ADHD medication use soars

PRESCRIPTIONS issued to treat ADHD in children have almost doubled in only eight years because of a perfect storm of pushy parents, TikTok videos glamorising ADHD diagnoses and growing mental health problems in kids during the Covid pandemic.

Official data shows the number of prescriptions for ADHD drugs has gone from only 529,102 prescriptions to

Aussie kids in 2013 to 926,628 last year.

The biggest drug dolled out to under 18s was methylphenidate, more commonly known as Ritalin, with 840,209 prescriptions issued in only 12 months. This was followed by dexamfetamine (which is basically speed), with 50,966 prescriptions given out to children last year.

Psychiatrist Tanveer Ahmed said in the past two years ADHD had become worryingly fashionable thanks to TikTok stars creating videos glamorising it but warned children might actually have other conditions like anxiety.

“In the last couple of years, the pandemic has driven huge interest in ADHD because of all these TikTok videos,” Dr Ahmed said.

“For whatever reason, during the pandemic and all these videos of people that were coming out and that some of them were really popular, just saying, ‘I’ve just learnt, I’ve got ADHD’.”

On TikTok, videos with the hashtag ADHD have been viewed 11.1 billion times and include clips with phrases such as “ADHD superpowers”. One video shows an adolescent brilliantly mastering random tasks, including completing a Rubik's cube and composing stunningly detailed drawings

“There’s no question the pandemic, partly probably because it’s driven higher rates of mental health problems, especially anxiety disorders, has raised awareness around this issue,” Dr Ahmed said. He said children and parents generally preferred a diagnosis of ADHD because it abrogated any responsibility for mental health issues while also having the added benefit of improving academic performance.

“I think anxiety disorders still feel like you’re partly at fault, but whereas ADHD, for parents and individuals, takes away responsibility because there is a neuro-scientific reason behind it,” he said.

One Sydney principal said the rise of prescription meds had been welcomed by teachers for helping with a lot of mental health and behavioural issues in the classroom.

“As there has been an increased diagnosis and greater acceptance that medication can support students’ greater levels of concentration and reduce anxiety,” he said.