What is the optimal treatment for ADHD?

What is the optimal treatment for ADHD?

Stimulants are the best-known and most widely used ADHD medications. Between 70-80% of children with ADHD have fewer ADHD symptoms when taking these fast-acting medications. Nonstimulants were approved for the treatment of ADHD in 2003.

What theory is used for ADHD?

The Executive Dysfunction theory of ADHD suggests that the symptoms of ADHD arise wholly as a result of a reduction in executive control, which is caused by abnormalities in the structure, function and biochemical operation of the fronto-parietal and fronto-striatal neural networks (for a recent meta-analysis of …

How do you stimulate a child with ADHD?

7 Ways to Calm Your Child with ADHD

  1. Follow instructions.
  2. Be consistent with your parenting.
  3. Break up homework with activities.
  4. Form the behavior.
  5. Allow them to fidget.
  6. Let your child play before taking on big tasks.
  7. Help them practice relaxation.

Why are stimulants used to treat ADHD viewed as controversial?

The prescription of stimulant medication for children with ADHD has been one of the most controversial issues in child psychiatry. Some sectors have demonized stimulant medication, charging that parents and physicians are being grossly negligent in prescribing such “dangerous” drugs.

Is ADHD neurological or psychological?

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurological disorder that affects a person’s ability to control their behavior and pay attention to tasks.

Why are children with ADHD given stimulants?

​For most children, stimulant medications are a safe and effective way to relieve ADHD symptoms. As glasses help people focus their eyes to see, these medications help children with ADHD focus their thoughts better and ignore distractions. This makes them more able to pay attention and control their behavior.

What does the ADHD brain want?

ADHD brains, distracted from low-reward tasks, seek stimulation that increases dopamine more quickly and intensely. Larger, more immediate, and/or repeated rewards are needed to sustain motivation. Ultimately, the pursuit of those pleasurable rewards can become a potent form of self-medication.

What is the ADHD checklist called?

One of these tools is called an ADHD rating scale. Used for more than 50 years, rating scales are usually checklists or questionnaires. They measure symptoms of ADHD, like problems with attention or impulse control.

Does group-by-stimulation explain the behaviour of hyperactive children?

The behaviour of the child during the waiting period was videotaped and later coded by two naive observers. In line with theories that emphasise the stimulation-seeking function of hyperactive behaviours, such as the optimal stimulation account and the delay aversion theory, a group by stimulation effect was hypothesised.

Why are ADHD brains so motivated?

So ADHD brains are highly motivated — to find that unique balance of stimulation that enables optimal functioning. Whether ADHD brains overreact or underreact to the stimuli at hand, they rarely engage with moderate stimulation that falls “in the gray area.”

Do ADHD brains adapt to stimulants?

Regardless of fluctuations in stimulation, those brains can operate with reasonably sustained focus, fueled by the dependable coordination of neurotransmitters. They can self-regulate with relative confidence, and exercise an adequate amount of control over their behavior. ADHD brains do not adapt as easily; they have their own rules of engagement.

Do ADHD brains overreact or underreact to stimuli?

Whether ADHD brains overreact or underreact to the stimuli at hand, they rarely engage with moderate stimulation that falls “in the gray area.” ADHD brains tend to respond at one end of the continuum in most but not all areas of functioning.