Ritalin is a mild stimulant with amphetamine-like effects. With their seemingly energizing effects on the body, how can Ritalin and the amphetamines calm overactive children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Before attempting to answer this question, let’s briefly look at ADHD, for which the literature presents widely divergent perspectives.
ADHD, the most commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder in children, is a chronic disorder that may continue into adulthood. The hyperkinetic child is typically overactive, has a poor or short attention span, has problems completing tasks, and is impulsive. Roughly 5–10 percent of school-age children in the five- to eleven-year-old range are diagnosed with ADHD, and it is more than twice as common in boys as in girls. No single cause is responsible for ADHD, but genetic factors may play an important role. Other postulated causes include such environmental factors as exposure to lead, maternal smoking and alcohol use, brain damage by injury or infection, and food additives.
Methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta, Metadate), detroamphetamine (Dexedrine), and amphetamine salts (Adderall) are some of the drugs used to treat ADHD. Symptoms improve in 70-80 percent of children and in 70 percent of adults taking these drugs. Benefits derived from these drugs include a reduction in impulsive behavior and interrupting, greater goal-directed behavior, and improved attention.
How Ritalin and the amphetamines work in ADHD is not clear, although they are known to increase brain levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that is associated with attention. One of many complex (and confusing) explanations proposes that children with ADHD have a dopamine deficiency and that these drugs increase attention by increasing dopamine.
Although Ritalin and related amphetamines have abuse potential in adults, when used to treat ADHD in children, they are not thought to be habit-forming or to lead to drug abuse in adults. These drugs may suppress or delay the growth of some children, but studies suggest that the effect is only temporary.
ADHD is often observed in highly creative and talented individuals. A very partial and diverse list of people reported to have ADHD includes Ludwig van Beethoven, Tom Cruise, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Bill Gates, Michael Jordan, Abraham Lincoln, John Lennon, Michael Phelps, and Steven Spielberg.
SEE ALSO Neurotransmitters (1920), Amphetamine (1932).
Children with ADHD exhibit one or more of the following symptoms: inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior. While Ritalin and related drugs cannot cure ADHD, they can produce a significant calming effect on these children.