Organizational Skills Interventions for Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most commonly diagnosed childhood disorders, with prevalence rates estimated at 8% (Froehlich et al. 2007). Several of the primary symptoms of ADHD relate to problems with temporal and materials organization (i.e. often has difficulty organizing tasks and activities, often loses things, is often forgetful, and often fails to finish school-work, chores, or duties; APA, 2000). In the school setting, problems with organization manifest as forgetting to complete or losing homework assignments, difficulties planning for the completion of long-term projects and studying for tests, and problems keeping class materials organized. These organizational difficulties become particularly problematic in middle school and can result in considerable academic impairment (Evans, Serpell, \& White, 2005). Children with ADHD underachieve academically and are more likely than their peers to receive failing grades, be retained and to drop out of school (Barkley, Fischer, Edelbrock, \& Smallish, 1990). Given the relationship between temporal and materials organization and poor school performance, it is clear there is a need for interventions to address these difficulties. We recently sought to address this need by completing a small randomized trial of an organizational skills intervention for children with ADHD (Langberg, Epstein, Urbanowicz, Simon, \& Graham, (2008). The intervention was highly effective in improving materials organization and homework management and resulted in significant improvements in homework problems and grade point average. These results demonstrate the considerable promise of organizational skills interventions for children with ADHD. However, the Langberg et al. intervention was implemented as an after-school program operated by research staff with minimal involvement from school personnel. In order to promote the widespread adoption of interventions that address the organizational skills deficits