Focus: how students cope with ADHD

BY SASHA EFIMCHIK Staff Reporter

“[Medication] helps keep my mind with a direction. Without the medication, I will have so many millions of thoughts that are [...] coursing through my head. And it’s very difficult to focus on what’s being said in class or what I’m trying to write on my computer,”

Liam Russel, a senior with ADHD, said.

ADHD, the production of the medication is restricted because of the fear that people will become addicted to it.

“Between 2006 and 2018, there was a 250% increase in adults in America who are taking prescriptions for ADHD,” Cheyette said.

“[I get] more work done once my medication takes effect, than when I’m not on my medication,” when they haven’t taken their medication. One student shared his specific method.

“[Medication] helps keep my mind with a direction. Without the medication, I will have so many millions of thoughts that are [...] coursing through my head. It’s very difficult to focus on what’s being said in class or what I’m trying to write on my computer,” Russel said.

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder is a chronic condition typically referred to as ADHD. It is most commonly diagnosed before the age of twelve, and is treatable but not curable. The most frequently prescribed medications are Adderall and Ritalin, though there are many other options.

There has been a shortage of medication for ADHD in the United States since October of last year. “Nobody really knows [why]. At the beginning it was felt to be a supply chain problem,” Sarah Cheyette, a pediatric neurologist with 25 years of experience, said.

Cheyette’s current theory is that while each year there are more and more people who want medication for

Gael Morales, a freshman with ADHD, said. It can be difficult for high school students to remember to take their medication in the morning, which leads to difficulties later on

“I’m going to have to imagine a mental rubber band on my wrist or I’m going to keep [saying] ‘come on Liam, and focus, focus, focus’, and I can kind of get through the day. But by the end of the day, I’ll be exhausted,” Russel said.

While it is possible to focus without medication, it often requires more effort.

“I imagined it almost like driving when there’s a ton of traffic, but there’s no stoplights or stop signs, and it’s pretty much impossible

Art by Sasha Efimchik.