James Swanson, PhD, Facilitator
Dr. Swanson is a developmental psychologist who
specializes in research and the treatment of children with AD/HD.
His initial work at the University of California, Irvine focused on
school-based interventions for children with AD/HD, establishing a
public school on the UCI campus where clinical and educational
interventions were combined. Starting in 1990, the focus of Dr.
Swanson’s research expanded to address etiology of AD/HD.
Dr. Swanson developed a laboratory school paradigm that has become a
standard method for evaluating the efficacy of psychoactive medications
for the treatment of children with AD/HD. Dr. Swanson received his
Ph.D. in psychology from the Ohio State University in 1970.
Session: SR1-Research Symposium II-MULTISITE
RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIALS: WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED ABOUT ADHD FROM THE
MTA?; LITTLE CHILDREN, BIG CHALLENGES: Treatment of Preschoolers with
ADHD
Large clinical trials are the fastest and
safest way to discover effective treatments under controlled conditions
for disorders of childhood including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD). The NIMH-funded Multimodal Treatment of
ADHD (MTA) study was a multisite study designed to evaluate the leading
treatments for ADHD, including behavior therapy, medications, and the
combination of the two in elementary-aged children. The study's
treatment phase lasted 14 months and the observational longitudinal
follow-up, currently in its 16th year, at seven sites in the
US and Canada, is ongoing and being funded by NIDA. It is difficult to maintain followup over long periods of time
but longitudinal studies can provide valuable information on outcomes as
children mature and face other developmental problems. Longitudinal
studies also present analytic challenges, in particular with regard to
missing data and assessing the effect of treatment. The MTA follow-up
results will be presented in terms of substance abuse issues and other
measures of impairment that impact young adults diagnosed with ADHD as
children. This symposium will be presented in conjunction with Larry
Greenhill, MD who will be describing the PATS longitudinal study
outcomes.
Dr. Greenhill will provide an overview of
the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment options for children with ADHD
in the preschool stage of development, between 3 years of age and 6
years of age. He will discuss the findings and implications of the
Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ's) lengthy review of
published treatments for ADHD that are the basis of the new American
Academy of Pediatrics Treatment Guidelines for ADHD.
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