What if the ADHD Treatment Is Not Working

When Treatment Isn't Working

Treatments may not work if it is the wrong diagnosis, wrong treatment, or wrong dose. It is important that you continue routine follow up visits, even if your child is not in need of a prescription, so we can help monitor progress and response to treatments. 

Medication is the treatment that has been proven to be most effective, but it is not a one-size-fits-all situation. There are many options to try and if one does not work, another may. You won't know if you don't try. If you are concerned about side effects, talk to us about your concerns!

Are there risks to delaying or not treating ADHD?

Untreated ADHD can lead to poor self-esteem, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and early sexual intercourse.

Of course, this does not happen with all kids who are not treated, but you can easily see how recurrently failing with school work, being reminded constantly to stay on task (seen as nagging by the child), and having immature behavior with peers (fidgeting, touching, talking out of turn, easy to lose control of emotions) can lead to poor self-esteem.

Early on children often take on the "class clown" personality if they suffer from some of the many symptoms of ADHD. A child might think that if people are going to laugh at me, it should be on my own terms.

Children with poorly managed ADHD often get labeled as a behavior problem at school, so there are consequences, which leads to lower self-esteem. This low self-esteem can make a child truly depressed, or at least make poor choices in dangerous relationships (only he understands me, even if he hits me), early sexual experiences (I want someone to care for me, I'm not good enough, but he'll like me if...), and drugs and alcohol to make them feel better about themselves.

Some children are able to mask their symptoms very well, but they struggle internally and are more likely to develop anxiety, depression, and other secondary problems as a result of working so hard to maintain the appearance of normality.

Dr. Russell Barkley is a psychologist who has studied ADHD for over 40 years. He has compelling data about the risks of not treating ADHD. It is correlated with a shortened life span of 9 years. Learn why in What if we don't treat ADHD.



If you are worried about the association of ADHD and drug or alcohol abuse, read this helpful article from ImpactParents. The same author has a follow up article ADHD & Addiction Part 2: ADHD Treatment in Recovery that you might find helpful as well. 

NEW 4/2023! Jeremy Didier presented on this topic to the ADHDKC parent group. Watch the recording here.

Note: the author happens to be the founder of our local CHADD chapter- ADHDKC. CHADD is a national non-profit that educates, advocates, and supports those with ADHD. We highly suggest subscribing to their newsletter and going to their meetings. See ADHDKC.org for details.

Obviously not all people with ADHD end up with these extremes, but we can prevent much of this if we manage the impulse control and concentration with the right medication. Many kids feel so much better about themselves on medications because they finally get good grades without being hounded to get the work done and turned in. They make better friendships because they can listen and not bother other people. They feel like they can succeed instead of fail.