Is early intervention effective in preventing ADHD?
The purpose of this study was to examine whether early intervention by non-pharmacologic means (occupational therapy and speech therapy) can decrease the incidence of ADHD in a group of preschool children at high risk for developing this syndrome. Fifty-one children who suffered at the age of 2-4.5 years from inattention, speech delay and/or motor delay with or without hyperactivity were reexamined at the age of 8-10 years (average 8.9 +/- 1.0 years) by a developmental pediatrician and a developmental psychologist, using the following tests and questionnaires: WISC-R IQ test, Touwen and Prechtl neurological examination for soft neurological signs and the DSM-III-R questionnaire for parents and teachers for the assessment of inattention and hyperactivity. A detailed medical questionnaire was also completed. Of 51 children, 20 (39%) had ADHD. Of these 20 children, 8 had a history of ADHD in other siblings. We found that in children with a family history of this syndrome early intervention reduced the incidence of ADHD at school age although the small numbers limit conclusions and need further replication.
Rappaport
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GC
Jerusalem Institute of Child Development, Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Israel.
Ornoy
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Tenenbaum
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D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D018479:Early Intervention, Educational; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000379:methods; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013070:Speech Therapy / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome