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Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

ADHD is a developmental disorder associated with an ongoing pattern of inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity. Symptoms of ADHD can interfere with daily activities and relationships. Although the symptoms typically appear in childhood, ADHD can continue through adolescence and adulthood. Learn more about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

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Featured Studies

Featured studies include only those currently recruiting participants. Studies with the most recent start date appear first.


Enhancing Team Effectiveness for a Collaborative School-based Intervention for ADHD 

Study Type: Interventional
Start Date: January 1, 2024
Eligibility: 7 Years to 11 Years, Does Not Accept Healthy Volunteers
Location(s): IN STEP Children's Mental Health Center, San Diego, California, United States

The proposed project aims to integrate team-based implementation strategies with an established school-based intervention for children with ADHD, the Collaborative Life Skills Program (CLS), to enhance its implementation and optimize its effectiveness. The investigators will tailor three empirically-supported team development interventions, Team Charters, Team Communication Training (Student Handoff Protocols), and Team Performance Monitoring, and integrate them into a team-enhanced CLS implementation protocol (CLS-T). Team Charters are a written document developed collaboratively by the team at the outset of their work together outlining expectations, goals, roles and responsibilities, and relevant policies and procedures for team collaborative operations. Research shows that Team Charters strengthen affective emergent states, such as trust and cohesion among team members, as well as cognitive emergent states, such as shared mental models. They also strengthen team processes, such as goal specification, communication, and coordination to optimize team effectiveness. Handoff protocols are widely used interventions for ensuring continuity in patient care and minimizing errors in medical settings. They have also been found to improve affective (e.g., trust, cohesion) and cognitive (e.g., shared mental models, situation awareness) emergent states among team members, enhancing team communication and coordination. Finally, Team Performance Monitoring provides feedback to teams that can motivate performance, provide opportunities for adaptation in the event of challenges, and prompt communication among team members. The investigators will conduct a Hybrid Type III cluster randomized trial in 24 schools in two large urban school districts, to evaluate whether CLS-T implementation results in improved implementation outcomes and child outcomes in comparison to standard CLS implementation.


A Sleep Focused Parenting Intervention for Preschool Aged Children at Risk for ADHD 

Study Type: Interventional
Start Date: December 1, 2023
Eligibility: 3 Years to 5 Years, Does Not Accept Healthy Volunteers
Location(s): University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

The goal of this pilot clinical effectiveness trial is to compare a brief parent behavioral intervention (PBI) to a modified sleep focused PBI (SF-PBI) delivered by therapists in pediatric primary care for families of children 3-5 years old with sleep problems and early ADHD symptoms.

The main aims are to:

Demonstrate acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness of the SF-PBI. Examine change in sleep and ADHD symptoms among preschoolers with ADHD symptoms receiving SF-PBI compared to the brief PBI.


Preschool Attention and Sleep Support (PASS) 

Study Type: Interventional
Start Date: July 24, 2023
Eligibility: 3 Years to 5 Years, Does Not Accept Healthy Volunteers
Location(s): Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States

This study will be investigating two telehealth interventions for preschoolers with ADHD. The study is divided into two Aims. During Aim 1, caregivers of preschoolers with attention concerns, pediatric behavioral health professionals, and pediatric primary care providers will take part in two virtual focus groups to provide their perspective on ways to improve the telehealth intervention being evaluated.


Improving the Outcomes of Adolescents With ADHD Via a Pre-visit Question Prompt List/Video Intervention 

Study Type: Interventional
Start Date: March 22, 2023
Eligibility: 11 Years to 17 Years, Does Not Accept Healthy Volunteers
Location(s): University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

The investigators propose to conduct a pilot randomized controlled feasibility trial to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a pre-visit intervention to improve communication about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The investigators will enroll 140 English-speaking youth ages 11-17 with an ADHD medical record diagnosis who screen as having predominantly inattentive subtype, hyperactive/impulsive subtype, or combined inattention/hyperactivity on the Vanderbilt parent assessment scale from three pediatric clinics. Teh investigators will randomize the families to receive both the question prompt lists and video (N=35), just the question prompt lists (N=35), just the video (N=35), or usual care (N=35). This will allow the team to understand whether both the video and question prompt list components are needed for the larger trial. The aims of the investigators are:

Aim 1: To examine whether the ADHD question prompt lists and/or pre-visit video significantly impact the proposed mechanisms of the intervention. The team will investigate whether adolescents and parents in each of the intervention groups: (a) ask more questions and receive more provider education about ADHD during their baseline and 3-month visits and (b) have higher self-efficacy at 3 and 6 months than adolescents and parents in the usual care group.

Aim 2: To investigate the effectiveness of the ADHD question prompt lists and/or the pre-visit video by examining whether adolescents in each of the intervention groups have improved ADHD symptoms, school and social performance, and quality-of-life at 6 months compared to those in the usual care group.

Aim 3: To assess adolescent, parent, and provider feedback on the acceptability, feasibility, tolerability, and safety of using the ADHD question prompt lists and/or the pre-visit video. The results from this pilot trial will be used to inform a larger trial by: (a) identifying the intervention arm with the greatest potential impact, acceptability, feasibility, and tolerability, and (b) determine the best mechanisms and outcome variables to assess in a larger trial.


Efficacy of Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation for ADHD 

Study Type: Interventional
Start Date: September 1, 2022
Eligibility: 7 Years to 12 Years, Does Not Accept Healthy Volunteers
Location(s): University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States; Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington, United States

This study is a large multisite randomized clinical trial to asses the efficacy of external trigeminal nerve stimulation (TNS), a novel, minimal risk, non-invasive neuromodulation treatment, for ADHD in children ages 7-12 years old (N=180).

Study hypotheses address potential differences in ADHD symptoms over 4 weeks treatment with active vs. sham TNS in an expanded multi-site investigation; whether resting state fronto-parietal connectivity mediates TNS impact on ADHD symptoms; if changes in fronto-parietal activation, as measured by electroencephalography (EEG), predict TNS-related treatment outcomes; and whether a baseline cognitive profile similarly predicts response to TNS therapy.


A Peer-Delivered High School Preparatory Intervention for Students With ADHD 

Study Type: Interventional
Start Date: June 3, 2022
Eligibility: 13 Years to 16 Years, Does Not Accept Healthy Volunteers
Location(s): Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, United States

This study will test whether a peer-delivered intervention for high school students with ADHD outperforms enhanced school services as usual. Ninth grade students with ADHD (N=72) will be randomly assigned to the intervention (summer STRIPES) or the enhanced school services control group (SSU plus). Students will be assessed in the spring of 8th grade, fall of ninth grade, and spring of ninth grade. Primary outcomes will be GPA, Class Attendance, Disciplinary Incidents, and ADHD symptoms (parent and teacher report).


Investigation of Strategies to Reduce the Impact of the Relative Age Effect in Kindergarten 

Study Type: Interventional
Start Date: June 1, 2022
Eligibility: 4 Years to 5 Years, Does Not Accept Healthy Volunteers
Location(s): Center for Children and Families, Amherst, New York, United States

There is now clear evidence that children entering kindergarten, that are relatively young for the grade (e.g., born in the months immediately preceding the school entry cut-off) are at significantly more risk for receiving an ADHD diagnosis and being prescribed stimulant medication. These risks appear to be related solely to age of entry when other explanatory variables are controlled. This situation, termed the "Relative Age Effect"has potentially serious consequences for kindergarten children (e.g., greater likelihood of being prescribed psychoactive medication to control behavior).

The present proposal aims to develop a teacher intervention to attenuate the impact of the relative age effect on young kindergarteners with elevated ADHD symptoms, and test the correspondence between the hypothesized mechanisms and treatment outcomes related to ADHD (e.g., symptoms, impairment). Following intervention development and refinement, 60 children entering kindergarten in the fall, and young for the grade, will be randomly assigned to (1) Kindergarten as Usual (KAU); (2) a Relative Age Effect prevention intervention administered immediately; or (3) a Relative Age Effect prevention intervention administered mid-year. In the intervention groups, teachers will be introduced to the relative age effect, receive information on how to anchor behavioral ratings in developmental norms, and implement a positive behavioral support to support growth in the child across the kindergarten school year.

Primary aims will be to demonstrate the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention approach as well as the ability of the team to retain young children in a longitudinal trial. Further, the hypothesized mechanisms (e.g., improved neurocognitive functioning; improved teacher use of positive behavioral supports) will be measured and correspondence to hypothesized outcomes (e.g., reduced ADHD symptoms and impairment) will be evaluated. Anticipated benefits include attenuation of any negative effects for children who receive intervention, and risks include breach of confidentiality and worsening of symptoms initially if an intervention is instituted. The knowledge to be gained is important as it could reduce untoward outcomes for the relatively youngest children in the grade.


SKIP for PA Study: Team and Leadership Level Implementation Support for Collaborative Care 

Study Type: Interventional
Start Date: November 29, 2021
Eligibility: 18 Years and Older, Does Not Accept Healthy Volunteers
Location(s): University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

In a prior application (MH064372), the investigators' treatment research program (Services for Kids In Primary-care, SKIP) developed and tested a chronic care model-based intervention, called Doctor Office Collaborative Care (DOCC), that was found to be effective in the management of childhood behavior problems and comorbid ADHD. In the "SKIP for PA Study", the investigators propose to conduct a randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effects of team- and practice leadership-level implementation strategies designed to enhance the use and uptake of DOCC in diverse pediatric primary care offices.


Helping Toddlers and Parents Together 

Study Type: Interventional
Start Date: April 22, 2021
Eligibility: 12 Months to 55 Years, Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Location(s): Children's National Medical Center, Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Using stakeholder feedback (i.e., behavioral health providers & caregivers), the goal of this study is to develop a behavioral parenting program that focuses on both parent mental health and parenting for parents of toddlers (12-35 months old). Using a deployment focused intervention model, this study will : (1) develop an early parenting intervention for parents of at-risk toddlers which integrates a focus on parent mental health with evidence-based behavioral parenting strategies, and (2) examine context-specific factors related to the intervention, including feasibility and acceptability to design a more practice-ready intervention.


Treating Parents With ADHD and Their Young Children Via Telehealth: A Hybrid Type I Effectiveness-Implementation Trial 

Study Type: Interventional
Start Date: August 6, 2020
Eligibility: 3 Years to 65 Years, Does Not Accept Healthy Volunteers
Location(s): Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington, United States; University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States

This study will compare the effectiveness of combined parental stimulant medication and behavioral parent training (BPT) versus BPT alone on child ADHD-related impairment (primary outcome), child ADHD and externalizing symptoms, time to child stimulant prescription (secondary child outcomes) and parental ADHD impairment, parental ADHD symptoms, parenting, and BPT engagement (parental outcomes/target mechanisms). This study will also assess the care delivery context and develop an implementation approach for treatment of families with a parent with ADHD and a child with elevated ADHD symptoms via telehealth in primary care sites providing pediatric care.


Virtual Reality Attention Management 

Study Type: Interventional
Start Date: June 2, 2016
Eligibility: 8 Years to 12 Years, Does Not Accept Healthy Volunteers
Location(s): UC Davis MIND Institute, Sacramento, California, United States

Problems with distraction are widespread in the 21st century, but for people with developmental delays or behavioral challenges they can have more damaging effects. For example, susceptibility to distraction is associated with worse school and social performance, lower high school graduation rates, and increased incidence of serious accidents. The investigators' goal is to improve understanding of distractibility and develop a targeted treatment. The proposed intervention is based on models of habituation, which is a term that means reduced physiological and emotional response to a stimulus (e.g. moving object, or loud noise, etc.) as it is seen repeatedly. The investigators use virtual reality technology to show study participants distracting stimuli repeatedly in a virtual classroom setting, and their hypothesis states that participants will improve attention in the face of distraction by training with this technology intervention. The virtual classroom setting is especially relevant for children who have significant challenges with distractibility, such as children with ADHD. This intervention will likely be effective in helping individuals with other clinical disorders and perhaps the general population as well.


Brain Imaging of Childhood Onset Psychiatric Disorders, Endocrine Disorders and Healthy Volunteers 

Study Type: Observational
Start Date: June 19, 1990
Eligibility: 3 Years and Older, Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Location(s): National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, United States

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) unlike X-rays and CT-scans does not use radiation to create a picture. MRI use as the name implies, magnetism to create pictures with excellent anatomical resolution. Functional MRIs are diagnostic tests that allow doctors to not only view anatomy, but physiology and function. It is for these reasons that MRIs are excellent methods for studying the brain.

In this study, researchers will use MRI to assess brain anatomy and function in X and Y chromosome variation, healthy volunteers, and patients with a variety of childhood onset psychiatric disorders. The disorders include attention deficit disorder, autism, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, childhood-onset schizophrenia, dyslexia, obsessive compulsive disorder, Sydenham's chorea, and Tourette's syndrome.

Results of the MRIs showing the anatomy of the brain and brain function will be compared across age, sex (gender), and diagnostic groups. Correlations between brain and behavioral measures will be examined for normal and clinical populations.