What does the MTA study tell us about effective psychosocial treatment forADHD?

Discussed the initial findings from the recently published, National Instit ute of Mental Health-sponsored Multimodal Treatment Study (MTA) of attentio n deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These findings can be summarized a s follows: Medical management alone was found to be significantly more effe ctive for the core symptoms of ADHD as compared to behavioral treatment alo ne and routine (community) care, and behavioral treatment did not significa ntly improve outcome when combined with medical treatment In discussing the se findings, it is important to be explicit about the research questions th e study was and was not designed to answer The MTA study provided useful in formation regarding the question, "Does a very intensive forms of behaviora l treatment deliver greater benefits than the less intensive forms of behav ioral treatment investigated in prior studies?" but little insight on the q uestion, "What type of treatment by what type of therapist is most effectiv e in dealing with what specific problems among specific children with ADHD ? " It is suggested that the clearest finding from the MTA study is that th e effectiveness of psychosocial intervention for (ADHD) hinges on the degre e to which a broad range of treatment ingredients are considered, carefully selected, matched, and tailored to the individual needs of each child with the disorder and implemented and monitored over the long term.