ADHD Symptoms Improve . . . Except During Middle School

An article recently posted on the National institute for Mental Health (NIMH) Web sitediscusses a research finding that many parents of middle school children who have ADHD may already know: that although a child’s ADHD symptoms are likely to decline with age, “the stressful transition from elementary school to middle school complicates this pattern and may evendisrupt it.”

Using data from the NIMH-funded Multimodal Treatment Study of ADHD (MTA), researchers from the University of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Center focused on “258 children in the MTA study who completed elementary school and went on to middle school while enrolled in the study. . . . [T]he researchers found that while ADHD symptoms lessened as the children aged, the transition to middle school interrupted this trend.” This analysis was published in the July 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.

According to researchers, because middle school students are confronted with “multiple classes with multiple teachers; more homework, planning, and organizational demands; and become more accountable for their own success,” any decline in symptoms such as hyperactivity and impulsivity was offset by the changes in environment and routine. Additionally, because medication to treat ADHD controls the symptoms, researchers determined that “children taking medication for their ADHD symptoms fared no better than those not taking medication during the transition.” This may be because although the symptoms have lessened, the middle school environment requires a skill set that a child with ADHD has not yet developed.

If your child hasn’t yet entered middle school, there may still be time to establish goals for organization, planning, time management, and study skills in the IEP. If your child is already in a more complex environment with less structure and you’ve missed the window of opportunity to pre-teach the skills, it may be worthwhile to work with your child to develop the skills a successful middle schooler needs. Or you may want to find a tutor who can teach the skills directly to prevent your middle schooler from experiencing increased levels of frustration, anxiety, and anger.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (July 2008). “Age-related Decline of ADHD Symptoms Disrupted by Middle School.” Retrieved August 18, 2008, from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2008/age-related-decline-of-adhd-symptoms-disrupted-by-middle-school.shtml

NIMH Source: Langberg, J.M., Epstein, J.N., Altaye, M., Molina, B.S.G., Arnold, L.E., Vitiello, B. (2008). The transition to middle school is associated with changes in the developmental trajectory of ADHD symptomatology in young adolescents with ADHD. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. 37(3): 651–663.