For ADHD, It's Better to Teach Skills Than Prescribe Pills.

Behavior treatment works as well as drugs for children with ADHD and bypasses the risk of medication's side effects, a meta-analysis of 174 studies on ADHD treatment conducted at the University at Buffalo, has shown. This analysis found that teaching parents and teachers how to respond when children do things the right way -- as well as when they display harmful or aggressive behavior -- is effective, and in some cases more effective, than medication for ADHD. Comment: Illich would have liked this review. It enhances the point made in the article from the college of sports medicine that behavioral modification should be started early in life.