At the conclusion of the recent National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Conference<sup>18 National Institute of Health: Diagnosis and Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. National Institute of Health Consensus Development Conference, November 16–18, 1998, Bethesda, MD

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti</sup> on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),<sup>1 Abikoff H., Courtney M., Pelham W.E. , e al. Teachers’ ratings of disruptive behaviors: The influence of halo effects J Abnorm Child Psychol 1993 ;  21 : 519-533  [cross-ref]

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti</sup> the consensus panel made two interesting observations about school-based assessments and interventions for ADHD. About assessment, the panel observed that “… there appears to be a `disconnect' between developmental or educational (school-based) assessments and health-related (physician-based) services.” About intervention, the panel observed that “There is often poor communication between diagnosticians and those who implement and monitor treatment in the schools.” What are these deficiencies and how can we overcome them? To address these questions, we draw on some of our research experiences in the Multimodality Treatment of ADHD (MTA) study, a national research project of the National Institute of Mental Health and the US Department of Education.<sup>4 Arnold L.E., Abikoff H.B., Cantwell D.P. , e al. National Institute of Mental Health Collaborative Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (the MTA): Design challenges and choices Arch Gen Psychiatry 1997 ;  54 : 865-870

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti, 9 Greenhill L.L., Abikoff H.B., Arnold L.E. , e al. Medication treatment strategies in the MTA Study: Relevance to clinicians and researchers J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1996 ;  35 : 1304-1313  [cross-ref]

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti, 12 Hinshaw S.P., March J.S., Abikoff H. , e al. Comprehensive assessment of childhood attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in the context of a multisite, multimodal clinical trial Journal of Attention Disorders 1997 ;  1 : 217-234  [cross-ref]

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti, 16 MTA Cooperative Group: Effects of comorbid anxiety disorder, family poverty, session attendance, and community medication on treatment outcome for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1999, in press

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti, 17 MTA Cooperative Group: 14-month randomized clinical trial of treatment strategies for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1999, in press

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti, 22 Richters J.E., Arnold L.E., Jensen P.S. , e al. NIMH collaborative multisite multimodal treatment study of children with ADHD: I. Background and rationale J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1995 ;  34 : 987-1000  [cross-ref]

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The MTA study brought together pediatricians (represented here by ML), psychiatrists (represented here by JM), and psychologists and educators (represented here by FG), who devoted approximately a decade to propose, design, and implement a randomized clinical trial of multimodality treatment of ADHD, including both pharmacologic and behavioral interventions. Our review of the literature and our experiences in the historic research study suggest why a “disconnect” might exist between clinicians and educators during the assessment of children suspected of having ADHD. Based on these experiences and the literature, we offer some ideas about how clinicians might improve communication with educators who implement and maintain intervention in the schools.