After-school skills training may help students with ADHD get organised and earn better grades

The study

1. 01

   Who took part

   326 middle-school students with ADHD from nine school districts in the Midwest of the United States. About 7 in 10 were boys, and most were European-American.

2. 02

   What they did

   Students in the after-school group met a counsellor and joined skills groups twice a week. Each session lasted about 2 hours 45 minutes, from September to May. Students in the mentoring group met a school staff mentor for about 12 minutes once a week. The community-care group got only a list of local services.

3. 03

   What happened

   Six months after the school year, parents rated after-school students as better organised. They also rated them as having fewer attention problems than the community-care group. Their average grade was 2.20 out of 4, against 2.10. Mentoring students' average grade was 2.05, and the paper prints no tests for these differences.

What the study found

1. HelpedTime management

   Parents rated students in the after-school group as better organised six months later.

   • Action: Organise your materialstested
   • Action: Take a time-management coursetested
   • Rule: Get feedback on your progresstested

   Randomised trial of 326 middle-school students with ADHD · vs students given only a list of services · they rated themselves · ⚠ groups weren't properly compared

2. HelpedGoals

   Students in the after-school group had higher average grades six months later.

   • Action: Organise your materialstested
   • Action: Learn better study strategiestested
   • Rule: Get feedback on your progresstested
   • Rule: With a coach or therapistused

   Randomised trial of 326 middle-school students with ADHD · vs students given only a list of services · they rated themselves · ⚠ groups weren't properly compared

3. HelpedOther outcomes

   Parents said after-school students were less distracted six months later.

   • Action: Organise your materialstested
   • Action: Learn better study strategiestested
   • Rule: Get feedback on your progresstested
   • Rule: With a coach or therapistused

   Randomised trial of 326 middle-school students with ADHD · vs students given only a list of services · they rated themselves · ⚠ groups weren't properly compared

4. No differenceGoals

   Mentoring once a week did not raise average grades above community care.

   • Action: Organise your materialstested
   • Action: Learn better study strategiestested
   • Rule: Get feedback on your progresstested
   • Rule: With a coach or therapistused

   Randomised trial of 326 middle-school students with ADHD · vs students given only a list of services · they rated themselves · ⚠ groups weren't properly compared

Source