As NCHS senior Harper* stares at a blank document on her computer screen, unable to suppress concerns of SAT testing, college applications, and on top of that, grades, she pulls out an orange container and pops an Adderall pill into her mouth. The busy student interlocks her fingers on the desk in front of her, and stretches out her arms with the assurance that actual medication will help her focus on the task to be done. “The pills enhance my study habits by helping me stay focused on my current assignments,” Harper said. “They’ve really helped improve my grades.”
Harper is only a contributor to the multitude of people who have said they have taken medication to combat distractibility. The Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder, more commonly known as ADD or ADHD, has proved prevalent among many students. According to Helpguide.org, symptoms of this illness include: not paying attention to details, making careless mistakes, having trouble staying focused and being easily distracted, having difficulty listening when spoken to as well as remembering things and following instructions, having trouble staying organized, having a hard time being engaged in a task before it is completed and frequently misplacing items.
However, whether or not students have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, they still find themselves resorting to prescribed disorder medications, such as Adderall and Vyvanse (amphetamines) as well as Ritalin and Focalin (methylphenidates) in an aim to do well in school and on college-based standardized tests.
Junior Alec* found this to be true among many students, including himself. He said that he and his friends take Vyvanse in a routinely fashion when beginning a night’s homework to enhance diligence. “A single pill can last me up to 6-7 hours a night,” he said. “It provides an energy source that allows me to stay focused and get my work done quicker.”
Senior Logan* agreed with the positive effects of the medication in terms of academics. She said that she was diagnosed with the disorder after she noticed herself having difficulty completing school homework and tests efficiently. “It was always hard for me to get my work done in the amount of time that it takes the average student,” she said. “I always found myself to be the last one in a classroom taking a test, or the only one who wasn’t able to finish an assignment during the class period.”
Once Logan recognized a similar problem to her own in the work of other students who did not receive prescribed medications, she said it was a good idea to sell them to peers who appeared to be in need. “I don’t sell pills relatively expensive,” she said. “And I only sell it to those who I know will use them for practical reasons.”
However, Logan does admit that some uses of ADD and ADHD medications stem from impractical reasons. Abuse of prescription stimulants does occur among teens for not solely academic purposes.
Cameron*, a junior at NCHS, said that snorting Adderall and Vyvanse gives him a high that allows him to dismiss the stresses of reality. “Snorting the pills allows the medication to kick in faster,” he said. “This creates a buzz that then produces feelings of happiness and tranquility.”
But students aren’t the only ones highlighting this issue. The New York Times not only identifies the prevalence of the use and abuse of ADD and ADHD pills, it also sheds light on the actual increase in such medications among students. “At high schools across the United States, pressure over grades and competition for college admissions are encouraging students to abuse prescription stimulants, according to interviews with students, parents and doctors,” author Alan Schwarz wrote.
“Pills that have been a staple in some college and graduate school circles are going from rare to routine in many academically competitive high schools, where teenagers say they get them from friends, buy them from student dealers or fake symptoms to their parents and doctors to get prescriptions,” he said.
Junior Lola* agreed with this information. “I know I don’t have any severe ADD or ADHD disorder, but I told my mom that I needed the pills,” she said. “With the academic stresses of junior year and SAT’s coming up, they are absolutely necessary.”
However, many adults think differently. School Psychologist Dr. Rosella Fanelli said she was unfamiliar with the abuse of ADD and ADHD medications among students who are not prescribed. “I know students who have ADD and ADHD and consume a prescribed medication from their doctors,” she said. “The ones I know use it in a way that helps them focus because it is a neurological biochemical problem. But I don’t see students who use the medication, whether prescribed or not prescribed, merely to boost grades.”
School Social Worker Edward Milton also said this to be true. “ADD is not over diagnosed,” he said. “We are a medication society, and I do think that can be problematic at times. I am not naive, I think abuse goes on everywhere, not just in New Canaan. But do I think it’s epidemic? Not to my knowledge.”
While many faculty members tend to deny the ADD/ADHD medication trend among students, teens continue to point out its significance. And not only are students themselves looking to improve grades with the drugs, a large number of teens said that their parents agreed with the beneficial aspect of taking the medication in terms of achieving higher grades.
Harper added to the claim that some parents support the use of medication for educational purposes. She said that while her parents didn’t necessarily express a liking for the use of it, they did allow it with the knowledge that it would be helping their daughter in the long run. “My mom said that if it helped me to get better grades, she didn’t see why not,” Harper said. “She even said that I was a much nicer person when I took the pills.”
*Names have been changed
