Students like Nick Jackson are prescribed to ADHD medicine at a time when more and more students without ADHD are using the drug to concentrate.
Nick walks into class, waits to receive his test and looks around the room while fidgeting with his mechanical pencil. Once the test begins he tries to scratch his name into the paper, only to break the tip of his pencil halfway through.
He doodles on the paper until he becomes bored and then begins to scan the test for problems he can easily solve. He intentionally disregards the instructions to “show his work” because the process of showing work hinders his ability to solve problems. More often than not, he finds himself unable to finish tests.
This is an average test-taking experience for Ball State freshman Nick Jackson. He is one of thousands of students in the United States diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, who is currently taking a prescription medication for treatment.
At age 13, Jackson was prescribed a high dosage of the drug Vyvanse, one of many psychostimulant medications used to improve focus.
“I was unable to focus during school,” Jackson said. “We saw the doctor because my grades were suffering.”
The Center for Disease Control says that approximately 6.4 million, or 11 percent, of children between ages four and 17 in the United States have been diagnosed with ADHD. As a result, many of them have been issued prescriptions for drugs like Vyvanse. Depending on when they are diagnosed, students with ADHD may have already been taking the medication for as many as 15 years by the time they reach college.
The regular side effects of the stimulants include loss of appetite, headaches and sleeping problems, all of which can be managed with a physician’s help. The long-term psychological and emotional side effects are less documented due to their variable nature. Jackson described his experience after six years of taking the medication.
“You kind of go back to normal, but you’ve always got this kind of lasting [effect],” Jackson said. “The medicine just leaves something on you.”
If you'd like to read the rest of Jackson's story, head over to BallBearingsMag.com
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