As far as I am aware ADHD is a set of symptoms that are transitory, often brought about by a change in circumstances such as starting school. There will be certain situations when the symptoms are present and situations when they are not. This is similar to conditions such as autism. I would therefore suggest that the symptoms of ADHD are a manifestation of the anxiety that the individual is experiencing. Anxiety is usually brought about by being in an environment that makes one feel uncomfortable. If someone is constrained to stay within an environment that they are uncomfortable in, either due to the requirements of law such as attending school or because they want to fit in to a group, there will be an internal conflict brought about the need to leave and the desire or requirement to stay. The net result is heightened levels of anxiety.
The reason that the person may feel uncomfortable is dependent on their brain type, i.e. how their brain is wired. They may be experiencing something very different to others in the same environment but this experience is not evident to others and therefore not understood by others, Particularly if the person is young, they will not know that they are experiencing things differently and will not be able to explain their anxiety. The influential adult or parent will then seek help from an expert who will invariably prescribe something for symptom relief, more often than not medication, which has a chemical impact on the functioning of the brain; this in affect will be placing a straightjacket on the personality.
I would suggest that the better option is to understand the cause of the anxiety that is producing the symptoms. This is easier said than done. One option is to carefully question when the person with ADHD has symptoms and when they don’t to establish what stimuli are changing how the individual feels. The other option is to change certain aspects of the environment bit by bit and find what change produces the symptoms.
I have not experienced the use of ADHD medication but I have experienced anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication both of which suppress the full functioning of the brain which compromises the true person. What the long term affects of this medication are, we just don’t know but it is my view that the human body is much better off without artificial chemicals being added. One of the biggest issues is that society and cultures do not accept individual difference. If we want freedom from anxiety and other mental illnesses, this has to change. The problem is not the individual, the problem is the environment they are in.