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Health & Fitness

ADHD Medications: Big News from the Scientific Community

By Susie McDaniel, DPT and Beth Ardell, MPT*

October is National ADHD Awareness Month, and neuroscientists have released some rather startling news.  A new long-term study of nearly 4,000 students** found that ADHD medications, like RitalinTM and AdderallTM, do not necessarily help achievement scores or grade point averages.  In fact, according to the research, boys who took medications for ADHD actually performed worse in school than boys with similar symptoms who did not take stimulant medications.  Likewise, girls who took ADHD drugs reported more emotional problems.  Similarly, IQ tests reveal that stimulant medications seem to provide no significant cognitive benefits.

Beyond the Label: Understanding the Root Cause
While ADHD exhibits itself in many forms and symptoms across various ages and genders, it comes down to one root cause: weak attention skills.  This does not mean that the person simply doesn’t know how to focus.  In fact, a cognitive skill is a fundamental process that the brain uses to interpret and use new information (such as long-term memory, visual processing, and logic and reasoning), and the strength of a cognitive skill is determined by the structure of one’s brain.  To focus successfully, one needs adequate sustained, selective, and divided attention skills.  In most people with ADHD, all three of these skills are weak.  In fact, cognitive skills testing confirms that most people with ADHD also have deficits in working memory, long-term memory, and processing speed.

Putting Neuroplasticity to Work
Knowing that the root cause of ADHD is a skill weakness caused by the brain’s structure, it becomes clear that a chemical solution (like stimulant medications) can only treat the symptoms temporarily; it cannot cure the disorder.

The only solution to permanently eliminate the cause, symptoms, diagnosis, and label of ADHD is to strengthen the attention skills.   The most effective and successful way to do this is through personal brain training.  Also known as cognitive skills training, one-on-one brain training harnesses the brain’s plasticity to build new, faster or more efficient connections between neurons.  It’s the same “brain rehabilitation” used for stroke victims, seniors with age-related cognitive decline and dementia, and those with traumatic brain injuries.


Unlike computerized brain games, personal brain training is customized for each person based on the results of a cognitive skills assessment.  And unlike tutoring, which focuses on specific subjects like history or math, cognitive skills training strengthens the fundamental brain skills needed to excel in any subject.  Those with ADHD have experienced widespread success with personal brain training.  In fact, the U.S.’ leading one-on-one brain training company reports that not only do more children and adults come to them with ADHD than with any other diagnosis, but that 40% of clients on ADHD drugs report being able to stop or reduce their medication before the end of their training program***.  As one Atlanta parent writes after her son’s brain training program, “Our psychiatrist was very impressed with T.R.’s results.  He noted in particular that the memory skills improved quite significantly, as did the processing speed, and he commented, ‘You got your money’s worth.’  He feels comfortable keeping T.R. at half his medication dose.”  Unlike ADHD drugs, brain training causes structural changes in the brain to permanently increase the attention skills and reduce or eliminate focusing struggles for those with ADHD.


* Susie McDaniel and Beth Ardell are the owners of LearningRx Atlanta-Buckhead and LearningRx Alpharetta-Johns Creek, cognitive skills training centers that work with individuals to improve their learning ability through brain training. Both are mothers who have seen their own children’s cognitive abilities improve greatly through LearningRx programs.  LearningRx offers cognitive skills testing and intense one-on-one brain training that improves academic achievement, boosts self-esteem, and permanently increases IQ.  For more information about these and other learning topics, contact LearningRx Alpharetta-Johns Creek at 770-475-3276 or LearningRx Atlanta-Buckhead at 404-252-7246, or visit www.learningrx.com/greater-atlanta.

**SOURCE: July 9, 2013 Wall Street Journal – “ADHD Drugs Don’t Boost Kids’ Grades”

***SOURCE: www.LearningRx.com

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