Fourteen-year-old Peyton has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and he has been taking Adderall during the school year since the age of eight to treat symptoms such as inattentiveness and impulsivity. During the summers, on his doctor?s suggestion, he stops his meds. Peyton?s mom, Cynthia Hollingsworth, says he might just take them occasionally if he?s doing something that takes extra focus, such as a fishing trip with his grandpa or a summer reading project. ?I believe it is very important to give your body a break from these meds when you can,? she says. ?When Peyton doesn?t take his meds, he is more hyperactive of course?but I don?t mind, it?s his summer break.?
Many parents like Cynthia, whose kids take stimulant drugs for ADHD, wonder if they should be giving them a ?medication vacation??or a structured treatment interruption, as doctors call it?during school holidays. There are pros and cons to weigh before making that call. First of all, this type of break is not an option for kids on non-stimulant ADHD meds, such as Straterra, Wellbutrin or Intuniv, cautions Karen MacMillan, who is an educational psychologist, the parent of a teen with ADHD and the executive co-director of Foothills Academy, a Calgary school for children with learning challenges. While stimulant meds often start working in less than an hour, it can take weeks to feel the full therapeutic effect of non-stimulant meds, so you can?t just stop and start them.
And even for stimulant meds, s...