Navigating ADHD In Children and Teens

[AHRQ]

The number of ADHD-related medical visits increased from 6.2 million in 2000 to 10.4 million in 2010. (1)

Because there is no one medical or physical test that tells if someone has ADHD, we nurses must know how to spot the signs and be prepared to give parents and caregivers the information they need to understand the condition.

AHRQ's free patient treatment summary, Treatment Options for ADHD in Children and Teens, is available to help parents and caregivers understand ADHD and take into consideration the treatment options available. The summary outlines both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments that are available such as parental behavior training, psychosocial therapy, and school-based programs.

Here are three things you can discuss with your patients when using this summary:

• How ADHD affects children or adolescents and their families.
  
• Patient and parental preferences regarding diagnosis and treatment options, including pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions.
  
• How they can access information from the National Resource Center on ADHD about diagnosis and treatment, educational programs, public benefits, and other issues. The Center is supported with funding from the Federal Government through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ADHD information can be accessed online at www.help4adhd.org or by phone at 800-233-4050.
  

What other tools for ADHD diagnosis do you currently use? What challenges have you faced while helping to treat children with ADHD? What successes have you had?

To share this information with your patients, free copies of the clinician and patient treatment summaries can be ordered by calling 800-358-9295 and using code C-01.

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(1) http://www.ahrq.gov/news/newsletters/research-activities/sept12/0912RA14.html

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Thanks Beth!