One of the best aricles about ADHD, its appearance to the practicing clinician, the evidence supporting its treatment, and formal guidelines for management, recently appeared.
In a succinct and clear exposition, pediatricians Heidi Feldman at Stanford and Michael Reiff at the University of Minnesota lay out the typical appearance of ADHD in children and adolescents, the specific treatments known to work best, and the essential recommendations for management based upon good scientific studies.
This nine page document is well worth reading, as opposed to much of the lengthy tomes of nonsense available on the internet and blogosphere. The entire article is a thoughtful response to the following question:
"A 9-year-old boy who received a diagnosis of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at 7 years of age is brought to your office by his parents for a follow-up visit. He had behavioral problems since preschool, including excessive fidgeting and difficulty following directions and taking turns with peers. Parent and teacher ratings of behavior confirmed elevated levels of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity that were associated with poor grades, disruptions of classroom activities, and poor peer relationships. He was treated with sustained release methlylphenidate. Although teacher and parent rating scales after treatment showed reduced symptoms, he still makes careless mistakes and has poor grades and no friends. What would you advise?"
The article appears in The New England Journal of Medicine, 2014;370:838.46. An audio version is available at NEJM.org.
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