What Works for ADHD? A Guide to Effective Treatment
What is ADHD?
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by problems with self-regulation of behavior and emotions. A neurodevelopmental disorder is one that shows up early in development-before adolescence-and is brain-based. In other words, ADHD is caused by nature, not nurture. It is not due to poor parenting or teaching, video games, cell phones, too much sugar, or just being lazy.
What Does Not Work?
Ethical practice requires that clinicians do not oversell what therapy can accomplish. Please be aware that there is no individual therapy or specific diet for children or teens that has been shown to significantly improve the core symptoms (hyperactivity, impulsivity, or lack of focus) of ADHD. Most children with ADHD will continue to have symptoms into adulthood- it is not something most people outgrow. In addition, Play therapy and individual talk therapy with children are not evidence-based treatments for ADHD.
What Does Work?
Medication and behavior therapy are the gold standards of treatment for ADHD. There are a variety of medications that are helpful in treating ADHD. Research shows that the majority of people with ADHD show significant benefits from medication and side effects are well tolerated. Behavior therapy focuses on helping parents, teachers, and other caregivers to structure the environment in a way that helps the child with ADHD to function optimally. Examples of behavior therapy include helping parents to anticipate problem behaviors, knowing what is reasonable to expect, planning for how to respond to positive and negative behaviors, knowing how to use effective reminders and consequences, and helping with organization. This can improve symptoms in the specific setting for the short-term but skills tend to not generalize to other settings. Therefore, children need support and practice in multiple settings to really benefit from behavior therapy.
Group-based Skills Training. Organizational Skills Training (OST) is an evidence-based group treatment that teaches basic skills in a class format. Skills include tracking, managing materials for school/work, time management, and task planning.
Social Skills Training. ADHD often creates problems with social interactions. Group social skills programs are designed to help children function better with their peers. These programs are taught with groups of children in a class-like format. Skills include how to start and end conversations, how to take turns in conversations, managing disagreements, problem solving, and dealing with teasing.
Exercise. There is some evidence that regular exercise can improve symptoms of ADHD. While the research is still ongoing, the benefits of exercise are well-documented for mood and other areas of functioning, and we enthusiastically recommend it.
What is ADHD?
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by problems with self-regulation of behavior and emotions. A neurodevelopmental disorder is one that shows up early in development-before adolescence-and is brain-based. In other words, ADHD is caused by nature, not nurture. It is not due to poor parenting or teaching, video games, cell phones, too much sugar, or just being lazy.
What Does Not Work?
Ethical practice requires that clinicians do not oversell what therapy can accomplish. Please be aware that there is no individual therapy or specific diet for children or teens that has been shown to significantly improve the core symptoms (hyperactivity, impulsivity, or lack of focus) of ADHD. Most children with ADHD will continue to have symptoms into adulthood- it is not something most people outgrow. In addition, Play therapy and individual talk therapy with children are not evidence-based treatments for ADHD.
What Does Work?
Medication and behavior therapy are the gold standards of treatment for ADHD. There are a variety of medications that are helpful in treating ADHD. Research shows that the majority of people with ADHD show significant benefits from medication and side effects are well tolerated. Behavior therapy focuses on helping parents, teachers, and other caregivers to structure the environment in a way that helps the child with ADHD to function optimally. Examples of behavior therapy include helping parents to anticipate problem behaviors, knowing what is reasonable to expect, planning for how to respond to positive and negative behaviors, knowing how to use effective reminders and consequences, and helping with organization. This can improve symptoms in the specific setting for the short-term but skills tend to not generalize to other settings. Therefore, children need support and practice in multiple settings to really benefit from behavior therapy.
Group-based Skills Training. Organizational Skills Training (OST) is an evidence-based group treatment that teaches basic skills in a class format. Skills include tracking, managing materials for school/work, time management, and task planning.
Social Skills Training. ADHD often creates problems with social interactions. Group social skills programs are designed to help children function better with their peers. These programs are taught with groups of children in a class-like format. Skills include how to start and end conversations, how to take turns in conversations, managing disagreements, problem solving, and dealing with teasing.
Exercise. There is some evidence that regular exercise can improve symptoms of ADHD. While the research is still ongoing, the benefits of exercise are well-documented for mood and other areas of functioning, and we enthusiastically recommend it.