Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder who are treated score higher on math and reading tests than those with the condition who do not get drugs, according to a study to appear in the May issue of the journal Pediatrics.

 

The study tracked 594 children with ADHD from kindergarten through fifth grade. Sixty percent of them were prescribed drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall for their condition. The study showed that these kids performed better on standardized tests than peers with ADHD who were not given medication. More exactly, A.D.H.D. medication was associated with gains in math scores that equated to about a fifth of a school year in extra learning. In reading, the gains were even greater, equating to progress of about a third of a school year.

 

“I think the findings are important because this is the first time that we’ve had objective educational performance measures, to look at whether kids who are taking medications for A.D.H.D. compared to kids who are not, that actually show that they are doing better,” said Richard Scheffler, distinguished professor of health economics and public policy at the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Public Health.

 

ADHD is one of the most well-recognized childhood developmental problems. The condition is characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. According to government estimates, ADHD affects more than 4.4 million children. The bad news is that ADHD symptoms continue in adulthood for about 60 percent of children with ADHD, thus having repercussions on adults’ daily activity. According to a study released by researchers at the Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction, lack of concentration in adults with ADHD costs each of them 22.1 days of “role performance” per year including 8.7 extra days of absence.