Effective Treatment & Research For Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD)
Research Paper On ADHD
Results of an ADHD research study show ADHD must be addressed from several different approaches simultaneously. This ADHD study shows there are many things you can do to help your child.
An ADHD study conducted by the MTA association discusses several research experiments conducted on elementary school children who have ADHD. These treatments included study behavioral treatment, medication, a combination of behavioral treatment and medication and also a routine that involved the help of community care.
Three groups of children received these kinds of treatment for fourteen months. The last group was treated with the help of the community care techniques. After the study period ended, the children were assessed for observations.
It was found that cooperation between the school, the parents and the teachers in the community care based program, helped children in coping with attention deficit disorder. The children were rated for hyperactivity, inattention, symptoms of anxiety or depression and social skills.
The children who were placed in the medication treatment alone and in the combined one were carefully assessed by doctors once for every medication visit for about thirty minutes. During these sessions, the patients met with the doctors, discussed their symptoms and were encouraged to discuss any problems or discomfort that they were experiencing.
The ADHD related difficulties were also on the visit agenda. The doctors were informed by teachers of any progress or regress in the children's ability to learn and cognitive skills. After that, the doctors who interpreted the findings would discuss the results with the parents.
For the groups who were placed under behavioral treatment, the families and the ADHD children met more than thirty times during the period of study in group sessions to discuss their problems and possibly find out solutions. The therapists also made frequent visits to the schools to research the children's progress in school and track any possible changes.
The children were also enrolled in a summer program which lasted eight weeks in which other skills were evaluated. These activities included social and sports skills. Intensive therapy was administered in the meantime to all children to study the affect on their behavior.
During this ADHD research, a combined therapy group was also established in which patients were receiving both therapy and medication and again, the same assistance was emphasized.
In the community based group, the presence of a doctor was less emphasized in that the doctor only visited the children once or twice a year.
The benefits of medication combined with behavioral therapy was far more evident than the benefits of simply joining a community care group or behavioral therapy sessions. Therefore, it was concluded that it is best to combine alternative ways of treating the disorder than just adhere to one.
Also, skills related to academic performance, parent-child relationships and how well communication is enhanced between the parents and the child were also more poignant in the children who had received medication and therapy. This too showed that the combined treatment is able of giving out superior results.
An advantage of the combined system is that from an early stage of the ADHD, children get used to the constant presence of adults and moral support in his or her life. The result was that less medication is required because the child also benefits from behavioral therapy.
There are more helpful ideas on how parents can address ADHD issues in their children on the treatment of ADHD page. However, treating attention deficit disorder in children who are still at a preschool age is slightly different. This happens because these children are so young that it makes the best ADHD treatment less clear.
Families who have concerns about medication, should resort to behavioural therapy instead. ADHD research studies show that the efficacy of such treatments combined with a healthy diet is profound and can greatly reduce of eliminate the need for medication.
ADHD Research is currently conducted at a number of prestigious universities across the country such as Duke Univeristy, Caltech, University of California or John Hopkins University to further improve the safety and effectiveness of treatments for ADHD.