I have a six year old who is on concerta when she wakes and recently taken off 50mg of tramidol to sleep. The doc said at four (stuck inside all the time) she ran around her office. A neurophyc report said she had OCD not ADHD. For biting her nails doc gave her 10mg prozac. Mom is on meds too.

Owen Jones, Arlington, usa

Why not look at the root cause first, namely the many brain scramblers contained in vaccinations, e.g. thimerosal, aluminium, formaldehyde, anti-freeze, MSG, aspartame. Bombarding the developing brain of a child with powerful psychotropic drugs is criminal!

Ingrid Blank, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

As a mother of four children one of which had ADD, I can tell you it has nothing to do with parent involvement or discipline. I have always been an at home mother and have tried therapy and diet ( such as no dairy etc. ) for 3 years before I decided to try Concerta. It is not a simple decision/ fix

Charlene, Boston, USA

Why would anyone want to give "Speed" to their kids??? Madness

billy, Cardiff, Wales

I work with children who have adhd and it certainly not down to bad parenting.all the children who are diagnosed go through thorough investigations before being prescribed medication.all agencies such as health,education and family liaise closely together helping children achieve at school.

j mccann, lancs, uk

I have an idea, maybe you should discipline your children. People are all to eager for a cheap chemical fix. Then, the child will never have to address his problems, or learn how to behave.
Parent involvement, including a healthy diet is the only answer that does not compromise the child.

Duane Watts, Dallas, USA

"Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder" is merely a pathologizing of normal childhood behaviors. All children are naturally more impulsive than adults. They also have shorter attention spans than adults. The drugs used to "treat" "ADHD" are addictive and have other dangerous effects, some fatal.

Laura Borst, Houston, Texas, United States

Don't blame the parents and certainly don't blame the children.
Microwave radiation from mobile phone masts is everywhere.
Microwave radiation attacks every part of the body and children being smaller are affected more than adults.
Ritalin cwill never be the answer. Research it. Be shocked.

M.Foster, Greenwich, England

i have done parenting classes,fish oils, changed diets, all without success, yet within a few days of being on medication, my child was crying because he was reading a book and learning about turtles, he was so excited. even his handwriting changed. He was able to concentrate for the first time!!!

deborah maher, warrington, england

Bob and Paul, I absolutely agree with you. As the mother of a boy with severeADHD it has been our personal experience that only a combination of both drugs and professional help is the key to success.

It is easy to pontificate when you haven't actually experienced the reality.

Francesca, Brussels,

My son was like a whirlwind with a destruction button which was pressed frequently as a child. Ritalin was not around then (20 years ago) and if it was I would like to think that I would have had the courage to refuse it as I believe it is causing rather than treating the problem.

kim, london,

Has anyone looked into the relationship between exercise and ADHD in children? Maybe more PE at school would reduce restlessness in the classroom? Although I can't help thinking the children stuck in a class with the ADHD kids are going to really suffer from this?

Sally, London,

In severe cases of ADHD drug therapy shows a dramatic improvement. it gives a bit of breathing time till other behaviour therapies have commenced taking. Parents and teachers are grateful and the child gains confidence that he can be a 'good boy'. Tten it can be tapered off gradually

vidya rao, walsall, UK

It has long been recognised that diet can affect behaviour, and feeding children fast food and chemically created soft drinks only increases the problem.
Changing the diet to fresh food from fresh ingredients will have a dramatic effect, and the benefits system shuld be changed to encourage this.

Terry George, Manchester, England

A great shame there is no mention that for the first time the ever NICE guidelines include adults. In fact they say that about 2% of adults may have it.

It is a hugely unrecognised and untreated problem. There is now even a group specially for adults: www.aadd.org.uk

Garret Smyth, London, UK

I am aware of one case where the mother has put all her 3 children on ritalin merely in order to increase the state benefits she gets for them. There is nothing clinically wrong with these children. The doctor who prescribed the drug and the mother are both disgusting

Jay, London,

Ritalin and other similar drugs will never replace, love, patience and discipline which seem in very short supply in both homes and schools. Children on these drugs wear the diagnosis with an air of authority and as an excuse for their bad behavier. No one knows the effect of long term use.

Rodney Barker, Gainsborough, England UK

Ritalin had never been tested on children, & causes permanent brain changes similar to Heroin. Grandson 14.9 y, reading age 8. Tests showed wheat and lactose intolerance By 16 he read to age. I gave him Eye Q & digestive enzymes & he could concentrate and learn. Why not try the safe thing 1st?

Dragon, Windsor, England

A lack of fruit and vegetables and a diet of junk foot and McBurgers is likely to be the main causes of a rise in ADHD.

The recent rise in number of sufferers and prominance in the lower social classes suggests this.

Richard Garland, Greater Manchester,

I wonder if third world children show similar ADHD rates?.

wayne, huntingdon, cambridgeshire

Psychological therapy will have about as much effect on ADHD as it would have on myopia.

Ritalin is far from a miracle cure, but it's the best we've got right now. In most cases, its use brings a significant improvement in the sufferer's concentration, working memory and information processing

Mark, Leicester, England

Very interesting how many foreign contributers to this. Clearly drugs can work as chemicals are powerful things. But for my so who has this condition we have managed to control it really quite well with a very strict diet (no sugar or additives, casien or gluten). Seems to work.

jonathan foreman, london, UK

The basic reason for giving the unfortunate children drugs is that there is no discipline either in the home or at school. This is coupled with teachers who cannot teach.

Brian P O Cinneide, eThekwini, Afrika Borwa

As a practicing child psychiatrist in the USA with over 20 years experience treating ADHD. One of the great pleasures of my work has been seeing the dramatic improvement that persons with ADHD receive when they are appropriately treated with medication. Non medical treatments are nowhere as good.

George, Santa Ana, USA

This article does not differentiate between ADHD forms - Hyperactive, Inattention (which most girls have) and Combined. ADHD has a neurophysical basis which psych training will not address. Medication boosts the ability to screen inputs and help people concentrate on getting the work done.

Nancy J, Calgary, Alberta

Chemicals will never solve the problem, but may give relief for the parents, but that is for the parents benefit, NOT the child's.
Why are there suddenly so many children with this 'disorder'? I have personal experience that assessment and change of diet can help enormously.

Andrew Crisp, Copenhagen, Denmark

Thousands of parents will be mourning this decision, no more free drugs to get high on, courtesy of the NHS.

It was about time this insanity was stopped, not only did the parents indulge, but also the kids that got used to their 'little helper' have been preconditioned for drug abuse in later life.

Roswhita, London,

I'm a teacher, whenever a child has an issue 1st thing administrators want to do is put them on drugs. This lackadaisical attitude regarding powerful psychotropic drugs being given to children with developing brains is disgraceful. Don't tell me it's necessary becuz for a thousand years it wasn't!

Mary Townsend, Seattle, WA, USA

In our family experience the 'confirmed' ADHD child, no amount of counselling can resolve deep seated issues if unmedicated as they struggle to comprehend any program. It needs a comprehensive program with professionals that are open-minded, team focused and not anti-drugs - including the teachers.

Paul, Brisbane, Australia

Here we go again. Obviously, Leng, Taylor, Kendall, and the "experts" at NICE & NCCMH have not been parents of children suffering these issues. Neither have they known the elation of the results of temporary medication when their children grow into healthy, happy, productive & inspiring adults.

Bob Evans, Anaheim, California