Abstract
Symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) generally emerge in early childhood, and research has demonstrated that early intervention can effectively reduce those symptoms. Little attention, however, has addressed pre-academic skills in spite of data indicating older students with ADHD are at high risk for academic failure. In the current study, we examined whether behavioral response to psychosocial intervention was associated with improvement in early reading and math skills 12 and 24 months post-intervention. Participants were 41 children, 3–6 years old who received a comprehensive early intervention package across 6 months. Some differences in pre-academic skill performance between behavioral responders and non-responders (based on changes in oppositional behavior) were observed at 12 months; however, few differences maintained after 24 months. Behavioral responders (based on changes in ADHD behavior) showed improvements on only one measure (early numeracy). The findings underscore the need for specific pre-academic skill interventions in the context of ongoing behavioral interventions.
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Acknowledgment
The preparation of this article was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, Grant R01-MH61563. However, the opinions and positions are of the authors and no endorsement by NIMH should be inferred.
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DuPaul, G.J., Kern, L., Gormley, M.J. et al. Early Intervention for Young Children with ADHD: Academic Outcomes for Responders to Behavioral Treatment. School Mental Health 3, 117–126 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-011-9053-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-011-9053-x