Comparative Study of Multimodal and Pharmacological Therapy in Treating School Aged Children with ADHD

Abstract

The attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), one of the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorders among school aged children, continues to create disputes between specialists, upon the best treatment to be used. The herby study aims to bring forward some differences that may exist between the efficacy of the multimodal treatment compared to the drug treatment of ADHD. The novelty component of this study, unfolded February 2010-July 2012, is that the children, their parents and also their teachers were included in the multimodality treatment.  The children included in this research (n=63), aged 6-14 and ADHD diagnosed, were randomly assigned in two groups. In the medication (Med) group (n=32) the children only received the specific pharmacological treatment (Atomoxetine or Methylphenidate), and for the multimodality (MM) group (n=31) the therapy included psychosocial interventions besides the drug therapy. All children were evaluated, both pre and post intervention, with the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment – ASEBA, for the 6-18 aged category. We have compared the influence of therapy on the core symptoms, on the adaptive functionality and academic performance and on the competences and social functioning of the children in the two groups. The multimodal intervention proved to be more effective (p<0.05) than medication alone, firstly in ameliorating the child’s social behavior in both family and school environment, than in what concerns the main ADHD symptoms. The children’s academic performance was little impacted by either of the two therapies.