Assessing environmental and medication variables in an outpatient setting: A proposed model and preliminary results with ADHD Children

Abstract

We present a model for assessing the relative effects of environmental and medical treatments within an outpatient setting using brief functional analyses. We use the example of Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder as a way of illustrating this assessment approach. We describe two evaluations in which we assessed the relative effects of Ritalin and various environmental variables on the on task behavior of two children referred to an outpatient diagnostic clinic. In both cases, the primary question by the parents involved the need for Ritalin to improve behavior. Assessment results for one child suggested that Ritalin as well as environmental variables improved his behavior, whereas assessment results for the second child suggested that environmental variables improved behavior regardless of medication usage. The results of these case examples illustrate the potential utility of brief functional analyses within the outpatient setting.