ADHD Medication May Increase Empathy

 ADHD in the News 2017-04-13


A study published in Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology has found an interesting new benefit that may come with ADHD meds: increased empathy. In the study, researchers followed 52 children and teens between the ages of 8 and 18 as they started treatment with methylphenidate, an ADHD medication. When the participants were surveyed after 12 weeks of medication, they ended up scoring higher on a test of empathy than they had before treatment – and this increase in empathy correlated with decreases in other ADHD symptoms.