Treating ADHD in Adolescents

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD is a very common problem affecting about 10% of all adolescents. Children with ADHD have short attention spans, are hyperactive, talk a great deal, can be disruptive in the classroom etc.-features that are common in many adolescents. However, to have true ADHD, children must be significantly impaired by these problems. An array of medical and behavioral treatments can successfully help manage ADHD. These are reviewed in a series of articles appearing in the May 10, 2016, issue of JAMA. In this podcast, we discuss ADHD with the authors of some of those papers, Eugenia Chan, MD, MPH from Harvard and Philip Shaw, MD, PhD from the National Human Genome Research Institute. Articles discussed in this episode: Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adolescents: A Systematic Review Quantifying the Benefits and Risks of Methylphenidate as Treatment for Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Methylphenidate for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adolescents