She usually takes it only for classes or tests, she said. The first day Anne Kueney started taking medication, her teacher called to comment on the difference it made, Gerth said. Without the Ritalin, Anne said she doesn't think about what she's doing. Ritalin and other stimulant medications are very effective in treating attention deficit disorders, Shapiro said. But these drugs also improve concentration in people who do not have attention disorders, so an illicit market has developed for them.
Medication is so effective it is often provided without therapy.
But cognitive-behavioral therapy and other psychological approaches can help children cope with ADHD by providing more structure and are extremely important to overall treatment, Shapiro said. At Groves, Anne is being taught how to learn through alternative approaches. But while some children might be slipping through the cracks of the educational system, others might be slipping through the cracks of the medical system. MisdiagnosisOnly 25 percent of patients referred to pediatric neurology for ADHD are found to actually have the disorder, Shapiro said. Learning disorders, depression and various neurological disorders can all be mistaken for ADHD, Shapiro said.