The videos and accompanying guide clearly describe the diagnostic process and include information on less commonly used but highly effected strategies, such as titration trials and ongoing monitoring of treatment.
Understanding ADHD has been evaluated as part of a larger multimodal NIMH field trial conducted at Duke University as well as through focus groups and smaller field trials. These evaluations has consistently found the package to be effective, informative, and engaging.
ADHD is the most common mental disorder in children, affecting an estimated 3-5% of school age children (Barkley, 1990). Although many children with ADHD make adequate adjustments during adolescence and adulthood, it is clear that ADHD seriously disrupts normal development for many children. Thus, children with ADHD are at significant risk for failing to complete high school (Barkley, Fischer, Edelbrock, & Smallish, 1990) and as many as 25% develop chronic patterns of antisocial behavior that persist into adulthood. Although it is difficult to calculate the costs to society associated with this condition, it was estimated that additional national public school expenditures on behalf of students with ADHD may have exceeded $3 billion in 1995 (NIH, 1998).
Primary care providers--the practitioners who evaluate and treat the vast majority of children with ADHD--often fail to utilize systematic and empirically based procedures to guide their evaluation and treatment decisions. AEI has produced a series of videos, available in multiple formats, to aid community-based pediatricians in their implementation of proven intervention techniques. Given the limited time physicians(and other health care professionals) can provide to each family, such tools are essential for informed patient families and effective clinical practice -- and do not presently exist.
