It is well established that children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently experience co-occurring mental health problems in addition to difficulties in their peer relationships. Although substantial research has focused on the extent to which peer functioning contributes to subsequent co-occurring mental…

This paper explores further the vast topic of child neuropsychiatric disorders--ADHD in particular. It refers to and expands on issues debated in an earlier paper "Ritalin for whom?". In that paper, it was argued that those who benefitted most from children taking Ritalin were parents and teachers struggling with uncontained and out-of-control…

Background: Youths with coexisting learning disabilities (LD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at risk for poor academic and social outcomes. The underlying cognitive deficits, such as poor working memory (WM), are not well targeted by current treatments for either LD or ADHD. Emerging evidence suggests that WM might be…

This study assessed parents' first concerns about their autistic child. This information was categorized so that it could help healthcare professionals improve early detection of autism. We designed a questionnaire using an open-ended format, and 459 questionnaires were completed by parents to assess difficulties encountered in obtaining a…

This study explored the cognitive performance of children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and/or Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV. Participants were 62 children with ages between 9 years 8 months and 12 years 7 months. These children were placed into one of the…

Objective: The present study investigated the behavioral and personality profile associated with difficulties in selective attention. Method: A group of participants with ADHD were assessed for ADHD behaviors. Adults with ADHD (n = 22) and without ADHD (n = 84) were tested on the conjunctive visual-search task for selective attention and…

If a mother is stressed or anxious while pregnant her child is more likely to show a range of symptoms such as those of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, aggression or anxiety. While there remains some debate about what proportion of these effects are due to the prenatal or the postnatal environment, and the role of…

We examined whether instructional materials describing how to rate child ADHD symptoms would improve the accuracy of mothers' ratings of ADHD symptoms presented in standard child behavior stimuli, and whether instructions would be equally effective across a range of maternal depressive symptoms and family incomes. A community sample of 100 mothers…

Objective: High rates of substance-use disorders (SUD) have been found in samples of adolescents and adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Predictors of SUD in children with ADHD who are at risk for the development of SUDs remain understudied. The main aims of this study were to identify clinically meaningful characteristics…

Objective: This analysis assessed whether stimulant adherence was associated with improvement in academic grade point average (GPA) among children diagnosed with and treated for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Method: Medicaid claims were merged with academic records from Philadelphia public schools of Medicaid-eligible children…

Children with ADHD typically experience significant impairment at home and school, and their relationships with parents, teachers, and peers often are strained. Psychosocial interventions for ADHD generally focus on behavior change in one environment at a time (i.e., either home or school); however, unisystemic interventions generally are not…

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has become the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorder among school-age children. For more than half a century, physicians have prescribed medications to help manage behaviors such as hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention. Today, there is a growing consensus that ADHD is a biologically…

Objective: Two studies were performed to assess both divergent and convergent thinking in adults with ADHD. Method: The first study compared the problem-solving abilities of healthy participants (N = 144) and unmedicated adults with ADHD (N = 144). In the second study, problem-solving abilities of adults with diagnosed ADHD (N = 22) were examined…

This study examines the effect of a reading intervention aimed at improving the comprehension performance of three students with hyperactive behaviours in Hong Kong. Comprehension tasks, adopted from local exercise books based on Hong Kong Certificate Education Examination Paper I, were used to appraise three participants' reading performance, and…

Building on an existing latent variable analysis of executive function (EF) in children (N=191, 57% boys and 43% girls) making the transition to school (Hughes et al. (2010), "Developmental Neuropsychology", vol. 35, pp. 20-36), the current study both documented average developmental improvements from 4 to 6 years of age and examined individual…