Anxiety, depression, learning disabilities, and conduct disorders are not directly affected by the drugs. Although children may calm down, concentrate better, and behave less disruptively while taking a stimulant, there is no solid evidence that their schoolwork improves in the long run or that the adult outcome is affected. The original symptoms usually return in full force when a child stops taking the drug. Far from becoming addicted to stimulants, children and especially adolescents with ADD are often reluctant to take the drugs at all. They may be embarrassed about having to see a school nurse at noon to take a pill and humiliated by the implication that they cannot control their own behavior.
Adolescents dislike the feeling of being different, defective, or dependent.
Children should not be given drugs just because they are noisy or unruly, and other treatable conditions should be excluded. Even if drugs are necessary, they should not be used to the exclusion of other treatments or as an excuse for not trying to find and eliminate the causes of specific symptoms in specific circumstances. ADD is not a simple problem with a single solution. Drugs cannot give people skills they have never developed or fully relieve the resulting frustration and shame. Possibly the most important use of drugs is to create a space for other treatments to work.