Some children — I don’t know about toddlers — do require pharmaceutical treatment for ADHD. A newer drug, Strattera, is used for that purpose and is not a stimulant.
Some kids probably do need treatment, but not anywhere near the number that are taking dangerous meds. Psychiatrists used to counsel patients; now they give them drugs at their first appointment. Many, including the distinguished psychiatrist/professor/author of this piece on HuffPo, are up in arms about this situation.
That garbage is worse than speed. I took it for a few weeks and it spaced me out and caused severe hyper focus. It would occur at random times, putting me in a day dream stage where I would lose minutes just staring off into nothing. Id rather have attention issues than be on drugs all day that have the same or worse side effects than street drugs.
Some may need treatment, but I would hazard that the vast majority do not. If I was growing up today, they would be plying me with all sorts of drugs. I had many different symptoms as I tried to assimilate and there were a number of embarrassing moments, but I managed to learn to control myself and to fit in without the "help" of drugs.
Don’t know a thing about Strattera and hope it has a less pernicious effect.
Here’s “Why Giving Adderall to Toddlers is Completely Utterly Wrong:”
another article describing horrible effects of Adderall on toddlers: