Many Underprivileged Students Given Adderall To Boost Academic Performance

The New York Times (10/9, Schwarz, Subscription Publication) reports on the growing trend of physicians prescribing such stimulants as adderall--usually prescribed to treat ADHD--as an aid for "struggling students in schools starved of extra money...to boost their academic performance" even when no diagnosis of ADHD has been made. The Times adds that "some experts note that as wealthy students abuse stimulants to raise already-good grades in colleges and high schools, the medications are being used on low-income elementary school children with faltering grades and parents eager to see them succeed."