An efficacy study of a combined parent and teacher management training programme for children with ADHD

Several parent training programmes and behavioural teacher training programmes built on learning theory have been developed for problem prevention and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) during the last few decades. Group format has often been used for parent training but single-subject designs are more common in teacher training. More studies have focussed on pre-school children than on older children, and a minority have been conducted in public mental health settings.

This study aimed to evaluate a combined parent and teacher manual-based group training programme for children with ADHD conducted by the staff at a child and adolescent psychiatric clinic in Sweden.

The intervention was a modified version of Barkley's programme. Children were randomized to an Intervention or a Control group. Sixty-one parents and 68 teachers answered questions about ADHD and ODD symptoms, and about behavioural problems when the study started and at a 3-month follow-up.

RESULTS showed that the intervention resulted in a reduction of the number of children who met DSM-IV criteria for ADHD and/or ODD. Effects were more pronounced in the home setting than in the school setting, and were further accentuated when both parents and teachers of the same child took part in the intervention. Teachers with more problematic classroom situations benefited most from the intervention.

The programme, "Strategies in Everyday Life", has, in a regular clinical setting, demonstrated promising effects on children's disruptive behaviour, and a clinical implication was to recommend involving both parents and teachers in the programme.