ADHD Drug Dosage Cut by Behavioral Therapy: The Low Level of Side Effects Produced by Lower Doses Could Put Behavior Modification in the Spotlight

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WASHINGTON -- Behavior modification can reduce the level of medication needed in school-aged children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, William E. Pelham Jr., Ph.D., said at the annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.

Few studies have addressed the issue of how behavioral and pharmacologic therapies should be sequenced in children, said Dr. Pelham, a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the State University of New York, Buffalo.

Dr. Pelham and his colleagues have completed two studies funded by the National Institutes of Health that examined dosing and sequencing of behavior modification and medication. "We measured impairment--not core symptoms--because impairment is what you want to focus on; …