Behavioral and Pharmacological Treatment of Children with ADHD

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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Behavioral and Pharmacological treatment of children with ADHD Every morning before the child leaves for school the parents must make so many decisions, what clothes should my child wear, what should I pack for lunch, and will my child be safe at school? What if each morning the parents woke up and had to decide if their child had taken all the proper medications for the day? Is it possible that children are being over medicated in the school system so much so that discipline and behavior are becoming less of an issue? More specifically, kids are being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) now more than ever before (___________). With this diagnosis, it must raise the question, what are the risks and benefits associated with behavioral and pharmacological therapy when treating children with ADHD? This is such an important question for researches to ask because if there are more effective ways to treat children with ADHD besides medication alone, then why are doctors prescribing more medications on a daily basis? The purpose of this literature review is to examine the current literature on the risks and benefits of both behavioral and pharmacological therapy when treating children with ADHD. This question is at the forefront of the argument with parents and doctors who continue to try out different medications on their children. Parents want to know what is the most effective way to treat their child with ADHD. “ADHD in the U.S. estimated the annual cost of ADHD to be between $12,005 and $17, 458 for each diagnosed child, with an average yearly cost of $42.5 billion dollars to society as a whole” (Kovshoff) There is so much research on this topic, but much... ... middle of paper ... ...ective medication creates a window of opportunity for social and other influences to be effectively accepted. Parents can choose to treat the symptoms with medications alone, behavioral therapy, or both. In this literature review we have examined the risks and benefits associated with pharmacological and behavioral therapy in children with ADHD. We found for it to be true that both medications and behavioral therapy can be used effectively, but one more often produces adverse effects. We found that the long-term benefits of pharmacological treatment of ADHD extend beyond the relief of the associated symptoms. These benefits should be traded off against the (low) financial costs of the drugs combined with the potential detrimental short- and long-term side effects of medication such as insomnia, decreased appetite and increased blood pressure.

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