(603)A TREATMENT STUDY ON ADHD CHILDREN: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MEDICATION, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY AND COMBINATION OF MEDICATION AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY IN ADHD CHILDREN’S LEARNING BEHAVIOUR

摘要

This study is to identify the effectiveness of different treatment methods in improving Attention DeficitHyperactive Disorder (ADHD)children’s learning behaviour. Four treatment methods: medication only,occupational only, combination of medication and occupational therapy as well as no treatment, wereselected for this study. Successive independent sample design was used and 30 ADHD-I type childrenaged from 4-6 years old were selected. Conner’s Parent Rating Scale-Revised(s)questionnaire wasadministered through face to face interview with parents. The parents were approached twice in eightmonths time which was the first and the eighth month. Besides, natural observation was done byresearcher in different settings where the ADHD children study. There is significant relationship amongthe effectiveness of occupational therapy only, medication only and combination treatment towardsADHD children’s learning behaviour. There was no significant relationship for no treatment group withADHD children’s learning behaviour. Occupational therapy is the most effective treatment for childrenwith ADHD compared to medication only or combination medication and occupational therapy.Besides, there is significant difference in treatment methods and its effectiveness for ADHD childrenamong medication only, occupational therapy only, combination of medication and occupationaltherapy and no treatment. Researcher’s observation showed similar differences among the fourtreatment groups as the parents’ feedbacks. Future research may look into other mediating variablessuch as culture, gender or ethnic factor and social economic status in ADHD children’s learningbehaviour. In general, the findings of this research indicated that tailored occupational therapytreatment plan should be encouraged in treating the ADHD children.