Parents raising a child with ADHD are surrounded by information.
One expert says medication is essential. Another says it should be avoided. Social media offers strong opinions about stimulants, non-stimulants, addiction, side effects, behavior therapy, supplements, and alternative treatments.
So how is a parent supposed to know what to believe?
In this episode of The ADHD Kids Can Thrive Podcast, I talk with Stephen V. Faraone, PhD, one of the world’s leading ADHD researchers, about what decades of scientific research actually tell us about ADHD and its treatment.
Dr. Faraone is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Professor of Neuroscience and Physiology at SUNY Upstate Medical University. He has authored more than 1,000 scientific publications and founded the ADHD Evidence Project, which helps make high quality ADHD research more understandable and accessible to the public.
Our conversation covers ADHD medication, stimulant versus non-stimulant treatment, addiction concerns, medication misuse, co-occurring conditions, behavioral parent training, CBT, and how parents can separate evidence from misinformation.
But underneath all of it is a bigger question:
How can parents use good science to make thoughtful decisions for their individual child?
Why Is There So Much Conflicting Information About ADHD?
Dr. Faraone created the ADHD Evidence Project after recognizing a problem: important ADHD research was being published in professional journals, but it could take years for that information to reach parents and the general public.
At the same time, families are now encountering enormous amounts of ADHD information online.
The problem is that popularity is not the same thing as evidence.
Dr. Faraone emphasizes that personal experience can be useful and validating, but it should not necessarily be treated as scientific expertise when families are making healthcare decisions. He encourages parents to look at the quality of the evidence behind a claim rather than how confidently or persuasively someone presents it.
That distinction is especially important in the age of social media, where complicated ADHD research is often reduced to a short video, headline, or absolute statement.
For parents, the goal does not need to be becoming an ADHD researcher.
It is learning to ask:
Where is this information coming from?
Is it supported by strong evidence?
And does it apply to my particular child?
Is ADHD Stimulant Medication Addictive?
This is one of the questions I most wanted to ask Dr. Faraone because fear of addiction continues to influence how many families think about ADHD medication.
Dr. Faraone makes an important distinction between taking prescribed stimulant medication therapeutically and misusing a stimulant medication.
In our conversation, he explains that when ADHD medication is taken as prescribed, the evidence does not show that it causes addiction. He also discusses research showing that people with ADHD who appropriately use medication have a lower risk of later substance misuse than people with untreated ADHD.
That is different from saying stimulants cannot be misused.
They can.
Dr. Faraone discusses the misuse and diversion of prescription stimulants, particularly among adolescents and young adults. Medication may be shared or sold, sometimes to help someone stay awake to study and sometimes for recreational use. This is one reason families and prescribers need to take medication storage, education, and monitoring seriously.
So the conversation is more nuanced than simply asking whether stimulants are “addictive.”
There are potential risks, but those risks need to be understood alongside the risks of leaving significant ADHD untreated.
Are Stimulants Better Than Non-Stimulant ADHD Medications?
Stimulants have traditionally been considered first-line medication treatment for ADHD because, on average, they produce a stronger response across groups of patients.
But that does not mean stimulants are the best choice for every individual.
Dr. Faraone explains that some people respond extremely well to non-stimulant medication. The average response rate may be lower, but for an individual who responds well, a non-stimulant can provide significant benefit.
That matters because ADHD treatment should not be one size fits all.
One child may respond beautifully to a stimulant.
Another may respond better to a non-stimulant.
Another may require adjustments in dosage or medication type under the care of an experienced prescriber.
The goal is not to decide which category of medication is universally “best.”
The goal is to find what is effective and tolerable for the individual child.
What If a Child With ADHD Also Has Anxiety or Depression?
This part of our conversation is especially important because many families eventually discover that ADHD is not the only thing affecting their child.
Dr. Faraone explains that co-occurring conditions are common in people with ADHD. These can include anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorder, oppositional or conduct disorders, and substance use disorders.
He encourages parents and clinicians to stay aware as a child develops rather than automatically assuming every new struggle is simply another expression of ADHD.
For example, if a teenager with ADHD begins showing an unusual and persistent sadness, it may be tempting to say, “Of course he’s unhappy. School is hard and friendships are difficult.”
That may be part of the explanation.
But Dr. Faraone cautions that parents should also consider whether something else, such as depression, may be emerging and bring those changes to the attention of a qualified healthcare professional.
This is one of the reasons I continually encourage parents to stay curious about what is underneath their child’s behavior.
A diagnosis gives us information.
It should not stop us from continuing to pay attention.
What Is the Difference Between Short-Acting and Long-Acting ADHD Medication?
Dr. Faraone also explains why medication coverage matters.
Short-acting stimulant medications generally provide coverage for a smaller portion of the day. Long-acting formulations were developed in part so children would not have to visit the school nurse for another dose during the school day.
But school is not the only part of a child’s life affected by ADHD.
Children come home.
They do homework.
They interact with siblings.
They participate in activities.
They navigate family routines and relationships.
For some children, ADHD symptoms continue to interfere well beyond the classroom.
Dr. Faraone encourages families and prescribers to think about when ADHD is creating impairment in the child’s day and whether the medication plan provides appropriate coverage during those times.
That is a much more useful question than simply asking whether a child “takes medication.”
What About ADHD Medication Side Effects?
Parents are understandably concerned about side effects.
Dr. Faraone discusses common potential effects including appetite suppression, difficulty sleeping, weight changes, and temporary effects on growth.
His larger point is that medication should be actively managed.
If side effects become problematic, an experienced prescriber may adjust the dose, timing, formulation, or medication itself. For many patients, he explains, clinicians are able to find a treatment that provides meaningful benefit with manageable side effects.
Medication decisions should always be individualized and made with a qualified healthcare professional who understands the child’s complete medical and developmental picture.
Is Medication the Only Evidence-Based Treatment for ADHD?
No.
And this is where our conversation becomes particularly relevant for parents.
Dr. Faraone is a clinical psychologist, and he discusses the value of behavioral parent training.
Behavior therapy does not mean telling parents they have caused their child’s ADHD.
Instead, it teaches parents specific skills for responding more effectively to behaviors that can be harder to manage in children with ADHD.
As Dr. Faraone explains, parenting a child with ADHD can require a different and sometimes more intensive skill set. Behavioral approaches can help parents address problems that medication alone may not resolve.
Medication may reduce core ADHD symptoms.
But families still live in the real world.
There may still be struggles with routines, cooperation, relationships, homework, organization, emotional responses, or other areas of daily life.
Those are places where parents may need additional tools and support.
Pills Don’t Provide Skills
This may be one of the most important messages from the entire conversation.
Medication can help ADHD symptoms.
But medication cannot go backward and teach a child every skill ADHD may have interfered with learning.
Dr. Faraone puts it simply:
Pills don’t provide skills.
A child may have spent years struggling with attention, organization, impulse control, relationships, or everyday expectations before receiving effective treatment.
Even when ADHD symptoms become better managed, that child may still need opportunities to develop skills that did not develop automatically along the way.
For adolescents and adults, Dr. Faraone discusses cognitive behavioral therapy as another evidence-based approach that can help people develop ways of thinking and functioning that support everyday life.
This is also where I see an important role for parents.
Our children need more than symptom reduction.
They need opportunities to practice independence, problem solving, emotional regulation, communication, self-awareness, organization, and recovery from mistakes.
Those skills develop over time.
A Parent Coach’s Perspective: Evidence Gives Us a Starting Point, Not a Script
As a parent who has lived this journey and an ADHD Parent Coach, I appreciate conversations like this because they move us away from extremes.
Medication is not automatically the answer to every problem.
Medication is also not something parents need to fear simply because they have heard frightening claims online.
Behavior strategies can be valuable.
But parenting strategies alone may not address significant ADHD symptoms.
And what works beautifully for one child may not be the right answer for another.
Good science gives families a stronger starting point.
Then we still have to get curious about the actual child in front of us.
What is interfering with their life?
Where are they struggling?
What is improving?
What remains difficult?
Are there other learning, emotional, developmental, or mental health concerns that need attention?
What skills still need to be developed?
And what kind of support does this child need from the adults around them?
Parents do not need to find one perfect ADHD solution.
We need reliable information, good professionals, careful observation, and the willingness to keep adjusting as our children grow.
ADHD Does Not Define the Whole Child
Dr. Faraone ends our conversation with a message I hope every parent remembers.
ADHD is part of a person.
It is not the entirety of that person.
Children with ADHD have challenges that deserve appropriate treatment and support. They also have interests, relationships, abilities, personalities, and strengths that deserve just as much attention.
Once we begin helping a child manage the areas where ADHD is creating difficulty, Dr. Faraone encourages parents to also look for what the child is particularly good at.
Those strengths can become sources of competence, self-esteem, growth, and possibility.
That is the bigger picture.
We want to understand ADHD accurately enough to support it without allowing ADHD to become the entire story of who our child is.
Listen to Dr. Stephen Faraone on The ADHD Kids Can Thrive Podcast
In this episode of The ADHD Kids Can Thrive Podcast, Kate Brownfield, ACC, talks with Dr. Stephen Faraone about what decades of research tell us about ADHD medication, stimulant and non-stimulant treatment, addiction and medication misuse, co-occurring conditions, behavioral parent training, CBT, misinformation, and the importance of developing skills alongside symptom treatment.
Listen to The ADHD Kids Can Thrive Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.
Parents who want to explore the scientific evidence behind ADHD can also visit the ADHD Evidence Project.
Is ADHD medication addictive?
When prescribed appropriately and taken as directed, stimulant ADHD medication has not been shown to increase the risk of developing a substance use disorder. Misuse, sharing, and diversion of stimulant medication can occur, particularly among adolescents and young adults, which is why appropriate prescribing, storage, education, and monitoring are important.
Are stimulant or non-stimulant medications better for ADHD?
Stimulant medications are, on average, more effective at reducing ADHD symptoms across groups of patients, but some individuals respond very well to non-stimulant medications. The right medication depends on the individual and should be determined with an experienced healthcare professional.
Can a child have ADHD and anxiety or depression?
Yes. ADHD commonly occurs alongside other conditions, including anxiety and depression. Parents should avoid assuming that every emotional or behavioral change is caused by ADHD and discuss significant new symptoms with their child’s healthcare professional.
Does ADHD treatment include more than medication?
Yes. Treatment may include medication, behavioral parent training, cognitive behavioral therapy for appropriate ages, school support, skill building, and other individualized interventions. Medication may reduce ADHD symptoms, while additional support can address skills and real-life difficulties that remain.
How does ADHD parent coaching fit into ADHD support?
ADHD parent coaching can help parents take what they are learning about ADHD and apply it to everyday family life. Coaching may focus on homework, routines, screens, executive function, emotional regulation, boundaries, communication, independence, and recurring parent-child conflict. ADHD parent coaching does not replace medical or mental health treatment.
About Dr. Stephen V. Faraone
Stephen V. Faraone, PhD, is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Professor of Neuroscience and Physiology at SUNY Upstate Medical University. His career has focused extensively on ADHD research, psychiatric genetics, psychopharmacology, diagnosis, and treatment.
He is the founder of the ADHD Evidence Project, an initiative designed to make rigorous ADHD research more accessible and understandable to professionals, individuals with ADHD, and families.
About Kate Brownfield, ACC
Kate Brownfield, ACC, is an ICF Associate Certified Coach, Certified ADHD and Executive Function Parent Coach, author of How We Roll: A Parent’s Journey of Raising a Child with ADHD, host of The ADHD Kids Can Thrive Podcast, and founder of ADHD Kids Can Thrive.
Kate supports parents raising children and teens with ADHD who are navigating executive function challenges, homework struggles, screen-time conflict, emotional regulation, routines, school challenges, boundaries, and recurring parent-child conflict.
Through private ADHD parent coaching, group support, education, and expert conversations, Kate helps parents understand what may be underneath their child’s struggles and determine what support makes sense for their particular child and family.
Learn more at ADHDKidsCanThrive.com.
This article and podcast are for educational purposes only and are not medical advice. Decisions about ADHD diagnosis, medication, treatment, or changes to medication should be discussed with a qualified healthcare professional.