ABSTRACT
This volume contains many encouraging reports about the success of cognitive-behavioral (CB) group interventions with children presenting a variety of behavioral and emotional concerns. This chapter is not one of those reports. Perhaps as much as anyone in the field, I would enjoy describing a series of studies that detail how effective CB methods can be with groups of children manifesting symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). But, in the immortal words of the Rolling Stones, “you can’t always get what you want.” Or, to restate this in more academically appropriate language, the way can be difficult for clinician-researchers who value the role of evidence in matching children with appropriate treatments. At this juncture, I am clearly older, hopefully wiser, and certainly a more selective fan of the use of cognitive-behavioral methods with ADHD children and their families, in group contexts or otherwise. Although, to finish the Stones refrain, “if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.” And when it comes to the needs of children with ADHD, there are methods to meet some very crucial treatment needs, but cognitive strategies do not play a major role in these methods.
