Treat ADHD: Is This the Best Option?

According to the Center for Disease Control’s website “approximately 9.5% or 5.4 million children 4-17 years of age have ever been diagnosed with ADHD, as of 2007.” (Division of Human Development, N.C., 2011) Most of society has heard of ADHD but may not know what that acronym stands for. ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and it is a disorder that causes depression, stress, familial problems, and many other things in children across America and the world. Parents of children that have ADHD are not only dealing with a child’s behaviors, but also the decision of how to best treat them and their disorder. Parents that choose to use medication and therapy as a treatment plan for their children have seen significant positive changes and, with the support of teachers, doctors, and therapists, have been able to enrich the lives of their troubled children.
It is important to understand what attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is before moving further with this discussion. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is found primarily in young people, but the disorder can carry over into adulthood as well. Studies that have been done on patients with ADHD show that a diagnosis is more common in children than adults. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of children being diagnosed with ADHD than ever before in history. There are several variations of ADHD that affect children. These are: Combined Type (Inattentive/Hyperactive/Impulsive), Hyperactive/Impulsive Type, and Inattentive Type (webMD.com, 2011). The first of these, Combined Type, is the most commonly diagnosed of the three. There are several things that doctors look for when diagnosing a child with ADHD such as difficulty paying attention, hyperactivity, impulsive behaviors, low self-esteem, difficulty in relationships with peers, and poor performance in school. Because there are different problems with each case, there are also different treatment options available for parents and doctors to try.
It’s important to know that ADHD is not a curable disorder, but it can be managed in many different ways. The most common way to treat ADHD is through a combination of medication and therapy. The first half of this treatment plan is the medication. There are several different medications that will treat specific pieces of the child’s symptoms and by finding the appropriate combination of medications a parent can have the best results for their child. There are side effects with these medications and it is important for parents to consider whether dealing with the side effects of the medications or the behaviors is best. The second half of this treatment option is to include regular visits with a therapist to address concerns the child or parents may have, as well as to allow for modification as necessary. By keeping in touch with doctors and therapists, parents can have the best support team possible, they can try different methods if things don’t seem to be working, and they can discuss improvements and adjustments that can be made to lower the amount of medications that their child must take.
There are also alternative treatment options available that have recently become more widely used. Some of these treatments are: yoga and meditation, changing the diet of the child, using herbal supplements, and even acupuncture (MayoClinic.com, 2011). The purpose of yoga and meditation is to provide some physical release of stress on the child, while incorporating meditation to relax the child and allow them to shut down and reload each day. A more widely used alternative method of treatment is changing the diet of the child. Some research has been done to show a connection between certain foods and the behaviors of children with ADHD, although none have shown a clear effect on the child. It’s common for people to think that caffeine would affect the child negatively; however studies have shown that giving a child with ADHD a caffeine supplement has decreased their behaviors (webMD.com, 2012). Although researchers continue to search for more alternative options for parents and children with ADHD, the results of alternative treatment options do not compare to the results that are achieved from medication and therapy.
After discussing the treatment options with a doctor, the next step is to decide if, as a parent, you want to medicate your child or not. Parents have struggled with this decision and some have even been asked to take part in a study done to compare the decision making processes of parents faced with this situation (Jackson & Peters, 2008). In this study, parents, specifically mothers, gave evidence to researchers about the struggles they had to overcome in making this decision. Some chose to look at alternative options, others considered the social effects that medicating their child would bring, and still others thought and shared with researchers the reality that their child would be labeled as “the naughty kid” by their peers. The decision to medicate a child is a tough one to make for any parent and all aspects of the decision must be weighed before choosing which way to go.
There are many pieces to consider that go along with medication and therapy. Parents will undoubtedly raise questions such as: Do we have the insurance coverage? Can we afford the doctor visits? Will this take time away from our other children or obligations? And although these are valid concerns that do play a part in the decision, a parent will ultimately have to decide what is best for the child that has the disorder and use any treatment options available to help them. When trying different medications, children with ADHD go through long periods of ups and downs before finding a medication that works. These periods have an effect on the entire family, school, social relationships, and especially the child enduring the changes. The best way to minimize these effects is to choose to do these medication changes during the summer months when the child does not have school to deal with too (Manos, 2008). Another benefit to using medication and therapy as a treatment option is that parents can have a sense of unity with a team of people that are focused on the treatment of their child. The team is comprised of teachers, doctors, therapists, the child, and the parents. When a parent is faced with making this decision, it is important to have support and to know that together the team can make the best decisions regarding the child’s care. In many cities, there are parenting classes specifically for parents of children with ADHD and these can be a source of education as well as a source of support because the parent can network with other parents dealing with the same situations. There is also a variety of books out there for sale or at the local library that cover all the aspects of ADHD from diagnosis to treatment at all age levels. These can be a great source of information for parents that want to do their own research into the disorder. With all this help out there, parents need to remember that they are always in control of what their child is enduring and they are the leader of all decisions being made regarding their child. If something doesn’t seem right, speak up and change it. As a child with ADHD grows, they will surely adapt and change, and many things that they dealt with as a young child may no longer be present as a teenager. The importance of a team grows during these changes because they can help to adapt the treatment plan to fit the changes of the child.
There are many steps to the process of finding out what your child is dealing with. The most important is getting a diagnosis, then figuring out what works and what doesn’t, educating yourself on how to handle each situation, and finally finding a balance between the disorder and the rest of life. Although it may seem like a long and tiresome battle, parents and children with ADHD can find relief, they can find support, and most importantly, they can make a solid attempt at leading a normal life by using a treatment plan of medication and therapy.
Bibliography
ADHD: Just a label for naughty children? (2011, June 19). Mail on Sunday. p. 29.
Jackson, D., & Peters, K. (2008). Use of drug therapy in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): maternal views and experiences. Journal Of Clinical Nursing, 17(20), 2725-2732. Retreived from Ebscohost
Manos, M. J. (2008, September). Happy New School Year: Prepare patients with ADHD to return to school after summer vacation. Infectious Diseases in Children. p. 51. Retreived from Ebscohost.
Mayo Clinic. (2011). ADHD in Children. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/adhd/DS00275/METHOD=print
Rowles, B. M., & Findling, R. L. (2010). Review of pharmacotherapy options for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and ADHD-like symptoms in children and adolescents with developmental disorders. Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 16(3), 273-282. doi:10.1002/ddrr.120
WebMD. (2012). ADHD Alternative Treatments.
http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/adhd-alternative-treatments

Bibliography: ADHD: Just a label for naughty children? (2011, June 19). Mail on Sunday. p. 29. Jackson, D., & Peters, K. (2008). Use of drug therapy in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): maternal views and experiences. Journal Of Clinical Nursing, 17(20), 2725-2732. Retreived from Ebscohost Manos, M. J. (2008, September). Happy New School Year: Prepare patients with ADHD to return to school after summer vacation. Infectious Diseases in Children. p. 51. Retreived from Ebscohost. Mayo Clinic. (2011). ADHD in Children. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/adhd/DS00275/METHOD=print Rowles, B. M., & Findling, R. L. (2010). Review of pharmacotherapy options for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and ADHD-like symptoms in children and adolescents with developmental disorders. Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 16(3), 273-282. doi:10.1002/ddrr.120 WebMD. (2012). ADHD Alternative Treatments. http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/adhd-alternative-treatments