Attention Deficit–Hyperactivity Disorder and its Treatment

The recent article in NYT online about treatment of ADD with Adderall and other stimulants had a followup yesterday with a discussion of treatment problems.  It seems that, with ADD being the second most common chronic childhood disorder after asthma, treatment is controversial.  Almost all doctors say give stimulants.  The real experts say that behavioral-emotional treatment is better and gives more long term lasting results than drug treatment.

Unfortunately, most children are getting drug treatment and little else because the rational-behavioral therapy appears to be more expensive and time consuming.  This exclusively pharmaceutical treatment of a rather common disorder is a source of profit for drug companies and contributes to the excessive expense of medical treatment in general.   It is likely that an approach that involves behavioral treatment, with a specially trained group of pediatric psychotherapists to  provide the therapy, would save considerable money.  The key is to train the therapists to do the therapy, and provide an adequate number of therapists with subsidies or whatever is needed.  Combined therapy, with drugs for the most severely affected children, may maximize cost-effectiveness.

Read the Times article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/30/health/adhd-experts-re-evaluate-studys-zeal-for-drugs.html?src=un&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjson8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Fhealth%2Findex.jsonp