A META-ANALYSIS OF PHARMACOLOGICAL AND ALLIED THERAPY IN CHILDREN WITH ADHD
Keywords:
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, pharmacological treatment, stimulants, non-stimulants, speech therapy, early intervention, behavior therapy.Abstract
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a behavioral disorder
of childhood, having neurogenic origin. Children with ADHD are
characterized by lack of focus and attention on tasks that typically
developing children are able to perform. The increased prevalence
of ADHD globally may be attributed to increased awareness of the
condition in society, and also its genuine rise in children. The prevalence
of children with ADHD at CSLHS estimates to four per month.
These children warrant treatment by a team of medical and allied
health professionals who are psychologists, neurologists, pediatricians,
behavior therapist, occupational and speech-language
therapists and remedial educationists. A meta-analysis was carried
out to review three clinical trials conducted in developed countries
that addressed the efficacy and effectiveness of stimulant and
non-stimulant drugs given to children with ADHD, in concomitance
with behavior therapy.
Medication along with the allied therapy services presented globally
better results in the children with ADHD, with fulfilled educational
needs and improved quality of life for their families.
Appropriate attentional skills, are a key pre-requisite for acquisition
and learning of communication skills in all modalities, which manifest
a child’s academic success, through childhood and adolescence.
Further, children presenting with ADHD are challenged by the dearth
of early intervention in developing countries; hence an appropriate
combination of pharmacological, behavior therapy along with
parent and teacher training can lead to their successful rehabilitation.
