It’s Time To Make Our Children Healthy Again, Starting With ADHD Reform

By Sheri Few

When combined, a subjective list of common childhood behaviors (fidgeting, losing things, distractibility, not following instructions) is commonly diagnosed in the medical community as Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD. The drugs prescribed to treat ADHD have addiction potential, and a recent study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry found that a medium-strength daily dose of Adderall more than tripled a patient’s chance of developing psychosis or mania. A high dose multiplies the patient’s chances by 500%! If that is not bad enough, there is evidence that chronic use of ADHD medicines over the years may stunt physical growth in children.

The most common drugs used to treat ADHD are Adderall and Vyvanse, which are amphetamines. They are similar to methamphetamine, which is most known as an illegal street drug that ravages the lives of many Americans. I have been perplexed for some time about American parents who medicate their children beginning at a very young age with amphetamines. The intended goal is to control the child’s behavior. What happened to teaching children to exercise self-control? When will children learn self-regulation if parents rely on drugs to improve their behavior?

I am beyond perplexed now. I am infuriated that we have been drugging children for decades, and now we learn that there is zero long-term impact for the intended goal. In fact, children medicated two decades ago are now adults, and The New York Times Magazine says, “the real growth market today for amphetamines is adults. In 2012, Americans in their 30s were issued 5 million prescriptions for ADHD, and a decade later, that figure has more than tripled to 18 million.” These are adults who are being prescribed amphetamines, and you can bet it destroys the lives of many who chronically medicate themselves. I have a relative who has been taking Adderall for more than 25 years, and he is homeless, his children don’t speak to him, and his life is in shambles.

I have seen amphetamine addiction up close and personal, as one of my sons has suffered from addiction most of his adult life. It is an evil that is unparalleled; it changes a person into someone you don’t recognize, and it destroys everything good in the addict’s life. Their typical life cycle is no sleep for several days in a row and then crash and burn for about 48 hours. They lose weight because amphetamines suppress their appetite, and their teeth are destroyed. It is an ugly, devastating thing to watch in the life of a loved one. Why on earth would anyone prescribe amphetamines to young children?

The April 2025 New York Times Magazine article titled “Have We Been Thinking About ADHD All Wrong?” exposes the record-high diagnosis of ADHD and the fact that some experts are questioning assumptions made about this condition. They report on the National Institute of Mental Health’s vast study comparing the stimulant drug treatment for ADHD with non-drug approaches. It is one of the largest studies on the long-term effects of psychiatric medication. The study’s chief investigator is now sounding the alarm as he found that after 36 months, the positive effects of the treatment [stimulant drugs] vanished completely. He admits, “I don’t agree with people who say that stimulant treatment is good. It’s not good.”

All the while, the number of children being medicated continues to rise. In 1993, three percent of American children were diagnosed with ADHD; in 1997, it was 5.5 percent; 6.6 percent in 2000; and last year, it reached an all-time high of 11.4 percent. Boys have the highest rate of diagnosis, with nearly one in four adolescent boys diagnosed and medicated with amphetamines.

There is no definitive biological test for ADHD, and yet children and their parents have been told for at least four decades that an ADHD child’s brain is biologically impaired and requires medication to treat. Parents have been shamed into medicating their children by being told that if they want their child to succeed educationally, they must put them on a regular dose of amphetamines. Several studies reviewed in The New York Times Magazine article found that “stimulant medications don’t do much to improve cognitive ability or academic performance.” A study published in 2022 concluded, “Although it has been believed for decades that medication effects on academic seatwork productivity and classroom behavior would translate into improved learning… we found no such translation.”

President Trump established through executive order the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission, headed by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services. The MAHA Commission was charged with developing the Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment, which was released in February 2025. According to the assessment, one of four potential drivers behind the crisis of children’s declining health is overprescribing medications to children, that have led to unnecessary treatments and long-term health risks. The assessment says, “In recent decades, American children have … been subject to an unprecedented period of over-prescription driven, in large part, by corporate influence, with demonstrable consequences to health.” Of stimulants [amphetamines], the assessment says, “According to best trial data available, these widely used ADHD drugs cause long-term height loss averaging one inch; of note, the only long-term trial found exclusively short-term behavior benefits, which were not found at 3 years. Indeed, at 3, 5, 8 and 14 years, no benefits were seen in grades, relationships, achievement, behavior, or any other measure.” So, not only are amphetamines harmful to children, but they also don’t work for their intended long-term purpose.

The MAHA Commission Assessment is a must-read for every parent and particularly those who have been medicating their children for ADHD. I pray the Commission’s forthcoming strategic plan will include some bold steps to end the practice of causing harm to children through the prescription of amphetamines for ADHD.

Sheri Few is the Founder and President of United States Parents Involved in Education (USPIE), whose mission is to end the U.S. Department of Education and all federal education mandates. Few has written extensively about critical race theory and served as Executive Producer for the documentary film titled “Truth & Lies in American Education.” Few is also the host of USPIE’s podcast, “Unmasking Government Schools with Sheri Few,” which educates Americans on the various forms of indoctrination, harmful policies and affronts to parents’ rights occurring in government schools across the country. Listen to “Unmasking Government Schools with Sheri Few” on YouTube, Facebook, Spotify and X.