✈️ It’s Time to Modernize the FAA’s ADHD Policy

The FAA’s current approach to ADHD is not just outdated. It is out of touch with modern science, medicine, and the realities of the next generation of pilots. At a time when the industry faces a critical shortage of flight crew, we are turning away smart, capable individuals not because they pose a risk but because they take medication that helps them thrive.

💊 ADHD Doesn’t Disqualify You From Being a Safe Pilot But the FAA Thinks It Does

Under current FAA policy, anyone with a history of ADHD—especially those who are currently on stimulant medications—faces an uphill battle to obtain a medical certificate. These pilots must discontinue their meds, undergo extensive neuropsychological testing, and then hope the FAA determines they are fit to fly without the very medication that may have helped them excel in flight school to begin with.

This blanket disqualification of medicated individuals is both unfair and unscientific. Properly medicated ADHD is not a safety risk. It is a managed condition, no different than diabetes, hypertension, or any number of other medical issues that the FAA certifies under special issuance protocols every day.

🧠 We Trust Psych Evaluations So Let’s Use Them

Here is the simple truth. If a pilot with ADHD, on or off medication, can pass a thorough psychological and cognitive evaluation conducted by FAA-approved professionals, they should be eligible for a medical certificate. Full stop.

Psychological and neurocognitive testing already exists to determine whether an individual has the focus, executive function, memory, and emotional stability to operate safely as PIC. If a pilot meets those standards on medication, we should consider that evidence of fitness, not disqualification.

The FAA already accepts certain SSRIs under a monitored protocol. Why not create a similar pathway for stimulant or non-stimulant ADHD medications?

👨‍✈️ The Cost of the Current Policy

Right now, the system punishes honesty. Student pilots and early-career aviators are forced to choose between disclosing a legitimate ADHD diagnosis and potentially being grounded for months or years, or hiding it and risking certificate revocation down the line.

Meanwhile, talented, driven individuals—many of whom have already proven their ability to fly safely—are sidelined not by lack of skill, but by outdated policy.

✈️ A Call for Change

It is time for the FAA to recognize that a diagnosis of ADHD, especially one that is well-managed with medication and validated by psychological testing, should not be an automatic barrier to the cockpit.

We can protect aviation safety without excluding qualified pilots. The system needs to evolve—and the sooner it does, the better for all of us who care about the future of flight.