There has been a lot of research conducted on the treatment of childhood and Adult ADHD. Numerous studies have been conducted on a variety of treatment options. For one there are different types of counseling that can can be offered in person or online, depending on the experience level of the pool of therapists you plan on making your selection from. There are three that have been proven to be effective in individuals that struggle with ADHD. These are behavioral therapy, taking medications, and doing both together. There is no treatment that has been shown to change the outcome of whether an individual will have ADHD. In other words, there is no cure. Individuals with ADHD are wired in a different way. For this reason, it is important to remember that this means they learn in a different way. Here are some of the different treatment options for both children and adults struggling with ADHD and a little about each one.
Medications
There have been numerous advances made in how ADHD is treated. Now, stimulants are the medication of choice for individuals who struggle with ADHD. Studies have shown that individuals with ADHD find stimulants have a calming effect and increase their ability to function. Strattera is a non-stimulant drug that also assists in helping weaken the symptoms of ADHD. At the same time, Strattera can help with mood disorders that may coexist in individuals that struggle with ADHD. For individuals that struggle with both ADHD and depression and/or anxiety: Strattera may be extremely helpful when functioning every day is difficult. “However, it is imperative that one does not self-diagnose. It is even more dangerous for patients to self-medicate with the kinds of drugs that are often prescribed to patients with ADHD,” Samoon Ahmad M.D. reminds.
Modifying Behavior
Children who display aggressive and/or disruptive behaviors have been utilizing behavioral interventions for over thirty years. They have been extremely successful in assisting children who struggle with ADHD in modifying behavior and learning how to function and control the symptoms of their ADHD. There are five different categories of behavioral modification therapy.
-
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
The goal of cognitive behavioral interventions is to teach individuals self-control. The method of teaching the individual self-control is to teach problem-solving skills, self-monitoring skills, cognitive modeling strategies, self-reinforcement techniques, and self- evaluation skills. Clifford N. Lazarus Ph.D. said, “Even when medication is used to treat ADHD, most people are advised to augment its effectiveness with CBT and other psychoeducational approaches.” A therapist will typically meet with the client up to twice a week and use scenarios that provide the client the opportunity to think through situations and learn how to change their reactions. This can help an individual learn to manage the impulsivity that goes along with having ADHD.
-
Clinical Behavior Therapy
This type of therapy focuses on those who provide care to children. Instead of directly modifying the behavior of children: teachers, parents, and other caregivers are taught management programs that they can use with the children. In other words, the goal is to modify the behavior of the caregivers and how they respond/react to certain behaviors. This, in turn, teaches the children how to modify their behavior because caregivers are providing interventions that work to address problematic behaviors children exhibit at home and in the classroom.
-
Contingency Management
This type of therapy is more intensive. It is still behavior modification therapy, but it typically involves either a specialized classroom or a specialized facility typesetting. Rewards and consequences are typically used to modify undesirable behavior and encourage desired behaviors.
-
Intensive Behavioral Treatment
This type of treatment typically involves combining clinical behavior therapy and contingency management and turn it into an intensive program. The goal is to improve socialization skills and self-control. This type of treatment is consistent and around the clock interventions that aim to teach children how to socialize with their peers and aims to intervene and correct undesirable behavior while encouraging behavior that is beneficial.
-
Medications and Behavior Intervention
Typically, individuals with ADHD benefit from both medication and behavior interventions. Children with ADHD may find it difficult to control their impulsive behavior. They may have a hard time paying attention during the therapy type settings. Providing both in combination can increase the success. The medication can be used to provide individuals with enough relief of ADHD symptoms so that they can focus and benefit from the behavior intervention. Medications may not be needed forever, but they can help in the behavioral intervention process. “For people with ADHD, not taking medication is often more dangerous than using medication. Untreated ADHD increases the risk of a variety of problems, including substance abuse and dropping out of school,” Joel L. Young M.D. says.