Does taking meds for ADHD help your kids' athletic performance (assuming they have ADHD)?

[Anonymous]

My middle schooler likely has undiagnosed ADHD. They have been resistant to seeing someone for a diagnosis, taking meds, addressing it without meds, etc. However, the other day they complained about overthinking when participating in their sport and I wondered if taking meds might help DC with this. If yes, this might make them more amenable to taking meds. Interested in hearing about others' experiences.

[Anonymous]

Medicine makes my son able to pay attention and focus during sports, but it doesn't make him a better athlete. Just allows him to participate on the same playing field as others. Without meds he struggled to hear and follow through on coach instructions and would get easily frustrated and overwhelmed.

[Anonymous]

It’s a stimulant and helps people hyper focus

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Medicine makes my son able to pay attention and focus during sports, but it doesn't make him a better athlete. Just allows him to participate on the same playing field as others. Without meds he struggled to hear and follow through on coach instructions and would get easily frustrated and overwhelmed.

+1

[Anonymous]

“Overthinking” is anxiety not ADHD. Meds work to alleviate severe symptoms, not to perfect your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Medicine makes my son able to pay attention and focus during sports, but it doesn't make him a better athlete. Just allows him to participate on the same playing field as others. Without meds he struggled to hear and follow through on coach instructions and would get easily frustrated and overwhelmed.

Same. Without medication, he screws up every drill, and coaches have remarked that he looks aloof and disinterested in the sport. Medicine gets him to a baseline level where he can learn and participate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“Overthinking” is anxiety not ADHD. Meds work to alleviate severe symptoms, not to perfect your kid.

Good point. Op here. There is definitely some performance anxiety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Medicine makes my son able to pay attention and focus during sports, but it doesn't make him a better athlete. Just allows him to participate on the same playing field as others. Without meds he struggled to hear and follow through on coach instructions and would get easily frustrated and overwhelmed.

OP here. I hear what you're saying about helping your kid get to an equal baseline. I'll have to ask DC more detailed questions about their experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Medicine makes my son able to pay attention and focus during sports, but it doesn't make him a better athlete. Just allows him to participate on the same playing field as others. Without meds he struggled to hear and follow through on coach instructions and would get easily frustrated and overwhelmed.

Same. Without medication, he screws up every drill, and coaches have remarked that he looks aloof and disinterested in the sport. Medicine gets him to a baseline level where he can learn and participate.

OP here. Interesting about how kid might be perceived by coaches.

[Anonymous]

You're doing it backwards. First you identify the problems (if any) and discuss any possible diagnosis with a professional. Then you work with a psychiatrist on what meds, if any, will address the identified problems and diagnosis. Not the other way around.

[Anonymous]

Agree with all previous posters but particularly that “overthinking” is not likely to be helped by ADHD meds.

[Anonymous]

I have ADHD and meds do not help me hyperfocus. They tend to make me feel calmer and slow almost. I don’t really like them as I think I am very used to my active mind and I don’t really like a slower one. I rarely take them. Occasionally I will to get things done but more as a placebo. For some people meds seem to be an immediate fix but that wasn’t the case for me. I already compensated in a lot of ways and meds didn’t really help me with the ongoing ADHD issues I had.

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty sure some of the ADHD "medicines" would be no different than "Banned substances".

[Anonymous]

"Overthinking" can be anxiety, but it can also result from ADHD. ADHD is often described as a brain with a Ferrari engine and bicycle brakes. Therefore the ADHD brain is constantly thinking and can cause anxiety. If you have real concerns, you should have your child fully evaluated by a clinical professional to help navigate whether anxiety or ADHD is driving any problematic thinking and actions.

As for the impact of ADHD (and ADHD meds) on sports, it varies by sport. I can say that getting our son's ADHD diagnosed and treated helped him in his sport, but that was in large part because it reduced the overall impact of ADHD on his entire life. It helped spare him enough mental energy (and at least some of the extra time he always needed to keep up with school work) so that he could continue his sport at higher levels as he got older.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm pretty sure some of the ADHD "medicines" would be no different than "Banned substances".

There is a big difference. Sure, there has been abuse of ADHD meds, particularly in certain sports, but that doesn't mean they aren't medicines with proven, valuable, clinical uses for medical conditions that have significant impacts on people. There also has been abuse of heart medications like beta-blockers in other sports, but those same medications are essential for dangerous heart arrhythmias. Both are allowed at all levels of sports when used in proper dosages for properly-documented clinical purposes.