Study shows ADHD drugs don’t help test scores or grades

Sept. 12, 2014 - PRLog -- October is National ADHD Awareness Month and science recently released a study that found that ADHD drugs don’t help achievement scores or grade point averages.

The study, which looked at nearly 4,000 students*, found that boys who took medications for ADHD, actually performed worse in school than boys with similar symptoms who took no stimulant medications. Likewise, girls who took ADHD drugs reported more emotional problems.

The same is true for intelligence; there seems to be no significant cognitive benefit from stimulant medications on IQ tests.

“This is significant news,” said Mia Tisher, executive director of LearningRx Chicago-Naperville. Until this latest study, few had argued that ADHD drugs led to worse academic performance. But there had been plenty of arguments against stimulant medications. These include patients who claim to be “out of it” and side effects ranging from insomnia, seizures, weight loss and sudden high blood pressure to aggression, behavior changes and twitching. There’s also the risk of dependency and claims of abuse, especially on college campuses.

“There are solutions to ADHD without medications,” said Tischer, who reports that a number of students who graduated from LearningRx Chicago-Naperville report going off drugs following successful brain training.

One of the solutions to permanently eliminate the cause, symptoms, diagnosis and label of ADHD is to strengthen the attention skills with personal brain training. (The leading one-on-one brain training company in the U.S. reports that 40 percent of clients on ADHD drugs report being able to stop or reduce medication before the end of the program.) Also known as cognitive skills training, one-on-one brain training harnesses the brain’s plasticity to build new, faster or more efficient connections between neurons. It’s the same “brain rehabilitation” used for stroke victims, seniors with age-related cognitive decline and dementia, and those with traumatic brain injuries.

Unlike computer “brain games,” personal brain training is customized for each person based on the results of a cognitive skills assessment. And unlike tutoring, which focuses on specific subjects, like history or math, cognitive skills training strengthens the fundamental brain skills needed to excel in ANY subject. “Personal brain training is a natural, permanent solution to ADHD,” she said.

* SOURCE: July 8, 2013 Wall Street Journal –– “ADHD Drugs Don’t Boost Kids’ Grades”

For more information, please visit www.learningrx.com/chicago-naperville