Eye Contact and Staring After Parental Commands Helps ADHD Children: In a randomized study of 76 parents of ADHD boys, eye contact was effective in reducing ADHD children's problems with non-compliance to their parents' commands. In addition, those parents who subsequently used a stare technique for 20 to 30 seconds following the command reported even greater reduction in problems with compliance. It is possible that the additional time following the command allows the child to process the situation and decide whether compliance or non-compliance is the better option. Longer eye contact improves ADHD children's compliance with parents' commands. Kapalka GM. Monmouth University, New Jersey. J Atten Disord. 2004 Aug;8(1):17-23.

EEG Biofeedback Treatment Said to Help: A German study of 34 children whose parents had reservations about medication let parents decide; 12 chose methylphenidate and the others were given a type of biofeedback involving the use of EEG equipment. Both groups showed improvement.  Unfortunately, there was no placebo group for comparison. Neurofeedback treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children: a comparison with methylphenidate. Fuchs T, Birbaumer N, Lutzenberger W, Gruzelier JH, Kaiser J. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2003 Mar;28(1):1-12

EEG Biofeedback Didn't Help in DB: In a New Zealand DB PC crossover study of seven ADHD children using non-contingent feedback as the control condition, found no benefit from contingent feedback.  EEG biofeedback vs. placebo treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a pilot study. Heywood C, Beale I. J Atten Disord. 2003 Sep;7(1):43-55

Elimination Diet Said of Benefit: Elimination diets for ADHD were first popularized by Dr. Finegold many years ago.  They may be a popular concept with parents of ADHD children, but careful scientific research has repeatedly been unable to verify their claims.  One recent study claims to have some evidence of some benefit from a very brief and very restricted diet.  A Dutch study allowing only turkey, rice, pears, and lettuce for 2 weeks with 40 children found 31 stuck with the diet for the 2 weeks. Of these, 25 had at least a 50% reduction in ADHD symptoms at home. Of the ones improving at home, two-thirds also improved at school.  Of course, the parents were not blind to the diet, so their rates could easily have been influenced by their desire to see benefit. Favourable effect of a standard elimination diet on the behavior of young children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a pilot study. Pelsser LM, Buitelaar JK.

Friendship Intervention: A Purdue therapy study of 209 children and their parents focused in part on the quality of the friendships being kept by the ADHD youth.  Parental compliance with therapy and youth compliance with friendship therapy was linked to better outcome. A friendship intervention for children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: preliminary findings. Hoza B, Mrug S, Pelham WE Jr, Greiner AR, Gnagy EM.

Homeopathy No Benefit in Independent DB Study: In an 18-week DB PC study of children ages 6-12 with ADHD, all received a homeopathic consultation and either an individualized homeopathic remedy or placebo. There were no statistically significant differences between homeopathic remedy and placebo groups on the primary or secondary outcome variables.  Homeopathy for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a pilot randomized-controlled trial. Jacobs J, et al. University of Washington, Seattle, WA. J Altern Complement Med 2005 Oct;11(5):799-806.

Homeopathy Said to Help ADHD: In an odd 6-week DB PC crossover study of 83 ADHD children, the children were all given individually prescribed "homeopathic medications" for an unreported duration of time. The 62 who had improved 50% on the Conner's Global Index were given either homeopathic medications or placebo for six weeks each. During the crossover trial, CGI parent-ratings were slightly lower with the homeopathic medication ("verum") (average 1.67 points) than under placebo (P =0.0479). Long-term (undefined) CGI improvement reached 12 points (63%, P <0.0001) under open conditions where everyone was on homeopathic remedies. Homeopathic treatment of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled crossover trial. Frei H, et al. Swiss Association of Homeopathic Physicians, Lucerne, Switzerland. Eur J Pediatr. 2005 Jul 27. Ed: If such miracle findings were true, the treatment would be a great advance.  Unfortunately, in the 6 week DB period, the difference from placebo was slight and barely significant with no report on whether patients or parents were able to see through the double-blinding. Of course, these homeopathic physicians may have had a strong financial bias in favor of homeopathy.

Thomas E. Radecki, M.D., J.D.

modern-psychiatry.com

Email: [email protected]