OGDEN — Children 5 years old and younger who are now being medicated for ADD/ADHD are invited to take part in a new study that will focus on the impacts of using drugs to treat these neurological disorders.
Weber State University psychology professor Bill McVaugh is conducting the study that begins Jan. 8, 2004. There is no cost to participants.
Subjects of the four-week study will be preschoolers who are already taking a prescribed stimulant for attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Children with these disorders can develop a lack of social skills and what's worse, McVaugh says, is that 40 percent of children diagnosed with ADHD, but left untreated, end up in the juvenile court system.
The concerns parents have with ADD/ADHD is that children are hard to control at home and also fall behind in school as a result. Some parents choose to endure or cope with the behavioral characteristics associated with the disorders. Others choose prescribed drugs.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of certain medications to treat ADD/ADHD for children 6 years of age and older. But drugs like Ritalin, Concerta, Adderall and others are also being prescribed for children under 6.
McVaugh cites the lack of research on children 5 and under as the reason for the study. It's at those ages when a child's brain is in the most rapid, critical stages of development, he says.
"Our research will help parents better understand how these medications affect their child," McVaugh said in a release. The study might also lead to non-medicinal techniques to help children with their disorder.
The study will take place at the Family Support Center of Ogden. There, children will be offered alternative ways to deal with their disorder.
Participants in the study will take part in dancing, coloring, running and yoga exercises. One intent is to expend energy rather than suppress it and then look at the overall impact on the child.
Anyone interested may call 801-626-6660 or 801-589-5906.
E-MAIL: sspeckman@desnews.com