As summer winds down there's a looming fear for many students heading back to school: a shortage of ADHD medications. The CDC estimates six million children between the ages of three and 17 have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
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00:00 >> All right everyone as summer winds down there's a looming
00:02 fear for many students heading back to school, a shortage of
00:05 adhd medications, the CDC estimating 6 million kids
00:08 between the ages of 3.17 have been diagnosed with attention
00:11 deficit hyperactivity disorder correspondent Meg Terrell takes
00:15 a look.
00:16 >> Pack up packing up to start college, a time of nerves and
00:21 anticipation.
00:22 I think I'm just most excited to get out into the world and
00:26 see what I can do.
00:28 >> After Clara pits headed off to her dream school Brigham
00:30 Young University, there's an added level of anxiety.
00:33 >> Welcome to a DHC packing for college.
00:36 >> Because the medicine she takes for attention deficit
00:39 hyperactivity disorder is part of a nationwide shortage.
00:42 >> It's just really scary not knowing if I'll have
00:46 consistency in my medication.
00:48 >> It started last fall when one drug maker had a
00:50 manufacturing delay, but it hasn't let up.
00:54 Claire has had to switch from Adderall to another medication
00:57 called vivance but some dosages of that drug have been hard to
01:01 come by as well.
01:02 All of this has made back to school season even more
01:05 stressful for students like Clara and their families.
01:08 >> These young people often have difficulty paying attention
01:12 sitting still.
01:13 >> Columbia University's doctor Warren Ng says treatment can
01:16 have dramatic results.
01:18 >> We can really change a young person's life overnight so they
01:23 suddenly are able to do the work that they want to do but are
01:28 having difficulty focusing their attention.
01:31 >> But relief from the shortage may not be coming soon.
01:34 Prescription rates for the medicines are at record highs
01:38 up more than 45% in the U.S. over the last decade.
01:42 A CDC study this year found an especially large jump in
01:45 prescriptions for adults in the first year of the pandemic
01:48 also complicating the picture drugs like Adderall are
01:52 stimulants controlled substances, the government says
01:55 have a high potential for abuse. So the drug enforcement
01:58 administration sets limits on how much can be produced but in
02:02 a joint letter with the FDA last month, the DEA said
02:05 manufacturers aren't producing as much as they're allowed to
02:09 last year they said there were about 1 billion more doses that
02:13 they could have produced but did not and said data for 2023 so
02:17 far show a similar trend for some the shortage could mean
02:22 dashed dreams.
02:23 >> A lot of young people that I've seen him just given up
02:26 that they either just felt that you know it's too difficult.
02:32 Maybe I shouldn't go to college or maybe I shouldn't have this
02:36 job.
02:37 >> Despite those worries Clara is looking forward to school
02:40 planning on majoring in electrical engineering. But she
02:43 worries not just for herself but also others starting school
02:47 with a DHD and struggling to find their medicines.
02:51 >> This is the first time that me and other people with a DHD
02:54 are starting a new school year without our medication in some
02:57 cases and I think time is going to tell whether or not we sink
03:01 or swim as a collective ADHD community.
03:04 [BLANK_AUDIO]