physiologic differences that are noticed in these kids, reflecting that it’s not just the outward behavior, but that there is something fundamental about their physiology that is actually changing concurrently.”
To guarantee that these improvements were the result of the intervention, Beauchaine and his team divided the families into two groups, one that began the program approximately 20 weeks after the first group, and only participated in 10 sessions, half of what the first group received.
The changes in parenting among those in the initial group exceeded the changes among those in the delayed group, as did the changes in the children’s physiology.
Beauchaine hopes this study will help convince parents to begin ADHD treatments earlier.
For preschool children diagnosed with ADHD, primary treatment is not medication, according to Fiks, it’s behavioral therapy and counseling.
“When people see that there are biological changes that go along with an intervention, it increases the status and reduces stigma,” Beauchaine said.
“If people think kids act with impulsivity and hyperactivity because they want to, they will think about those kids a lot differently if they attribute it to something that they can’t help,” he said.
For more information on ADHD, visit our Health Conditions tab on BlackDoctor.org.
SOURCES: Alexander Fiks, M.D., associate professor, pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Theodore Beauchaine, Ph.D., professor, psychology, Ohio State University, Columbus; Nov. 7, 2017, Clinical Psychological Science