Comparison of treatments for ADHD

There are various treatments for ADHD. In this table we try to summarize the most common treatments and their characteristics. We compare Neurofeedback with Psychotherapy and Medication like Ritalin or Adderall.

	Neurofeedback	Psychotherapy	Medication- Ritalin/Adderall
How Long has the treatment been around?	Since 1960s	Early 20th Century or before	Ritalin – 1956Adderall – 1996
Results are long term once stopped	Yes	Yes	No. Possible “rebound effect”
Average Cost per Session	$110	$100	$20/month for Ritalin$140/month for Adderall
Average Time Investment	30-50 hours over 1 year	10-60 hours over 1-2 years	1 minute per day until adulthood or longer
Negative Side Effects	No	No	Ritalin- Decreased appetite , symptoms worsen when drug wears off, nervousness, potential for abuseAdderall- False sense of wellbeing , abdominal pain
Ability to treat multiple biomarkers	Yes	Yes	Medications for differing biomarkers often conflict with one another
Outside Interests that conflict	No	No	Possible financial and political
Effectiveness	Shows improvement approx. 80% of the time	Many people report positive results when they follow assignments	Varies. Some report good results. May require several different medication attempts to find the best fit
American Pediatric Association Approved	Yes Level l	Yes, Level l when combined with behavior therapy	Yes, Level l when combined with behavior therapy
Approved for children under 6	Yes	Yes	No
Total Costs	Lifetime: $3000 average	1-10 years: $600-$6000	6 years: $1440, plus behavior therapy: total approximately: $4000