Medication for ADHD is controversial, but it really shouldn't be. When it's used properly, it's very safe and very effective. It doesn't always work. It works about 80% of the time. When it does work, it works very much like a pair of eyeglasses. It allows you to focus. It doesn't make you smarter, but it allows you to use the smarts you've got, much as eyeglasses don't make you smarter, but they allow you to use the smarts you've got. Used properly, stimulant medication, like Ritalin, like Adderall, allow a child or an adult, for that matter, to focus better and therefore, improve performance, much as eyeglasses do.