ADHD & Meds vs. Behavioural therapy
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Hello there, I’m looking for help from the broader community. I have a friend who’s brother (now 20 years old) has had a history of ADHD-like behaviour (he was never formally diagnosed). It was suggested, when he was a child, that he take medication. His mother, declined the medication, saying medication will not help and there is nothing wrong with the child. He continued to get into trouble at school (fighting, no focus, defiance), eventually ending up in a young offender institution from 13 – 18 years old. After being out for a year, he got into more trouble and is now await trial for attempted murder. It’s a very tragic and complex situation.
My question to the community is, what would have been a way to convince my friends mother to consider putting her son on the medication? Would it have helped?
I appreciate everyone’s perspective.
Thank you!!
Sarah
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Hi Sarah!
That’s a sad story that’s, unfortunately, all too common in the ADHD community. There are statistics that reveal that a high percentage of the prison population has undiagnosed or untreated ADHD, and/or other mental health disorders.
Acknowledging the struggle of ADHD and offering some sort of treatment could have helped. There’s a study that showed that ADHD medication reduced the likelihood of committing a crime.
However, the what-if game is unproductive and the truth is no one will ever know if his story could have turned out different with ADHD treatment and more parental understanding and support.
Penny
ADDitude Community Moderator, Author & Mentor on Parenting ADHD, Mom to teen w/ ADHD, LDs, and autism
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