Groundbreaking research by the late ADHD pioneer William E. Pelham, Jr. found that behavioral therapy – when used first – was less expensive and more effective than medication in treating children with ADHD.
Building on this foundation, a new study by Pelham's team at the FIU Center for Children and Families, published in Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, sought to explore whether adding medication to the initial behavioral therapy—known to be the most effective first-step treatment—would improve outcomes.
The findings revealed that children who started treatment with both behavioral therapy and medication showed more disruptive behaviors after the medication was discontinued, compared to those who initially received only behavioral therapy and then added medication later in the treatment.
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