If a clinician decides to treat an ADHD child with medication, it's likely that he or she will choose some sort of stimulant, provided that there are no coexisting conditions. (A clinician may opt for an antidepressant, for example, to treat a child who has been diagnosed with both ADHD and depression.) All of the commonly prescribed medications used to treat ADHD--Ritalin, Dexedrine, Adderall--are considered central nervous system stimulants, though the chemical make-up of each medicine is different.

According to IMS Health, a company that surveys medication trends, there have been many new prescriptions written for all three of those medications. In 1999, out of the top 200 medications with the most new prescriptions, Adderall ranked 59 (4,140 new prescriptions); Ritalin ranked 142 (2,089 new prescriptions); and Dexedrine ranked 169, (1,735 new prescriptions).

The following is a list of the most commonly prescribed medications used to treat ADHD in children.

* Abbott Laboratories has issued a warning indicating that Cylert should not ordinarily be considered as first-line drug therapy for ADHD, due to increased reports of liver failure in children using the drug.

** On April 4, 2001, it was announced that the FDA had approved Medeva's application to market Metadate in the U.S.

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Written 2001. Reviewed: 02/2006