Medication for ADHD
ADHD Treatments
ADHD Medication Summary by Dr.
Daniel Carlat
Educational Interventions
Paul Wender, MD, one of the first to research attentional disorders, used to describe ADHD children as "living in an emotional raincoat". That is, they are hard to reward and hard to punish. This means behavioral interventions are difficult, and rule based programs, such as
BACK IN CONTROL by Gregory Bodenhamer , often work best. Bodenhamer's program suggests defining a small number of rules which are so clear that another adult supervising could follow them exactly. If something is not a rule, it is the child's decision. He suggests never arguing about a rule, as when you argue the child is in charge. Most important, he suggests you neither reward nor punish, but enforce your rules. His book can be purchased on Amazon.com.
Behavioral Interventions
While many recommend star charts and similar programs using behavior modification approaches, these rarely have long term efficacy in ADHD children. Based on the child wanting the reward that is being offered, there may be little or no incentive for the child to follow the rule. I recall one parent offering a reward of going to Disneyland if he made his bed every day for a week. What would you give for the following week? Bodenhamer's program, I have found ,is much more effective in both the long and short term.
Online Resources
Internet Mental Health ......a remarkable online resource done by a psychiatrist. It delineates most psychiatric diagnoses and their criteria, has descriptions of most psychiatric medications, and is extremely reliable.
PUBMED...the medical literature in electronic format. Proceed with caution, however, as drug companies fund much of the research today.