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Abstract. The Yale Children's Inventory rating scales for completion by parents were developed to improve the ability of clinicians and researchers to evaluate the school-related problems of children. The inventory consists of 11 narrow-band and two broad-band scales, the Behavioral and the Cognitive. The concurrent and predictive validity of the Yale Children's Inventory scales are reported in a school-based sample of 103 boys. External criterion variables were obtained from parents, teachers, and standardized tests administered to the children. We found that the Attention scale overlaps both broad-band domains, indicating the importance and the intrinsic relationship of attention to both behavioral and cognitive functions, which supports the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, ed 3 nosology for disorders of attention and activity regulation. It also increases the number of children whose assessment may be enhanced by the availability of systematic parent report forms. Pediatrics 1988;81:562-571; attention deficit disorder, behavior, school-related problems, learning disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. In this study we analyzed some of the cognitive components that may constitute attention deficit disorder. It consisted of a double-blind, drug-placebo study of 12 children being treated with three doses of methylphenidate and placebo. Results of an attentional test battery, teacher and parent ratings, and blood levels of methylphenidate are reported. In general, performance was best with 0.6 mg/kg of methylphenidate (the highest dose tested) and worst with placebo. It is argued that no single test provides a complete assessment of attentional deficits and that methylphenidate can improve performance by affecting the allocation of cognitive resources to a task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. Despite the frequent use of methylphenidate (MPH) in school-aged children with disorders of attention, impulsivity, and activity regulation (attention deficit disorder, ADD), little is known of its clinical pharmacology. The pharmacokinetics of MPH as well as its effects on growth hormone and prolactin were examined after oral administration in 14 boys with ADD ranging in age from 7 to 12 years (mean 10.4 years). Peak concentrations determined in these acute studies were compared with concentrations obtained two hours after MPH administration in another group of children with ADD who were receiving MPH chronically. After a lag phase of approximately 1/2 to 1 hour, MPH reached a peak plasma concentration at 2.5 +/- 0.65 hours after 0.34 mg/kg and 1.9 +/- 0.82 hours after 0.65 mg/kg (mean +/- SD). Terminal half-lives were 2.53 +/- 0.59 and 2.61 +/- 0.29 hours after administration of 0.34 and 0.65 mg/kg, respectively. Observed maximal concentrations ranged from 11.2 +/- 2.7 ng/ml after administration of 0.34, and 20.2 +/- 9.1 ng/ml after administration of 0.65 mg/kg. The mean area under the curve after administration of 0.65 mg/kg was approximately double that calculated at 0.34 mg/kg. Plasma growth hormone increased significantly from an initial (pre-MPH) mean concentration of 4.4 to peak at two hours at 10.5 ng/ml. Prolactin concentration declined significantly from a pre-MPH level of 9.5 to a nadir at 1 1/2 hours of 3.80 ng/ml, supporting the notion that MPH is acting via central dopaminergic mechanisms. MPH concentratious in children receiving doses of 0.34 mg/kg chronically averaged 8.00 +/- 0.91 at two hours, after medication, approximating the mean concentration at the same time observed in the acute study. The concentration of MPH in single "spot" samples obtained at two to three hours after administration of medication were significantly correlated with the percentage of improvement in the abbreviated Conners rating scale, indicating a rela... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. Two pre-school-aged patients with a history of prenatal exposure to ethanol had abnormal head size and developmental delay. Both children were strikingly similar in physical appearance, behavior, and cognitive dysfunction. Facial features were typical of fetal alcohol syndrome. Head circumference >97th percentile without hydrocephalus and no evidence of prenatal or postnatal growth failure were unusual for ethanol teratogenicity. Each child had a similar pattern of verbal and behavioral dysfunctions characterized by (1) marked hypervigilence, (2) distractability, and (3) cognitive confusion manifested as anxiety and behavioral disorganization. It is suggested that a history of prenatal exposure to ethanol associated with (1) large head circumference, (2) facial features of fetal alcohol syndrome, and (3) early developmental delay, particularly in language acquisition, and impaired modulation of attention and arousal may represent a possible new effect of alcohol teratogenicity. Pediatrics 68:850-855, 1981; fetal alcohol syndrome, fetal alcohol effects, teratogenicity, language dysfunction, developmental delay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on the argument made by Strauss in the January 2002 issue of this journal, which is thought to be against the scientific method and against accountability in education. Criticism by Strauss of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) research for insisting that treatment efficacy for reading instruction be based on experimental studies; Approach to helping children who have difficulty reading.

Discusses some of the pitfalls in clinical research in attention deficit disorder (ADD) in children. Issue posed by the definition of the disorder; Diagnostic criteria of ADD; Assessment of pharmacotherapy for the disorder; Failure to consider other management procedures for ADD.