An ADHD Medication Summer Vacation?

Posted by Susan Epstein on July 11th, 2011 at 01:50pm

by Mindy Mazur

Five Questions your Family should Consider

Before I start, I want to acknowledge that there are many different opinions about medicating your child diagnosed with ADHD. That said, I will leave that discussion for another time. Instead, this article is about the families that have already made the decision to medicate their child and have witnessed very positive results, and have decided on a summer medication vacation.

One of the families I’m working with recently informed me that they were taking their eight year old son Max (diagnosed with ADHD) off his stimulant medication.  A friend suggested it so that he could gain weight, grow and catch up with his peers (many children are not gaining weight and have difficulty sleeping on stimulant medication). Actually, there’s little evidence that ADHD medicines have permanent impact on ultimate growth. Some children who use stimulants may not grow as quickly as their peers, but they often catch up eventually. If you are concerned about other side effects your child is experiencing, meet with his psychiatrist and consider a dosage adjustment or medication change before stopping your child’s medicine for the summer.

I don’t usually tell families what they should do rather I make suggestions and offer information so they are able to make informed decisions. But I couldn’t hold back.  I told them it was a mistake and that they shouldn’t do it. This is because their son needs his medication to function in his world whether it‘s in school, camp, or just playing with friends. Max’s most recent evaluations both reported the following:

• School difficulties  are in social/emotional/behavioral areas
• Has a poor delay of gratification
• Impaired adherence to commands to regulate or inhibit behavior in social contexts
• Poor executive functioning
• Difficulty planning and delaying his responses when presented with tasks that are most demanding of that skill

Just think for a moment, would you have your child take an eyeglass vacation?  An insulin vacation?  Or if your child had a chronic medical condition, would you discontinue medication? None of these conditions take a vacation. ADHD doesn’t take one either.

Here are five questions I would suggest that your family should consider before stopping medication:

1. Would his non-medicated ADHD behaviors make it difficult for your child to relate to friends and adults in a group or individually?
2. Would his non-medicated ADHD impact his ability to complete the summer reading assignment (hopefully the IEP includes a modified reading list)?
3. Would his non-medicated ADHD behaviors make home life difficult, such as completing daily activities of life and getting along with other siblings?
4. Would his non-medicated behaviors make it difficult for your family to enjoy (let alone survive) a long trip or vacation?
5. And most importantly…what would make your child’s summer the most positive, fun, and self-esteem building-experience?

The decision to take a medication vacation depends on each individual family. Many children with ADHD can be successful learning, growing, and having fun away from school if their ability to focus and act thoughtfully is consistent all year long.

Tags: ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder, medicating children

Under ADHD