Although it's often diagnosed fairly early in life, when a child is between 6 and 12 years old, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is considered a chronic condition for which no medical cure is available However, in defining whether cures are available, studies consider only conventional drug treatments and behavioral therapy, intended to help control ADHD/ADD behavior, but do not improve mental or physical health in general

Each year in the United States, doctors write and parents fill more than 10 million prescriptions for ADHD/ADD drugs, more than 90% of all prescriptions written worldwide for this disorder In the 1990s, sales of the pharmaceuticals used to treat the condition grew by more than 500%