Neuro Navigator is a specialty clinic that works to provide children and their families with the support and resources needed to navigate life with a disorganized mind.

 ADHD is a prevalent diagnosis of young children in the United States. A study by the CDC in 2016 showed that over 6 million children ages 2-17 had been diagnosed with ADHD and 1 in 20 children were taking medication for this diagnosis (CDC, 2016). Children living with ADHD may find it extremely difficult to focus, they forget things often, and they can be impulsive, which can lead to accidents and injury (CDC, 2016). While medications may help manage the symptoms of ADHD, learning how to live with the diagnosis can improve the quality of life for these children.

Current research has shown that programs focused on improving ADHD are feasible and can be just as effective as medications in improving symptoms of ADHD. These programs offer interventions that prove to be successful in improving symptoms that children with ADHD struggle with- like reasoning, memory, and attention.

A research project studying the effects of an intervention program called Cog-Fun studied 99 children ages 7-10 to determine if such a program can help decrease ADHD symptoms (Hahn-Markowitz et al., 2020). The program focuses on teaching various strategies to kids and giving their families the resources to help the children succeed (Hahn-Markowitz et al., 2020). Families attended one-hour sessions once a week for 12 weeks and reported symptoms prior to and after completion of the study (Hahn-Markowitz et al., 2020). The results indicated the program was successful in decreasing ADHD symptoms as reported by parents (Hahn-Markowitz et al., 2020). Further, the results were maintained 3 months after the completion of the program (Hahn-Markowitz et al., 2020). This research on Cog-Fun shows us that gaining knowledge and practicing skills can be useful in managing ADHD. The program does not take long to complete and, as long as the families are actively participating, it can be a useful tool in aiding children with ADHD. 

Another intervention studied by researchers has been the program Pay Attention!, which aims to train the attention of children with ADHD (Tamm et al., 2010).  In this program, 23 children ages 8-14 completed self-paced modules in a total of 16 sessions over 8 weeks (Tamm et al., 2010). The children only progressed through modules as they completed the module criteria, so they completed modules at different rates (Tamm et al., 2010). The research on this program showed that the majority of children participating showed some improvement (Tamm et al., 2010). This program shows that allowing children to complete tasks that train their attention at their own pace can help in improving skills that may otherwise be hindered from ADHD.

In psychology, the concept of processing capacity relates to the ability to process information (Goldstein, 2019). People only have a limited amount of processing capacity and how it’s used depends on the task at hand. Low-load tasks are things we practice often and do not take much effort for us to carry out (Goldstein, 2019). High-load tasks on the other hand, are difficult and take up much of our processing capacity (Goldstein, 2019). When children have ADHD, their processing capacity is overloaded most of the time. This overload results in difficulty attending to high-load tasks and, often, these children find themselves easily distracted. In intervention programs like Pay Attention! the goal is to allow kids to complete tasks at their own pace while learning to attend to certain information. Training their mind to attend to high-load tasks can help them focus on difficult concepts rather than allowing themselves to become distracted. This kind of training can help decrease symptoms of ADHD. By learning to pay attention to one item, these kids are effectively reducing the load on their processing capacity. My clinic aims to implement similar programs to help children manage their ADHD symptoms and assist families in learning ways to support this success.

References

CDC. (2016). National Prevalence of ADHD and Treatment: Information on children and adolescents. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/features/national-prevalence-adhd-and-treatment.html#:~:text=CDC%20scientists%20found%20that%2C%20as,is%20similar%20to%20previous%20estimates.

Goldstein, E. B. (2019). Cognitive Psychology (5th ed.) Cengage. https://www.cengage.com/

Hahn-Markowitz, J., Berger, I., Manor, I., & Maeir, A. (2020). Efficacy of Cognitive-Functional (Cog-Fun) Occupational Therapy Intervention Among Children With ADHD: An RCT. Journal of Attention Disorders, 24(5), 655-666. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1177/1087054716666955

Tamm, L., Hughes, C., Ames, L., Pickering, J., Silver, C.H., Stavinoha, P., Castillo, C.L., Rintelmann, J., Moore, J., Foxwell, A., Bolanos, S.G., Hines, T., Nakonezny, P.A., & Emslie, G. (2010, July). Attention Training for School-Aged Children With ADHD: Results of an Open Trial. Journal of Attention Disorders, 14(1), 86-94. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1177/1087054709347446