Teaching children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autistic disorder (AD) how to swallow pills.
One barrier to medication adherence in pediatric populations is difficulty swallowing pills. Some children may not have prerequisite skills for pill swallowing, while others may have developed conditioned anxiety from repeated negative experiences. Eight children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or autistic disorder participated in behavioral training to increase cooperation with pill swallowing. A pill-swallowing protocol was utilized during practice sessions with placebo "pills" of increasing size to implement systematic desensitization. Seven of the 8 children swallowed medication with a therapist. Six of the 8 children maintained treatment gains over time. Interventions used to succeed with these children are presented along with methods to reduce conditioned behavioral distress.
Beck
Melissa H
MH
Kennedy Krieger Institute and The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Cataldo
Marilyn
M
Slifer
Keith J
KJ
Pulbrook
Valerie
V
Guhman
Jaswinder K
JK
D000284:Administration, Oral; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000150:complications; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D003679:Deglutition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013607:Tablets / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D013607:Tablets