Two parent-led programmes both helped children with ADHD manage their time better

The study

1. 01

   Who took part

   55 children aged 9 to 11 with ADHD in Mashhad, Iran, took part with their mothers. 45 had results at the end, 15 in each group. The paper is unclear on whether the groups were formed at random.

2. 02

   What they did

   One group had 16 group sessions of about 45 minutes. A therapist showed each skill, and parents learned to prompt and reward it. A second group had 13 group sessions where parents talked children through tasks, thought aloud and used checklists and daily task maps. The third group got nothing.

3. 03

   What happened

   In both programme groups, parents rated time problems as much lower at the end. The group that got nothing stayed about the same. The two programmes did not clearly differ, but with 15 children per group the study can't show they work equally well. Only parents rated the children, and there was no later check.

What the study found

1. Helped

   When parents learned to prompt and reward new skills, children had fewer time problems than those who got nothing.

   • Action: Organise your materialstested
   • Action: Plan your weektested
   • Rule: Have someone help you set it uptested
   • Rule: Practise with a groupused

   Small trial of 45 children with ADHD and their mothers · vs children who got nothing · they rated themselves

2. Helped

   When parents talked children through tasks with checklists, children also had fewer time problems than those who got nothing.

   • Action: Organise your materialstested
   • Action: Talk yourself through the tasktested
   • Rule: Have someone help you set it uptested
   • Rule: Practise with a groupused

   Small trial of 45 children with ADHD and their mothers · vs children who got nothing · they rated themselves

3. No difference

   Parent-guided learning worked no better than the reward plan; the study was too small to prove them equal.

   • Action: Talk yourself through the tasktested
   • Action: Organise your materialsused
   • Rule: Have someone help you set it upused
   • Rule: Practise with a groupused

   Small trial of 45 children with ADHD and their mothers · vs parents who prompted and rewarded new skills · they rated themselves

Source