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Parent vs. Teacher Report on ADHD Symptoms (2005)

When a new medication for ADHD goes through clinical trial, its efficacy is more often based on reports of teachers, not of parents. But ADHD is not only a school disorder. ADHD also disrupts emotional, familial, cognitive and interpersonal functioning. For example, ADHD is associated with an increased risk for traffic accidents among affected adolescents. Moreover, more often than before, drugs are being prescribed beyond the school day, and long-acting medicines are being given 7-days/week and year-round. But compared to teachers, how informative can parents be? And how do parents’ reports compare to teachers’ on ADHD symptoms?

To answer these questions, a literature search was performed to identify all published studies that examine the efficacy of an ADHD medication using both parent and teacher report. By looking at these studies, these reviewers could determine how each group reported on the effect of the ADHD medication and the placebo.

The investigators found 3 large studies published in the literature, totaling to 1445 subjects. For every outcome for which teacher reports documented significant improvement with a medication, parent reports did the same. Parents were more likely than teachers to report a larger beneficial effect of a medication. The authors conclude that teacher report is not always necessary to ascertain the effect of a new medication and that parent report can be used to assess these medications.

(Biederman J et al. Pediatrics 113(6):1667-1671) —H.T.






			Parent vs. Teacher Report on ADHD Symptoms (2005) When a new medication for ADHD goes through clinical trial, its efficacy is more often based on reports of teachers, not of parents. But ADHD is not only a school disorder. ADHD also disrupts emotional, familial, cognitive and interpersonal functioning. For example, ADHD is associated with an increased risk for traffic accidents among affected adolescents. Moreover, more often than before, drugs are being prescribed beyond the school day, and long-acting medicines are being given 7-days/week and year-round. But compared to teachers, how informative can parents be? And how do parents’ reports compare to teachers’ on ADHD symptoms? To answer these questions, a literature search was performed to identify all published studies that examine the efficacy of an ADHD medication using both parent and teacher report. By looking at these studies, these reviewers could determine how each group reported on the effect of the ADHD medication and the placebo. The investigators found 3 large studies published in the literature, totaling to 1445 subjects. For every outcome for which teacher reports documented significant improvement with a medication, parent reports did the same. Parents were more likely than teachers to report a larger beneficial effect of a medication. The authors conclude that teacher report is not always necessary to ascertain the effect of a new medication and that parent report can be used to assess these medications. (Biederman J et al. Pediatrics 113(6):1667-1671) —H.T.



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