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| Myth #1: ADHD is a "phantom disorder". |
| FACT: The existence of a neurobiological disorder is not an issue to be decided by the media through public debate, but rather as a matter of scientific research. ADHD has been recognized as a disability by the courts, the United States Department of Education, the Office for Civil Rights, the United States Congress, the National Institutes of Health, and all major professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, and educational associations. |
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| Myth #2: Ritalin is like cocaine, and the failure to give youngsters drug holidays from Ritalin causes them to develop psychosis. |
| FACT: Methylphenidate (Ritalin) is a medically prescribed stimulant medication that is chemically different from cocaine. The therapeutic use of methylphenidate does NOT CAUSE addiction or dependence, and does not lead to psychosis. Fifty years of research has repeatedly shown that children, adolesencts, and adults with ADHD safely benefit from treatment with methylphenidate. |
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| Myth #3: No study has ever demonstrated that taking stimulant medications can cause any lasting behavioral or educational benefit to ADHD children. |
| FACT: Research has repeatedly shown that children, adolesencts, and adults with ADHD benefit from therapeutic treatment with stimulant medications, which has been used safely and studied for more than 50 years |
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| Myth #4: ADHD kids are learning to make excuses rather than take responsibility for their actions. |
| FACT: Therapists, educators, and physicians routinely teach children that ADHD is a challenge, not an excuse. Medication corrects their underlying chemical imbalance, giving them a fair chance of facing the challenges of growing up to become productive citizens. |
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| Myth #5: ADHD is basically due to bad parenting and lack of discipline, and all that ADHD children really need is old-fashioned discipline, not any of these phony therapies. |
| FACT: There are still some parent-bashers around who believe the century-old anachronism that child misbehavior is always a moral problem of the "bad child." Under this model, the treatment has been to "beat the devil out of the child." |
| One can't make a child with a biologically-based lack of self-control act better by simply applying discipline alone. |
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| Myth #6: Ritalin is unsafe, causing serious weight loss, mood swings, Tourettes syndrome and sudden unexplained deaths. |
| FACT: Research has repeatedly shown that children, adolescents and adults with ADHD benefit from treatment with Ritalin, which has been safely used for approximately 50 years. There are NO published cases of death from overdoses of Ritalin. The unexplained deaths cited in some articles are from a combination of Ritalin and other drugs, not from Ritalin alone. It is true that many children experience appetite loss, and some moodiness or "rebound effect" when Ritalin wears off. A very small number of children may show some temporary tics, but these do not become permanent Ritalin does not permanently alter growth, and usually does not result in weight loss. Ritalin does not cause Tourette's syndrome, rather many youngsters with Tourette's also have ADHD. In some cases, Ritalin even leads to an improvement of the tics in children who have ADHD and Tourette's. |
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| Myth #7: Teachers around the country routinely push pills on any students who are even a little inattentive or overactive. |
| FACT: When they see students who are struggling to pay attention and concentrate, it is their responsibility to bring this to parents' attentions, so parents can take appropriate action. The majority of teachers do not simply push pills- they provide information so that parents can seek out appropriate diagnostic help. The symptoms of ADHD must be present in school and at home before a diagnosis is made; teachers do not have access to sufficient information about the child's functioning to make a diagnosis of ADHD or for that matter to make any kind of medical diagnosis. |
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| Myth # 8: Efforts by teachers to help children who have attention problems can make more of a difference than medications such as Ritalin. |
| FACT: It would be nice if this where true, but recent scientific evidence from the multi-modal treatment trails sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health suggests it is a myth. We need to realize that if we don't alter the biological factors that affect ADHD, we won't see much change. |
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| Myth #9: CH.A.D.D. is supported by drug companies, and long with many professionals are simply in the field to make a quick buck on ADHD. |
| FACT: Thousands of parents and professionals volunteer countless hours daily to over 600 chapters of CH.A.D.D. around the U.S. and Canada on behalf of individuals with ADHD. CH.A.D.D. supports all known effective treatments for ADHD, including medication, and takes positions against unproven and costly remedies. |
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| Myth #10: It is not possible to accuratetly diagnose ADD or ADHD in children or adults. |
| FACT: Although scientists have not yet developed a single medical test for diagnosing ADHD, clear-cut clinical diagnostic criteria have been developed, researched, and refined over several decades. |
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| Myth #11: Children outgrow ADD or ADHD. |
| FACT: ADHD is not found just in children. ADHD often lasts a lifetime. Over 70% of children diagnosed as having ADHD will continue to manifest the full clinical syndrome adolescence and 15-50% will continue to manifest the full clinical syndrome in adulthood. |
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| Myth #12 Methylphenidate prescriptions in the U.S. have increased 600%. |
| FACT: The production quotas for methylphenidate increased 6-fold; however that DEA production quota is a gross estimate based on a number of factors, including FDA estimates of need, drug inventories at hand, EXPORTS, and industry sales expectations. One cannot conclude that a 6-fold increase in production quotas translates to a 6-fold increase in the use of methylphenidate among U.S. children. The estimated number of children taking methylphenidate for ADD suggested in some media stories fails to note that methylphenidate is also prescribed for adults who have ADHD, people with narcolepsy, and geriatric patients who percieve considerable benefit form it for certain conditions associated with old age such as memory functioning. |
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