By Interactive Metronome - January 8, 2015
Breaking News: ADHD drugs greatly decrease academic performance in children, study finds
In a recent edition of the Journal of Health Economics, researchers looked at the effects of stimulant-based medications like Ritalin and Adderall on the long-term academic performance of children. Although these medications are designed to help keep children calm and focused, they actually appear to negatively affect the ability to sustain attention and excel in a formal academic environment. Not only did children on ADHD medication fare worse on testing, but they were more likely to have repeated a grade, leading some to wonder if the use of stimulant medications may actually be causing or obscuring other learning impairments.
Psychologists L. Alan. Sroufe is even quoted in the article as saying, “To date, no study has found any long-term benefit of attention-deficit medication on academic performance, peer relationships or behavior problems, the very things we would most want to improve…Putting children on drugs does nothing to change the conditions that derail their development in the first place.”
While the study did not compare performance to non-medication options for treating ADHD, there is a wealth of evidence that children can effectively overome many ADHD symptoms through focused training and effective support. That is what makes IM training so special. Through guided, Provider-supervised training, users can work on sustained attention, executive function, processing speed, impulse control and sensory integration. By developing the critical skill of Neurotiming®, IM training can help your brain communicate more effectively and efficiently. IM training uses a combination of cognitive tasks and motor exercises to help synchronize the brain and body, thereby working to reinforce our natural timing and rhythm, or Neurotiming®.
Why is that important? When you brain communicates more efficiently, it frees up cognitive capital that can be used for other tasks, like concentrating, reading, balance, impulse control, etc. Improving the brain’s natural timing and rhythm can lead to better performance in the classroom, the boardroom and on the court!
Read more on treating ADHD without medication in our blogs “DARE…to keep your kids off ADHD drugs?” and “Video Games May Help Your Child”.
