FIU’s Center for Children and Families found that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who had continuous behavioral intervention following participation in the center’s summer treatment program were half as likely as those with no behavioral intervention to use medication weekly at school or home.

“These results… [suggest] that the use of low-intensity behavioral intervention as a first-line treatment for children with ADHD reduces or eliminates the need for medication,” says Erika Coles, clinical director at FIU’s Center for Children and Families. Additionally, the researchers found no significant cost difference between treating ADHD with behavioral intervention versus medication.

• Erika Coles