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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 "Ultimately, students who do poorly may lose motivation to invest in academic work, become more open to competing interests, including substance abuse, and more likely to drop out of school," the study authors wrote in the article, published in the June issue of Pediatrics.
As a child progresses through school, the level of failure from ADHD can snowball and lead to emotional problems, substance abuse and academic decline in later grades and difficulties after graduation, said Dr. David W. Goodman, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and director of the Adult Attention-Deficit Disorder Center of Maryland.
"For kids, it's about academic achievement. But later in life, it's about ADHD's impact on family, occupation and social life," he said.
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The study stopped short of making specific recommendations, but suggested that school officials need to focus more resources on identifying and helping young children who are struggling with attention problems.
According to Julie Schweitzer, a study author and an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the UC Davis School of Medicine, parents and teachers of young children need to be on lookout for signs of unusual attention problems. While it's normal for 5- and 6-year-olds to be active, those with real attention problems may have unusual difficulty following directions, completing simple projects and controlling impulses, she said.
Treatment at that age usually entails parent training and classroom-based interventions, said Schweitzer, adding that ADHD is a chronic condition for many people and may require years of symptom management, though a percentage of children do outgrow it.
More research is needed to determine how best to help children with ADHD and attention difficulties, said Breslau, who is planning to study the exact relationship between severe attention problems and substance abuse and dropout rates.
"ADHD is underreported and under-appreciated as a source of long-term academic failure," Breslau said. "Studies clearly show that early investment in children pays off big later on."
More information
There's more on ADHD at the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.
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