Stimulant medication and short attention span: a clinical approach

We present our clinical approach to diagnosis and individualized and integrated treatment of patients with short attention span. The paper stresses the importance of understanding short attention span as a symptom that, although it is due to a variety of causes, may be favorably affected by pharmacologic treatment. The need to follow a logical algorithm in the monitoring of the effects of stimulant medications is emphasized. Adjustments of the drug dose should be based on observed effects rather than on absolute therapy schedules.