Debate: Are Stimulant Medications for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Effective in the Long Term? (For).

Abstract

There is no simple answer to this question. It is, however, clear that the long-term effectiveness of ADHD medications, as currently used in routine clinical practice, is not as good as would be expected based on our knowledge of their short-term efficacy. I will, however, argue that this is a consequence of the way that they are currently used rather than an inherent property of the medications themselves. My current clinical mantra that ADHD is easy to treat, but hard to treat well reminds us that it is not enough just to write the prescription we need to ensure that we give the right treatment, in the right dose and formulation, to the right person at the right time, and to do this we need to work hard to assess outcomes.