Helping Children with ADHD: A CBT Guide for Practitioners, Parents and Teachers

There is very little published guidance on how best to effectively deliver CBT in order to help children with ADHD understand and manage the challenges they face. Addressing this need for an authoritative way forward, Helping Children with ADHD offers a complete intervention programme for healthcare professionals and parents, allowing them to flexibly deliver behavioural and cognitive interventions to children aged 6–12 with ADHD. The focus throughout is on practical techniques to address symptoms, problem behaviours and emotional difficulties. Consistent with the abilities of young children and the evidence base for ADHD, the primary emphasis is on behavioural and environmental interventions, although cognitive interventions are also included as appropriate. A modular format allows treatment to be tailored to the needs of the individual child, and the information for expert practitioners is supplemented by straightforward guidance for teachers and parents on how to extend the techniques into the classroom and home. Engagement is ensured through the adventures of a young boy called Buzz; core concepts and skills are discussed through the eyes of Buzz, providing a narrative for children to understand techniques that they can subsequently apply themselves.

Susan Young is a clinical academic working at the Centre for Mental Health, Imperial College London, UK, and Visiting Professor at Reykjavik University, Iceland. She was previously employed as a Clinical Neuropsychologist at the Maudsley Hospital, where she set up and developed the psychology service at the first adult ADHD service in the UK. She is the author of over 100 publications in peer reviewed journals, four books and three manualised CBT programmes that are in use internationally; numerous chapters, and the ADHD Child Evaluation [ACE]. 

Jade Smith is a Cinical Psychologist who has worked in a range of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Neurodevelopmental and Paediatric Services providing assessment and treatment for young people with complex neurodevelopmental disorders and associated emotional, behavioural and mental health needs. She designed and implemented an ADHD pathway as well as contributing to ADHD assessments in National & Specialist children s Services in London. She currently works with children with learning disabilities and long term conditions.