If ADHD medications like Ritalin are chemically similar to substances like cocaine and amphetamines, does that mean they are addictive? Technically, the answer is no.  Although both Ritalin (methylphenidate) and cocaine stimulate the production of dopamine, Ritalin takes longer to metabolize while cocaine works instantly. For pleasure-seeking recreational users who want the immediate gratification of stimulants, this makes all the difference in the world.  The effects of cocaine wear off faster than Ritalin, causing the user to crave for more drugs to sustain the high. Based on this major difference, experts conclude that ADHD medications metabolize too slowly to be habit-forming – as long as kids and teens take their pills as instructed by their doctor, that is.

But as it turns out, not all teens that use ADHD medications take them as prescribed.  In fact, many of them might not even have ADHD. According to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics, the number of teens who overdosed on ADHD medications rose 76% over the last seven years.

Researchers looked at data gathered by American Association of Poison Control Centers, which was based on calls from 13- to 19-year olds between the years 1998 and 2005. Throughout this time, nationwide calls for ADHD drug misuse increased from 330 to 581 yearly.  Around 42% of affected teens experienced moderate to severe side-effects such as aggression, seizures, personality changes, and psychosis. Most had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment, while four of these cases resulted in death.

Indeed, abuse of Ritalin and other prescription drugs is a phenomenon college guidance counselors struggle with every year.  From the point of view of a teenager, the short-term side effects of ADHD medications are very desirable. Not only does Ritalin suppress appetite and cause weight loss; the drugs help students stay up all night while they frantically finish papers or study for exams. It’s common practice for teens to crush the tablets and snort the medicine as though it were cocaine; this makes the methylphenidate metabolize faster. Unfortunately, ADHD medications do have a strong potential for abuse if they are taken this way.

The study’s authors did not have information as to whether the abusers were diagnosed with ADHD or not. However, anecdotal evidence and previous research suggests that many of these teens did not have ADHD. According to a study by the University of Miami, students who were prescribed ADHD medications were least enthusiastic about taking them. On the other hand, non-prescribed students were more eager to use these drugs, which can be obtained from ADHD peers who are more than happy to sell or trade extra pills. It’s not uncommon for teens without ADHD to fake the symptoms so that they can obtain a prescription from a doctor.

Even though there are only hundreds of overdose cases compared to the millions of children who take Ritalin and other stimulants, the rising numbers are consistent and reflect a major increase in teenage substance abuse problems.  If your child or teen is taking medications for ADHD, make sure that you’re aware of where the pills are stored, how many there are, and who has access to these drugs.  Better yet, keep them in a place where your child can’t sneak them out.  Watch out for signs of abuse, which include difficulty focusing and increased agitation. You may also want to consider trying a non-medical approach to manage ADHD, especially if your child no longer shows improvements after years of taking medication.

Summer is no doubt a favorite season for kids of all ages.  There’s no school, there’s no homework, and there’s nothing to do but relax and have fun. You probably think that summer also means a break for you – after all, you don’t have to supervise the kid’s study hour or wake up early in the morning to help them get ready for school. Sounds like a good time to relax and take it easy! That is, until your ADHD kids start complaining that they’re bored or find potentially dangerous ways to amuse themselves.

During the school year, the routine of waking up, getting ready for school, and coming home to do homework keeps many ADHD symptoms in check.  But as soon as the kids are faced with long days of doing nothing, the hyperactive, impulsive, and inquisitive nature of children with ADHD can pose a few problems.  Since ADHD kids require constant stimulation to keep themselves entertained, your child might get bored easily and often.  He or she will probably be more demanding of your time and attention. And since it’s not possible for you to keep your child entertained 24/7, he or she may get into trouble for finding new ways to stay amused. For instance, there was this 8-year-old boy who tried to cut a large tree in the backyard with a hand saw because he wanted to find out the tree’s age.  Fortunately, he was unharmed, but his parents quickly realized that the rest of the summer cannot go by without some sort of plan.

Here are a few tips that will help you plan the perfect summer with your ADHD child.

Provide structure

Since children with ADHD cannot be left to their own devices, it’s important for them to have some sort of structure during the summer months.  Sit down with your kids and create a calendar filled with a healthy mix of summer activities, like family vacations, picnics at the park, or weekend trips to the museum or zoo.  For young children, you might want to talk to other parents and arrange play dates.

Of course, summer should allow time for relaxation, so try not to over-schedule activities. A day trip to the beach sounds great, but three or four consecutive days of activities may feel hectic and rushed.  Allow your children to experience some downtime, where he or she can do anything – or nothing at all. Just make sure that you or another adult will be around to keep an eye on them.

Consider summer camp

You can also send your children to a summer camp or day camp. Not only does summer camp have a similar structure to school, but it provides great opportunities for learning and friendships. The question is – should you send your child to a camp that caters specifically to kids with ADHD, or will your child be better off at a “regular” camp?  Some children, especially those with predominantly inattentive symptoms (i.e. daydreaming or being easily distracted), can easily get along with other children in non-academic settings.  If this sounds like your child, he or she can attend a mainstream camp and have no difficulty socializing with “normal” children.  On the other hand, children who are too hyperactive or have marked social difficulties will do better at specialized camps. These camps will not only do a great job of keeping your child entertained, but they will also teach the social skills required in forming and maintaining friendships.

If a summer camp is beyond your budget, consider summer lessons in art, music, or sports.  What’s important is that your child stays busy, happy, and creative throughout the summer.

Maintain bedtime and other household routines

Sometimes, having a fun-filled summer will keep your child from getting a good night’s sleep.  It doesn’t help that children with ADHD often have difficulties going to sleep or staying asleep.  As a result, they become tired and cranky the next day.  On week days, maintain the same bedtime you impose during the school year, even if your child doesn’t have to wake up early the next day.  This will prevent your child from engaging in activities (ie, playing video games) that make it harder for them to settle down and fall asleep.  Encourage some downtime an hour before bedtime.  Read your child a book, watch a relaxing movie, or tell stories to help your child transition into the sleep phase.

Just because it’s summer, it doesn’t mean your child is exempt from household chores. If anything, helping out with the chores is a great way to keep your child occupied.  Aside from making sure your child does his regular share of the household work, you can also ask your child to help out with extra tasks like spring cleaning or gardening. Make sure to provide small rewards to keep your child motivated.

Most parents are at a loss as to how to discipline their ADHD child. Your warnings go unheeded, the house rules are ignored, and threats seem to make no difference to their behavior. Managing the behavior of kids with ADHD definitely has its challenges, especially since traditional parenting skills do not usually work on them. But with a little help from experts on ADHD, you might become more effective at helping your child overcome ADHD while keeping their behavior in check. Below are five books that offer handy hints on parenting kids with ADHD.

Parenting Children with ADHD: Lessons That Medicine Cannot Teach

This book offers easily digestible information on how nutrition and certain therapies can improve the concentration, attention span, and behavior control of kids with ADHD. Although the book sometimes advocates the use of medication to treat ADHD, it also offers practical advice on behavior management. The author provides a well-rounded approach to teaching essential life skills, improving school success, and building compassion for others. There are also questionnaires, checklists, and homework at the end of every chapter for easy application.

From Chaos to Calm: Effective Parenting for Challenging Children with ADHD and other Behavior Problems

This book was written from three points of view – a parent, a therapist, and a child – to provide readers with the most helpful guide on raising an ADHD child. If you want to learn how to be a pro-active parent who provides consistent and constructive discipline, this book is for you. The ideas presented in the book can be applied to very young kids up to teenagers.

The ADHD Parenting Handbook: Practical Advice for Parents from Parents

Written from the point of view of parents, this book provides guidelines, advice, and suggestions to help parents interact and help their children. While the early chapters deals with general information on ADHD, the bulk of the book focuses on managing and preventing bad behavior, providing a healthy and stable environment for the child, and working with teachers to overcome learning problems. Counselors, teachers, and pediatricians have also contributed helpful recommendations and parenting tips.

School Success for Kids with ADHD

Who doesn’t want their children to make the most out of their education? Children with ADHD are very bright and clever, but the traditional school system is incapable of honing these skills. This book discusses ADHD in the context of how the symptoms appear in school and strategies you can use to help your child overcome the setbacks of inattention and turn them into strengths. The advice included can be applied to kids as young as the middle school years up until college and beyond.

How To Reach And Teach Children with ADD/ADHD: Practical Techniques, Strategies, and Interventions

This easy-to-read book is a user-friendly guide for teachers and parents who want to help ADHD kids succeed in school and life. There are research-based tips on how to manage ADHD in different academic areas like writing, reading, and math, as well as detailed advice on teaching your child impulse control and study skills.

Australian epidemiologist Dr. Michael Abramson discovered that text messaging can rewire young people’s brains and train them to become careless. One of the main culprits is a feature called predictive text messaging, where the phone’s software guesses the word the user wants to type and completes it with a keystrokes. It’s fast and efficient, but horribly inaccurate. Experts believe that a developing child’s brain can be vulnerable to this sort of carelessness with frequent use.

In a pioneering study, Dr. Abramson and his colleagues from Monash University in Melbourne examined the cellphone use of 317 non-ADHD adolescents aged 11 to 14. 25% made more than 15 calls a week, and another 25% sent over 20 text message weekly. This data was then compared these to their scores in a battery of computer tests. He observed that students who used text mobile phones accomplished the tests faster, but their answers were considerably inaccurate.

The findings of this study seem to support the observations of cognitive scientist Laura-Ann Petitto from the University of Toronto. She points out that adolescents today are more vulnerable to behaviors promoted by cellphone use because their dependence on these gadgets occurs at a critical age of brain development. During the pre-adolescent and early teen years, the mind is still open, changing, and growing. When confronted by a technology that demands speediness and automatic behavior, it increases the likelihood of making careless errors and impulsive responses.

Dr. Petitto adds that text messaging in particular addresses a brain function that is central to human beings – language. Although text messaging is visual, it also makes use of language, and features like predictive messaging may stunt the language growth of adolescents. Researchers observe that heavy cellphone use makes young people likely to commit spelling errors in everyday words like “occurrence”. They are also more likely to be more tolerant of grammatical mistakes and incorporate these into their lexicon.

Fortunately, young minds are also very resilient. Dr. Pettito says that the bad habits instilled by text messaging can easily be reversed. But first, you need to pry the child away from the cellphone.

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