# childeren, ADHD and perscription drugs **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 13, 2002, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childeren-adhd-and-perscription-drugs/142577 "2002-12-13T18:58:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childeren-adhd-and-perscription-drugs/142577/21 "2002-12-14T21:49:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kung fu lola \* > \*\*Your idea (emphasizing behavioural therapy) makes alot of sense in light of the symptoms you indicated in the second paragraph. Social graces are learned, and the behaviours you described above really just consist of “being a jerk”. Maybe if we tried harder to train children into not being jerks and teaching them qualities like empathy, courtesy and delay of gratification, we’d see fewer instances of “out-of-control” kids. \*\* If only it was a matter of a lack of teaching. Keep in mind that children may be jerks both because they are jerks, and because they suffer from a condition that makes it harder for them to be mindful of things like social graces, taking turns, that people may not find it funny to make a weird noise in their face. So, trying harder to train children so may be generally effective, but it may also need to be set in the context of a broader therapeutic program for a subset of children. As an aside, I forgot to mention earlier - medication may be employed with greater frequency because it is easier to do so, but also because often times HMOs and other insurance entities refuse to pay for psychological (i.e. therapy other than medication prescription) services for children who are “only” suffering from ADHD. Often times the clinician is put in the position of giving a diagnosis that may not be accurate, but will allow for treatment to occur, or seeing the child go without treatment (unless the parent can pay out of pocket). Yes, the first option is unethical, but I have seen it done. ---
**Author:** ![auliya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/90db22/32.png) [@auliya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auliya)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childeren-adhd-and-perscription-drugs/142577/22 "2002-12-14T23:12:38Z")
> [@](#): > > I’d love to see the support for that. Please just reply with the authors, year and source (journal or book name); I can probably find it. Yes, stimulants (including nicotine and caffeine) have similar effects on all people.\* However, I bristle at the suggestion that it is given to all children to calm them down. One might take from your post that they have a sedative effect ("…decrease motor activity…") Oltmanns, T. F. & Emery, R.E. _Abnormal psychology_ (2001). New Jersey:Prentice Hall. (pp 565-566). ---
**Author:** ![kspharm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ebca7d/32.png) [@kspharm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kspharm)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childeren-adhd-and-perscription-drugs/142577/23 "2002-12-15T03:06:21Z")
Prediction: In five years time, nobody will be talking about Ritalin anymore. There is a drug called **Straterra** , chemical name atomexine (not sure about either spelling), that will supplant Ritalin and Adderall and Concerta as well as their generic forms, in terms of prescriptions filled. This drug is the first in its therapeutic class to be categorized as non-addictive, which means that many pediatricians and family care docs will have no qualms about prescribing this to kids they feel might have ADD/ADHD. As far as the overdiagonising thing goes, it is still controversial and you can find many, many physicians who lean one way or the other so it can’t be answered right now. (IMHO) ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childeren-adhd-and-perscription-drugs/142577/24 "2002-12-15T03:28:38Z")
It’s atomoxetine, and according to a MEDLINE search I just ran, there are a few good studies out there on it. One compared it to methylphenidate (Ritalin) head-to-head, and it was similarly effective. (It was an open-label study, but the drugs appear to be different enough that I doubt you could have blinded it.) I didn’t know about that one. Thanks. Dr. J ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childeren-adhd-and-perscription-drugs/142577/25 "2002-12-15T04:42:56Z")
Don’t expect to see Straterra totally supplant the stimulant class. There is nothing about it that shows that it works any better or with any fewer side-effects than the stimulants. And the stimulants have a long track record of safety. It’s difference is that it works exclusively on the norepinepherine system, while most of the others are mixed dopamine and norepinepherine. The advantage it has to the prescribing docs is that it is not the same level of a controlled substance. The stimulants are a hassle to prescribe: no refills allowed, fresh script written each month, no call in scripts, must be filled within 5 days, etc … This one can be written for more at a time and with refills. This is not a minor thing to our offices. But still not enough to motivate changing someone from something that works and that we know. I think most of us generalists will let the specialists develop some experience with this first. I think it will be third line for the rest of us for a while. And BTW, not to knock cognitive therapy, but stimulants have been shown, in controlled double-blinded studies, to work. Therapy alone has never been shown to be effective. Which is not to say that meds are a panacea: the best approach is to get therapy when appropriate, to get learning disabilities addressed when present, _and_ to medicate when indicated. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/childeren-adhd-and-perscription-drugs/142577.md?page=1)