How do Hyperactive Children Feel About Taking Stimulants and Will They Tell the Doctor?

There are no systematic data on the attitudes of hyperactive children toward treatment with stimulant medication. Such knowledge would be of aid to the physician in understanding the child, structuring therapy, and improving compliance; therefore we interviewed 52 hyperactive children who had been so treated. The outstanding findings were that a large fraction of the children disliked the medication and often tried to avoid taking it. The physician interview provides valuable information with some children, but for assurance of accuracy the clinician needs to use other sources of information.