The Impact of Attention Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder Medication On Academic Achievement

This purpose of this study was to determine if the use of stimulant medication has an effect on academic success at the elementary school age. Participants in the study included 4th and 5ft grade children who have been diagnosis with Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Groups 1 consisted of three children diagnosed with ADHD and were taking a stimulant medication. Group 2 consisted of three children diagnosed with ADHD and did not take any medication of any kind. Information was gathered from the teachers and students during one-on-one interviews; data was compiled and analyzed to identify common themes. Two themes that emerged were the characteristics of ADHD students and the need for accofirmodations and interventions for students with ADHD. Reading scores were obtained for both gloups and analyzed. The reading score data for these six students showed that stimulant medication does not have a large impact on academic success for students with ADHD. The empirical literature data gathered does, however, state the long-term result had a small optimistic correlation between stimulant medication use and the increase of reading score