[elfyhat]

But will the positive experience kids get with this kind of activity have a long-lasting impact in their life? Will they grow up to be adults without ADHD or lesser symptoms?

I was in the scouts when I was a kid and teen, ultimately reaching the rank of Eagle scout. I did plenty of outdoor activities and sports, not necessarily extreme, however we did go portaging deep into the Boundary Waters quite a few times. Yet, my ADHD persisted throughout my teens and 20s and I still suffer from this disorder as an adult in my mid-30s. Of course this is anecdotal.

I guess it's a positive thing that being active outdoors will help a child while he grows up. Hopefully it helps in the long-term. In my case, I only wish it had.

Short rant: it's pretty common these days to talk about the over-medication and over-diagnosing of children with ADHD. We must remember that some of these cases are truly warranted. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 30. Since I've been on meds my quality of life has improved dramatically.

Quick edit for a warning: ADHD medications are very powerful and must be treated with respect. Do your research before and after starting them. Don't hesitate to visit even abuser forums or reddit so you can read about the negative effects of consuming too much, too often. You can easily jeopardize your mental future by taking the medications the wrong way.

[kale]

Similar situation here. I was diagnosed in my late 20s. I was having marital problems before Ritalin. Inattentiveness can be fatal to a relationship, and my executive function was poor, which put a lot of strain on my wife.

In school, with plenty of free time and few responsibilities, I did fine. A two hour homework assignment might take 6 hours, but I did OK. It was adult life that became unmanageable.

Like the author mentioned in the article, I don't think of it as a disease necessarily, it's a personality type. But it's a personality type that can make it difficult to live in the modern world without help.

[yesco]

Something to keep in mind is that adrenaline is something used in medication to treat ADHD in some cases. The desire for some to go out and do things like this (ie: Base Jumping) could be sourced to them craving that adrenaline that helps them focus. Maybe they are taking the wrong type of medication or maybe they aren't taking any at all.

Additionally I found this part very frustrating

>>Panksepp points out that while common stimulant medications for ADHD like Ritalin and Adderall may improve attention skills and academic performance in many kids, they do so at the cost of reducing the playfulness urge—at least temporarily. “We know these are anti-play drugs in animals,” he says. “That is clear and unambiguous.”

This is strongly anecdotal but as someone who takes Adderall, I can't say this could be any further from the truth. The only thing that I can come up with that could lead to this thinking is that younger kids who have trouble with their hyperactivity might not be as hyper anymore after taking medication (which was the whole point in the first place for some). All this is doing is encouraging more adrenaline junkies to treat themselves outside of conventional means.

[SpaceCadetJones]

I can actually attest to being less playful on medication. I'm a very upbeat, humorous, and witty person. Too much of a stimulant however makes me very bland, an intense listener, and I have trouble coming up with replies to people. I tend to think of it as generally I have a firehose of ideas and thoughts spewing, and medication pinches the hose and directs its flow. It's a balancing act though

[reitanqild]

I believe you. That said it seems to vary wildly.

From what I have witnessed it even varies with type of the same stimulant from person to person, even within a family. (In a case I know all too well the recipient get tongue swelling as well as clenched jaws[0] on R XR at 40mg/day but has absolutely no issues with doses from 40 - 80 mg/day of the standard one. Oh, and the other person in this study, the brother of the first, went into spiraling weight loss at 60mg/day but prefer XR.)

Also playfulness seems to be preserved in these two cases. The best explanation I can come up with is: lowers the "interesting" threshold so that driving according to the speed limits is less intensely boring etc.

[0]: of course this can be reactions to additives of XR but they are commonly referred to as side effects of R itself.

[antihero]

I found this with Ritalin as a kid, and amphetamines/various analogues as an adult. It makes me so focussed I get colossal social anxiety and my brain loops over everything. It's horrendous, and kinda stunted my social development.