{"id":1453,"date":"2020-05-13T09:00:22","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T09:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/wordpress\/?page_id=1453"},"modified":"2021-09-05T07:58:41","modified_gmt":"2021-09-05T07:58:41","slug":"visual-side-effects-of-adhd-medication","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/vision-therapy-for-adhd\/visual-side-effects-of-adhd-medication\/","title":{"rendered":"Visual Side Effects of ADHD Medication"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<h2><b>How many children are diagnosed with ADHD?<\/b><\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>About four million American children- up to <strong>11% of school-age children<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<li>ADHD is more prevalent among males than females, with a 3 to 1 ratio<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><b>Vision and ADHD<\/b><\/h2>\r\n<p>While children with 20\/20 eyesight may be able to see distant objects clearly, they can still suffer from vision problems that affect their learning performance. These children often present with specific behaviors because their visual systems simply cannot keep up with the demands of the classroom and curriculum.<\/p>\r\n<p>In many cases, these behaviors lead teachers and parents to believe that the child suffers from ADHD.<\/p>\r\n<p>Fifteen out of the eighteen criteria for a diagnosis of ADHD overlap with behaviors that can present from a visual problem.<\/p>\r\n<h2><b>Common ADHD behaviors<\/b><\/h2>\r\n<p><b>Children with convergence insufficiency are <\/b><b><i>3x <\/i><\/b><b>more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than children without a vision condition<\/b>.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Inability to maintain attention and stay on task<\/li>\r\n<li>Inability to sit still, fidgety<\/li>\r\n<li>Poor listening skills<\/li>\r\n<li>Difficulty following directions<\/li>\r\n<li>Loses and misplaces things often<\/li>\r\n<li>Careless mistakes in homework and class work<\/li>\r\n<li>Talks excessively and interrupts others<\/li>\r\n<li>Difficulty playing quietly<\/li>\r\n<li>Difficulty with organizing and prioritizing<\/li>\r\n<li>Moves from one activity to another<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><strong>If your child displays any of these behaviors, it could be their vision. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\">Contact an eye doctor<\/a> near you to evaluate your child&#8217;s vision.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p><strong>SEE RELATED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/vision-therapy-for-adhd\/does-adhd-cause-social-problems\/\">Does ADHD Cause Social Problems?<\/a><\/p>\r\n\n\t<div class=\"practice-search-widget\">\n\t\t<h3>Find a Vision Therapy Eye Doctor Near You<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t<form class=\"practice-search-form practice-search-form-widget\" action=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/results\/\" method=\"get\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page\" class=\"practice-search-page\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_latitude\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_longitude\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"address\" class=\"practice-search-address\" placeholder=\"City, Surburb or Address\" value=\"\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t<button type=\"submit\" class=\"practice-search-button\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M10.6796 0.130005C9.15708 0.130059 7.66615 0.5646 6.38198 1.38258C5.09781 2.20057 4.07373 3.36803 3.43004 4.74783C2.78634 6.12763 2.54976 7.66246 2.74808 9.17205C2.9464 10.6816 3.57139 12.1033 4.54964 13.27L0.729639 17.08C0.6364 17.1732 0.562439 17.2839 0.511979 17.4058C0.461519 17.5276 0.435547 17.6581 0.435547 17.79C0.435547 17.9219 0.461519 18.0524 0.511979 18.1743C0.562439 18.2961 0.6364 18.4068 0.729639 18.5C0.917942 18.6883 1.17334 18.7941 1.43964 18.7941C1.5715 18.7941 1.70207 18.7681 1.82389 18.7177C1.94571 18.6672 2.0564 18.5932 2.14964 18.5L5.99964 14.62C7.35406 15.6038 8.98566 16.1324 10.6596 16.13C12.7814 16.13 14.8162 15.2871 16.3165 13.7869C17.8168 12.2866 18.6596 10.2517 18.6596 8.13C18.6596 6.00827 17.8168 3.97344 16.3165 2.47315C14.8162 0.97286 12.7814 0.130005 10.6596 0.130005H10.6796ZM10.6796 14.13C9.49295 14.13 8.33291 13.7781 7.34622 13.1188C6.35952 12.4595 5.59049 11.5225 5.13636 10.4261C4.68224 9.32975 4.56342 8.12335 4.79493 6.95946C5.02644 5.79558 5.59788 4.72648 6.437 3.88736C7.27611 3.04825 8.34521 2.4768 9.5091 2.24529C10.673 2.01378 11.8794 2.1326 12.9757 2.58673C14.0721 3.04085 15.0092 3.80989 15.6685 4.79658C16.3277 5.78328 16.6796 6.94332 16.6796 8.13C16.6796 9.7213 16.0475 11.2474 14.9223 12.3726C13.7971 13.4979 12.2709 14.13 10.6796 14.13Z\" fill=\"#fff\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"practice-search-use-my-location\">\n\t\t\tSearch near me\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\n\t<\/form>\n\n\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\r\n<h2><b>ADHD and medication<\/b><\/h2>\r\n<p>Approximately 65% of children with ADHD are prescribed psychostimulant medications.<\/p>\r\n<h3><b>How do ADHD medications work?<\/b><\/h3>\r\n<p>Ritalin, along with other psychostimulant drugs, function to increase the levels of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain. Dopamine is an important chemical involved in attention, motivation, memory, reward, and regulation of body movements.<\/p>\r\n<p>Norepinephrine is a chemical responsible for actions that occur in reaction to activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). The SNS directs fight or flight responses when the body perceives imminent danger or stress- for people with ADHD, this can help to increase alertness.<\/p>\r\n<h3><b>How do psychostimulant drugs affect vision?<\/b><\/h3>\r\n<p>Psychostimulant drugs activate the SNS, by causing the brain to release an increased amount of norepinephrine. This response consequently causes certain behavioral reactions and visual changes in order to help the person &#8220;survive&#8221; the stressful situation.<\/p>\r\n<p>For example, in order to help a person to see a dangerous situation more effectively, the SNS will restrict the visual field, causing perceptual narrowing or tunnel vision, as well as increase focusing acuity to a two meter distance.\u00a0 While this is truly necessary for a threatening situation, as a side effect for ADHD medication, this type of visual change can make learning difficult.<\/p>\r\n<p>Reading and learning requires close vision, most tasks requiring focusing ability at about 12-18 inches from a child&#8217;s eyes. ADHD medications can therefore cause vision changes that make it quite difficult for children to see clearly in order to read and learn properly.<\/p>\r\n<h2><b>What are the visual side effects of ADHD medication?<\/b><\/h2>\r\n<p>A child who has been prescribed a medication for ADHD may experience an increase in their visual problems- leading to increased difficulty to maintain attention in class, as well as other challenges that may imitate ADHD behavior.<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n<li><b> These stimulant drugs have shown to cause <\/b><b>visual side effects<\/b><b>:<\/b> Ritalin, Concerta, Metadate, Daytrana (methylphenidate), Focalin (dexmethylphenidate), Dextrostat, Dexedrine (dextroamphetamine), Adderall (amphetamine), and Vyvanse (Lisdexamfetamine)<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Reduced focusing power<\/li>\r\n<li>Dilated pupils<\/li>\r\n<li>Blurry vision<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<ol start=\"2\">\r\n<li><strong>Another ADHD drug called Cylert (pemoline) can cause:<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/neuro-optometry\/vision-and-brain-injuries\/double-vision-diplopia\/\">Double vision<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/a-guide-to-eye-turns\/strabismus-crossed-eyes\/\">Eye turns<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li>Nystagmus (involuntary eye movements)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<ol start=\"3\">\r\n<li><b> Nonstimulant medications<\/b> such as Strattera (atomoxetine) and Wellbutrin (bupropion) can also cause visual side effects such as blurry vision.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p><strong>LEARN MORE: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/vision-therapy-for-adhd\/\">Guide to Vision Therapy for ADHD<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p><strong>If your child is showing signs of ADHD, rule out the possibility of a vision problem, such as Convergence Insufficiency, by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\">scheduling an appointment for an eye exam<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p><em>An eye exam, including visual skills, could prevent a misdiagnosis and inappropriate dispensing of medication that may potentially exacerbate a vision problem<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are the visual side effects of ADHD medication?<\/p>\n<p>A child who has been prescribed a medication for ADHD may experience an increase in their visual problems. Many times ADHD medications can have an opposite affect &#8211; leading to increased difficulties in maintaining attention in class, as well as other challenges that may worsen the ADHD behavior.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1020,"parent":1399,"menu_order":119,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-article.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[123,87,108,188,107,186,104,185,153],"class_list":["post-1453","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-academic","tag-adhd","tag-attention","tag-behavior","tag-concentration","tag-focusing","tag-homework","tag-medication","tag-school"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Visual Side Effects of ADHD Medication - Optometrists.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/vision-therapy-for-adhd\/visual-side-effects-of-adhd-medication\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Visual Side Effects of ADHD Medication - Optometrists.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What are the visual side effects of ADHD medication?  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