No “medication holiday” recommended for ADHD

  Parents of children with ADHD often ask their doctors: “Is it possible to suspend medication at the beginning of the new school year when children do not show obvious symptoms during the holidays? Because after all, medicine is three times more poisonous.” …… In the past, our clinical treatment of ADHD, because of the focus on children’s learning problems, and concern about the side effects of drugs on some children, often use intermittent treatment, Monday to Friday to take medication, the weekend or winter and summer holidays and other holidays to stop medication, set “With the introduction of drugs with fewer side effects, China’s latest ADHD medication guidelines do not recommend “medication holidays”.  Once a child has ADHD, it usually requires a long period of continuous treatment, on the one hand, because children with ADHD are often distracted by their lack of attention and weak control in learning, and they often show fear when they encounter difficulties in learning, and they only passively listen to their teachers at school, lacking initiative in learning. This passive learning pattern is manageable in the lower grades of elementary school, but in the higher grades, usually children mostly in the third or fourth grade, there are fluctuations in academic performance, followed by learning difficulties. Only on the basis of taking medication, children with ADHD can maintain normal attention and control, and with the help of their parents can gradually learn to develop a learning plan, improve the learning plan according to the actual situation, gradually form good learning habits, and through a long period of cultivation, form autonomy in learning, before the medication can be gradually reduced or even discontinued.  On the other hand, ADHD has obvious deficits in interpersonal communication and other social functions, and they are often scolded by their parents at home and rejected by teachers and classmates at school, leading to poor self-esteem, lack of self-confidence and other psychological behavior problems. If a child stops medication when there is a slight improvement in symptoms, the social functions of ADHD children, such as interpersonal interactions, will not continue to improve, leading to recurrence and fluctuation of symptoms and affecting the effectiveness of treatment.  Therefore, most clinical experts at home and abroad advocate continuous medication, which is the only way to continuously improve the social function of children with ADHD and achieve the desired treatment effect.  ADHD is a treatable disorder, and children should be treated promptly once diagnosed. Basic medication supplemented with psychological and physical therapy is the most effective treatment, and medications such as methylphenidate hydrochloride controlled-release tablets with few side effects. In addition, parents should have enough patience for the treatment, foreign experience generally takes about a year and a half of treatment time, but according to the child’s specific situation to decide the timing of discontinuation, generally after the discontinuation of the drug for a period of time without recurrence of the disease is assessed as “cure”.