ADHD prescriptions on the rise locally

The number of prescriptions for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication has jumped by about 40 per cent in the Rotorua area in the past six years.

Figures from Pharmac, the Government's drug-buying agency, show the number of subsidised prescriptions for medications such as Ritalin in the Lakes District reached 2400 last year, up from 1700 in 2006.

ADHD Rotorua co-ordinator Kirsty Muggeridge said families with ADHD members often needed extra support.

"We do parent courses ... and we also do some respite parent camps where we take the kids away and do fun activities for the weekend.

"We also do some one-to-one tuition with some of the students because a lot of students who have ADHD have learning difficulties," she said.

Ms Muggeridge said awareness of ADHD had improved over the years.

"[Often] in the past these were the naughty kids ... whereas now I think it's actually recognised they have ADHD."

But people also needed to understand the array of symptoms associated with ADHD.

"There's the inattentive type. Those are the kids who daydream but they don't have the hyperactivity."

Nationally, prescriptions have jumped by nearly 40 per cent in the past six years, from 77,800 in 2006 to 107,400 in 2011.

Prescription numbers have jumped by about 50 per cent in Northland and 35 per cent in the Hawke's Bay during the same period.

ADHD is defined by the Ministry of Health as a behavioural condition. Sufferers often have problems with concentration, impulsivity and over-activity.

New Zealand's ADHD Association says the increase in prescriptions probably reflects a greater awareness of the disorder.

"Traditionally they thought [ADHD] was something that teenage boys have," national co-ordinator Marceline Borren said.

"Now it's known that it is neurological, it's quite genetic ... [and] it's something that you learn to manage."

Ms Borren said there had also been a recent increase in the number of adults diagnosed with ADHD.

"Probably a third of our calls are from adults who have been recently diagnosed or suspect they have ADHD.

"Having come to it as an adult, they feel they have wasted all those years not knowing," she said.

Pharmac figures show the number of patients aged over-20 being prescribed ADHD medication has increased by nearly 40 per cent since 2009.

Adolescent patients, aged 10 to 19 years, made up the bulk of medication recipients.

Ms Borren said children benefited most if the disorder was picked up in their early years.

"If it's left undiagnosed people tend to fail at things they try.

"They end up with all sorts of issues with anxieties, depression [and] total lack of self-esteem," she said.

Parents are also able learn how best to manage a child with ADHD, she said.

"They should look definitely at their [child's] diet and nutritional status," Ms Borren said. "And we highly recommend exercise."

ADHD specialist Dr Tony Hanne said it was likely many people were living with ADHD and had no idea.

"One-in-20 people have [ADHD], which would be 200,000 people in the country."