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A Year-Round Kid
ADHD Medication Holidays
By Carma Haley Shoemaker
There are several reasons why many experts state that the idea of a medication holiday is more harmful than helpful. One of the most evident and common is the effect of the medication itself on the child's body. "Kids with ADHD have sensitive bodies," says Susan Barton, founder of Bright Solutions for Dyslexia, a training and consulting firm for people with dyslexia and ADD. "Each time they start taking medication, it takes a couple of days for their bodies to adjust. During those couple of days, they may experience headaches, stomachaches and irritableness. Usually these go away by the third day. But if a child is taking a medication holiday every weekend, then every Monday and Tuesday that child will re-experience these side effects and just as they are adapting, again the weekend – and their next med holiday – rolls around."
Second, many doctors, experts and parents are concerned with the message these kids get from taking medication holidays. "[Med holidays] send the wrong message," says Barton. "A child with ADHD who only takes his medication while attending school and not during the summer or on weekends often starts to believe that the school is requiring the medication. The child often doesn't notice how much more successful he/she is in every situation when taking meds. If a child believes meds are being forced on them, then they will often refuse to take their meds as they get into the teen years."
However, the most dominate and indicative factor against medication holidays remains the yo-yo effect children often experience in their level of functioning. "If a child's medication reduces their ADHD symptoms, they are better able to effectively function in their life without receiving constant reprimanding or consequences for negative behaviors," says Smithley. "Removing the medication for a holiday is likely to bring a return of the child's symptoms, thereby setting them up for an onslaught of reprimands and consequences. It is setting them up for failure, maybe even after they have been doing very well for a long period of time. Its peaks and valleys can take their toll on anyone ... especially a young person."
