text_1: Easy Nondrug Help Aids ADHD Kids
text_2: Might behavioral therapy help preschoolers diagnosed with ADHD improve their ability to learn and reduce problem behaviors? If it does, is an intensive, customized intervention more helpful than a simpler educational program? This brief article suggests the answers are yes and no. Using a reasonable range of sources, the story nicely sums up the new research and the problems faced by preschoolers with ADHD. The news story says ADHD may afflict a small portion of preschoolers (1% to 4%). But the wide net cast by the story’s diagnostic criteria could ensnare some innocent victims—“extreme symptoms when compared to youngsters of the same age,” including kids who don’t listen, who “drive their families crazy,” and who are injury-prone. Fortunately, a child psychiatrist cautions readers not to “jump on the bandwagon too quickly in making early diagnoses.” Mention of additional criteria–adapted from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, for example–might help readers distinguish “extreme” from normal variations in behavior. (New Engl J Med 2005;352:165-73). The story neglects mention of cost or how readers might find professionals to implement the more-intensive program. It might also have provided more context on treatment harms and alternatives. Can behavioral therapy go wrong—and if it can, how might it harm a vulnerable preschooler? The article explains that the main treatment option, medication, is not yet approved for these youngsters. However, it fails to note that behavioral therapies have proven to be less effective as medications in older, school-age kids. (New Engl J Med 2005;352:165-73).