Is it better to start with medication treatment and add behavior therapy if needed? Or, should behavior therapy come first with medication added if the child’s response is not sufficient? Or, is it always preferable to begin with combined treatment? Does the order in which treatment begins even make a difference?
One of the most consistently found adverse effects of ADHD is on inhibiting children’s learning. Does ADHD medication help children learn more?
Although medication treatment for ADHD has been shown to significantly reduce core ADHD symptoms in hundreds of studies, important concerns remain about it being prescribed inappropriately to children and teens who do not have ADHD. There is also evidence that many youth with ADHD who could potentially benefit from medication treatment do not receive it, and may realize poorer outcomes in as a result.
Relaxation techniques may be helpful in managing a variety of stress-related health conditions, including anxiety associated with ongoing health problems and in those who are having medical procedures. Evidence suggests that relaxation techniques may also provide some benefit on symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and may help reduce occupational stress in health care workers. For some of these conditions, relaxation techniques are used as an adjunct to other forms of treatment.
Teens with ADHD have more frequent sleeps problems than their peers, including delayed sleep onset, reduced sleep duration and quality, and increased daytime sleepiness.
Telemental health is the use of telecommunications or videoconferencing technology to provide mental health services. It is sometimes referred to as telepsychiatry or telepsychology. Research suggests that telemental health services can be effective for many people, including, but not limited to those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety.
Exercise may benefit brain health and improve cognitive performance during aging. It’s also associated with reduced Alzheimer’s disease risk and cognitive decline.
Eating disorders are actually serious and often fatal illnesses that are associated with severe disturbances in people’s eating behaviors and related thoughts and emotions.
When a child is diagnosed with ADHD, parents confront the difficult decision about which treatment(s) to pursue to best help their child succeed. While deciding on an initial treatment plan is important, equally important is establishing a plan to monitor how well that treatment is working on a sustained basis, regardless of what specific treatment(s) is being used. This is because children’s response to ADHD treatment often changes over time and a strong initial treatment response – be that medication treatment, behavior therapy, dietary treatment, etc., – provides no assurance that important treatment benefits will persist.
