ADHD Treatment for Young Children

About half of young children 2 to 5 years of age receiving care for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are not receiving psychological services, including the recommended treatment of behavior therapy, according to a new CDC Vital Signs report. The report urges healthcare providers to refer parents of young children with ADHD for training in behavior therapy before prescribing medicine to treat the disorder.

• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends healthcare providers first refer parents of young children with ADHD for training in behavior therapy before trying medicine.
• With the support of healthcare providers and therapists, parents can become trained in behavior therapy. Behavior therapy can work as well as medicine. Both behavior therapy and medicine work for about 70-80% of young children with ADHD.
• However, only about 40-50% of young children with ADHD received psychological services. This percentage has not increased over time.
• ADHD medicine can cause side effects, such as poor appetite, stomach aches, irritability, sleep problems, and slowed growth. The long-term effects of ADHD medicine on young children are not known.
• Behavior therapy can take more time, effort, and resources than medicine and can be longer lasting.

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http://www.cdc.gov/media/dpk/2016/dpk-vs-adhd-treatment.html