ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS INTERVENTION FOR ADHD CHILDREN

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DESCRIPTION (Applicant's abstract): In addition to the cardinal signs of ADHD, it is generally recognized that other clinical features are crucial including problems in organizing tasks and activities, disorganized work habits, and a tendency to lose materials. A prominent model of ADHD recognizes these problems as reflecting deficits in executive functions. However, systematic steps have not been taken to assess or intervene in improving organizational, time management, and planning (OTMP) skills. This R21 submission proposes to develop an intervention to ameliorate the OTMP skill deficits in 8-11 year old children with ADHD. This application has three major aims: 1) instrument development; 2) treatment development; and 3) pilot intervention testing. The first aim is to develop "real life" measures of OTMP skills to: 1) identify specific areas of impairment; and 2) assess treatment outcome. We plan two assessment strategies: the Children's Organizational Skills Scale and the Analogue Test of Organization Skills. Our second aim is to develop a manualized intervention designed to improve functioning at school and home by ameliorating OTMP skills. Our third aim is to conduct a pilot treatment study in which 20 children are assigned to a 10-week OTMP treatment group and 20 to an assessment only control group. The pilot study is designed to generate data to estimate effect sizes needed to conduct a full-scale clinical trial. If proven effective in appropriate study designs, the treatment is intended to serve as an important adjunct to other validated treatments for ADHD. It is an adjunct that is currently missing, so innovation in this area seems crucial.