Parent Behavior Management Training for Child ADHD Enhanced to Address Health Behaviors: Comparison of Telemedicine "Telegroup" Versus In-Person Delivery.

OBJECTIVE: ADHD is associated with suboptimal health behaviors including physical activity (PA). LEAP is a parent BMT group program enhanced to focus on health behaviors, integrated with mHealth technology. Little is known about implementing BMT via telemedicine "telegroups." METHODS: Children ages 5 to 10 with ADHD and their caregiver wore activity trackers and participated in an 8 to 9 week parent BMT and social media group emphasizing PA, sleep, and screen use. A 7-day child accelerometer-wear and parent and teacher measures were completed pre- and post-group. Groups were in-person prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and in telegroup format during the pandemic. RESULTS: Thirty-three families participated in person and 23 participated via virtual telegroup. Group attendance was superior for telegroup with equivalent satisfaction and skill use. Changes in health behavior and clinical outcomes were equivalent. CONCLUSIONS: LEAP is a feasible and novel BMT intervention that can be delivered in an accessible telegroup format with high participation and acceptability.

Evaluating the Feasibility and Acceptability of the Lifestyle Enhancement for ADHD Program.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the Lifestyle Enhancement for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Program (LEAP), a novel parent behavior management training program that promotes physical activity (PA) and positive health behaviors and is enhanced with mobile health technology (Garmin) and a social media (Facebook) curriculum for parents of children with ADHD. METHODS: The study included parents of children ages 5-10 years diagnosed with ADHD who did not engage in the recommended >60 min/day of moderate to vigorous PA based on parent report at baseline. Parents participated in the 8-week LEAP group and joined a private Facebook group. Children and one parent wore wrist-worn Garmin activity trackers daily. Parents completed the Treatment Adherence Inventory, Client Satisfaction Questionnaire, and participated in a structured focus group about their experiences with various aspects of the program. RESULTS: Of 31 children enrolled, 51.5% had ADHD combined presentation, 36.3% with ADHD, predominately inattentive presentation, and 12.1% had unspecified ADHD (age 5-10; M = 7.6; 48.4% female). Parents attended an average of 86% of group sessions. On average, parents wore their Garmins for 5.1 days/week (average step count 7,092 steps/day) and children for 6.0 days/week (average step count 9,823 steps/day). Overall, parents and children were adherent to intervention components and acceptability of the program was high. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that the LEAP program is an acceptable and feasible intervention model for promoting PA among parents and their children with ADHD. Implications for improving ADHD symptoms and enhancing evidence-based parent training programs are discussed.

Acute Effects of Parent Stimulant Medication Versus Behavioral Parent Training on Mothers' ADHD, Parenting Behavior, and At-Risk Children.

BACKGROUND: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is present in 25%-50% of parents of children with ADHD, compromising parenting and child behavioral treatment. Efforts to treat multiplex ADHD families have not compared behavioral parenting interventions to parent psychopharmacology without confounds of other treatments. This report describes a pilot early intervention study directly comparing parent lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (LDX) to behavioral parent training (BPT) in families in which the mother had currently untreated ADHD and the young child displayed ADHD symptoms. METHODS: Mothers with ADHD (N = 35) of 4- to 8-year-old stimulant-naive children (N = 35) were randomly assigned to an 8-week trial of LDX (starting at 20 mg/d and titrated to a maximum of 70 mg/d) or BPT. Outcomes included multi-method, multi-informant measures of (1) maternal ADHD symptoms (Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scales) and impairment (Clinical Global Impressions-Severity of Illness scale [CGI-S] and CGI-Improvement scale [CGI-I]), (2) parenting (Alabama Parenting Questionnaire [APQ] and Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System, Fourth Edition), and (3) child ADHD symptoms (Conners Parent Rating Scale Revised-Short Form and Conners Early Childhood Scale) and impairment (CGI-S, CGI-I, and Child Impairment Rating Scale). RESULTS: At 8 weeks, both treatments improved mothers' self-reported emotion regulation and mothers' functioning on the CGI, but only LDX improved mothers' self-reported core ADHD symptoms. LDX was associated with improvement in parents' perception of their own ADHD symptoms (Conners Inattention [P < .0001] and ADHD Index scores [P < .0001]) and their child's ADHD symptoms (P = .009). Fifty-six percent of the mothers treated with LDX (n = 10) were "much" or "very much" improved with regard to their adult ADHD based on the CGI-I scores versus 6% of mothers receiving BPT (n = 1; P = .003). BPT improved parenting on self-reported positive parenting (P = .007), inconsistent discipline (P > .0001), and corporal punishment (P = .001), while LDX improved reported inconsistent discipline (P = .001) and corporal punishment (P = .04) on the APQ, consistent with prior research. In contrast to parental LDX, which did not improve observed parenting, BPT was associated with increased positive parenting during child-directed play (P = .0002) and clean-up (P = .04) and less negative parenting (P = .04) during child-directed play. Six percent of children (n = 1) whose mothers were randomized to LDX (n = 18) were "much" or "very much" improved on the CGI-I compared to 35% (n = 16) of those treated with BPT (P = .04). CONCLUSIONS: LDX and BPT each had unique effects on maternal ADHD symptoms and parenting, but modest effects on at-risk children. In general, LDX was more effective at treating mothers' core ADHD symptoms, but both LDX and BPT improved mothers' emotion regulation, and BPT resulted in more consistent effects on parenting measures via both maternal report and direct observation. As most children remained significantly impaired after 8 weeks of unimodal treatment, combination treatment and/or longer treatment duration may be necessary to improve functioning of multiplex ADHD families. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01816074​.

Implementation of Home-Based Telemental Health in a Large Child Psychiatry Department During the COVID-19 Crisis.

Objective: Telemental health (TMH) is not well described for mental health service delivery during crises. Most child and adolescent psychiatry training programs have not integrated TMH into their curricula and are ill equipped to respond during crises to their patients' needs. In this study, we present the implementation of a home-based TMH (HB-TMH) service during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We describe the technological, administrative, training, and clinical implementation components involved in transitioning a comprehensive outpatient child and adolescent psychiatry program to a HB-TMH virtual clinic. Results: The transition was accomplished in 6 weeks. Most in-clinic services were rapidly moved off campus to the home. Owing to challenges encountered with each implementation component, phone sessions bridged the transition from in-clinic to reliable virtual appointments. Within 3 weeks (March 20, 2020) of planning for HB-TMH, 67% of all appointments were conducted at home, and within 4 weeks (March 27, 2020), 90% were conducted at home. By week 6 (April 3, 2020), reliable HB-TMH appointments were implemented. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic crisis created the opportunity to innovate a solution to disrupted care for our established patients and to create a resource for youth who developed problems during the crisis. Our department was experienced in providing TMH services that facilitated the transition to HB-TMH, yet still had to overcome known and unanticipated challenges. Our experience provides a roadmap for establishing a HB-TMH service with focus on rapid implementation. It also demonstrates a role for TMH during (rather than after) future crises when usual community resources are not available.

Physical Activity, Screen Time, and Sleep in Children With ADHD.

Background: Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk for poor health and obesity. The authors describe obesity-related movement behaviors in children with ADHD, determine higher risk groups, and compare with children with other disorders. Methods: Physical activity (PA), sleep, and screen time of children with ADHD (aged 6-18 y) were compared with recommendations and with behaviors of children with autism, asthma, and a normative group using 2011 National Survey of Child Health data. Results: Approximately one-third of children with ADHD participated in daily PA and half in sports in the past year. Older children with ADHD were less likely to get daily PA, get enough sleep, and limit screen time to <2 hours per day. Obese children had lower odds of daily PA. Children who had lower socioeconomic status, or severe ADHD, had lower odds of sports participation. Children with ADHD had 50% lower odds of sports participation than children with asthma. Conclusions: Children with ADHD did not engage in recommended amounts of PA, sleep, and screen time. Children with ADHD who are older, poor, obese, and/or with more severe symptoms are at higher risk for suboptimal movement behaviors. These domains represent novel treatment targets in ADHD youth.

Preschool Intervention Can Promote Sustained Growth in the Executive-Function Skills of Children Exhibiting Early Deficits.

This study examined the effects of the Head Start Research-Based, Developmentally Informed (REDI) preschool intervention on growth in children's executive-function (EF) skills from preschool through third grade. Across 25 Head Start centers, each of 44 classrooms was randomly assigned either to an intervention group, which received enhanced social-emotional and language-literacy components, or to a "usual-practice" control group. Four-year-old children ( N = 356; 25% African American, 17% Latino, 58% European American; 54% girls) were followed for 5 years, and EF skills were assessed annually. Latent-class growth analysis identified high, moderate, and low developmental EF trajectories. For children with low EF trajectories, the intervention improved EF scores in third grade significantly more ( d = 0.58) than in the control group. Children who received the intervention also demonstrated better academic outcomes in third grade than children who did not. Poverty often delays EF development; enriching the Head Start program with an evidence-based curriculum and teaching strategies can reduce early deficits and thereby facilitate school success.

Targeting Functional Impairments in the Treatment of Children and Adolescents with ADHD.

The diagnostic criteria for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) require both symptoms and impairment to be present. Impairment in functioning is commonly the primary reason for referral, and is also a better predictor of long-term outcomes than ADHD symptoms. And yet, only recently has research begun to examine the impact of ADHD treatments on functional impairment using efficient and psychometrically sound outcome measures. In this article, we identify several noteworthy multidimensional measures of functional impairment (ADHD FX, Barkley Functional Impairment Scale [BFIS], Impairment Rating Scale [IRS], Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale [WFIRS]) utilized in recent clinical trials for ADHD, and describe their psychometric properties and clinical utility. We also review existing evidence on the impact of pharmacological and behavioral treatments on different domains of functional impairment in ADHD youth as measured by these specific measures. Further research is needed to evaluate longitudinal effects of ADHD treatments on functional impairment, and the use of these measures in adaptive treatment designs.

Skills Versus Pills: Psychosocial Treatments for ADHD in Childhood and Adolescence.

Although side effects and family concerns are common and long-term medication adherence is low, stimulant medications are a front-line treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Psychosocial treatments include classroom, family, and child-focused interventions that teach caregivers and teachers how to implement contingencies to shape behavior and provide children with skills to compensate for ADHD deficits. Such programs have a growing evidence-base and can be implemented alone or in conjunction with pharmacological treatments. The most efficacious psychosocial treatments for children with ADHD include Behavioral Parent Training, Behavioral Classroom Management, and Behavioral Peer Interventions, which all focus on contingency management by adults. Training interventions are increasingly used to teach organizational and interpersonal skills to children and adolescents. These treatments are found to improve functional outcomes associated with ADHD, including on-task behavior, compliance, academic performance, social relationships, and family functioning. Clinicians play an important role in educating families about psychosocial treatments for ADHD, increasing family motivation and engagement, and including these interventions in multimodal treatment plans for youth with ADHD across development. [Pediatr Ann. 2016;45(10):e367-e372.].

Developmental trajectories of clinically significant attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms from grade 3 through 12 in a high-risk sample: Predictors and outcomes.

Developmental trajectories of clinically significant attention-deficit/hyperactivity (ADHD) symptoms were explored in a sample of 413 children identified as high risk because of elevated kindergarten conduct problems. Symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity were modeled simultaneously in a longitudinal latent class analyses, using parent reports collected in Grades 3, 6, 9, and 12. Three developmental trajectories emerged: (1) low levels of inattention and hyperactivity (low), (2) initially high but then declining symptoms (declining), and (3) continuously high symptoms that featured hyperactivity in childhood and early adolescence and inattention in adolescence (high). Multinomial logistic regressions examined child characteristics and family risk factors as predictors of ADHD trajectories. Relative to the low class, children in the high and declining classes displayed similar elevations of inattention and hyperactivity in early childhood. The high class was distinguished from the declining class by higher rates of aggression and hyperactivity at school and emotion dysregulation at home. In contrast, the declining class displayed more social isolation at home and school, relative to the low class. Families of children in both high and declining trajectory classes experienced elevated life stressors, and parents of children in the high class were also more inconsistent in their discipline practices relative to the low class. By late adolescence, children in the high class were significantly more antisocial than those in the low class, with higher rates of arrests, school dropout, and unemployment, whereas children in the declining class did not differ from those in the low trajectory class. The developmental and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Executive Functioning and School Adjustment: The Mediational Role of Pre-kindergarten Learning-related Behaviors.

164 four-year-old children (14% Latino American, 30% African American, 56% European American; 57% girls) in 22 Head Start classrooms were followed through third grade. Growth curve models were used to estimate the predictive associations between pre-kindergarten executive function (EF) skills and trajectories of academic skill development (math, literacy, overall academic functioning) and social-emotional adjustment at school (social competence, aggression), controlling for child sex, race, verbal IQ, and pre-kindergarten baseline scores. Direct developmental pathways were examined, along with indirect pathways, in which the association between preschool EF and elementary school adjustment was mediated by classroom learning behaviors. Preschool EF significantly predicted later math skills, academic functioning, and social competence, and marginally predicted later literacy skills. Preschool learning behaviors fully mediated the association between EF and later literacy skills and social competence, but did not mediate associations between EF and later math skills or academic functioning. Implications for developmental theory and early education are discussed.

Preschool executive functions, single-parent status, and school quality predict diverging trajectories of classroom inattention in elementary school.

A sample of 356 children recruited from Head Start (58% European American, 25% African American, and 17% Hispanic; 54% girls; M age = 4.59 years) were followed longitudinally from prekindergarten through fifth grade. Latent profile analyses of teacher-rated inattention from kindergarten through third grade identified four developmental trajectories: stable low (53% of the sample), stable high (11.3%), rising over time (16.4%), and declining over time (19.3%). Children with stable low inattention had the best academic outcomes in fifth grade, and children exhibiting stable high inattention had the worst, with the others in between. Self-regulation difficulties in preschool (poor executive function skills and elevated opposition-aggression) differentiated children with rising versus stable low inattention. Elementary schools characterized by higher achievement differentiated children with declining versus stable high inattention. Boys and children from single-parent families were more likely to remain high or rise in inattention, whereas girls and children from dual-parent families were more likely to remain low or decline in inattention.