School-based Screening to Identify Children At Risk for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Barriers and...

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Pediatric Health
• Educational Screening

Background:

• Early identification of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is critical for children's development.
• School-based screening offers a potential avenue for early detection and intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a school-based screening program for identifying children at risk for ADHD.
• To evaluate the process of communicating screening results to parents and recommending primary care provider (PCP) follow-up.

Main Methods:

• A school-based screening involving 17,440 students (grades 1-5) across five districts.
• Utilized the Vanderbilt AD/HD Diagnostic Teacher Rating Scale for online screeners completed by teachers.
• Assessed parent consent rates, screener completion rates, and parent response to follow-up recommendations.

Main Results:

• 18.1% of completed screeners (n=1,044) identified children at risk for ADHD.
• 39.1% of parents of at-risk children were unreachable; 53.1% of contacted parents accepted PCP follow-up recommendations.
• Parental acceptance of PCP follow-up was not linked to ADHD symptom severity but was higher for children with IEPs or related services.

Conclusions:

• School-based ADHD screening can identify at-risk children but faces significant logistical barriers, including parent contact and engagement.
• Despite challenges, the project highlights the importance of addressing ADHD early through collaborative school-parent-PCP approaches.
• Further research is needed to optimize school-based screening protocols and overcome identified implementation hurdles.