The purpose of this study was to ascertain the effectiveness of hypnotherapy in treating attention-deficit-hyperactivity by certified psychologist and physicians. The 7 boys and 4 girls were enrolled in a Special Day classroom for hyperkinesis and behavior problems and were being given methylphenidate (Ritalin). Three attempts were made to hypnotize these subjects; however, the group had to be reduced from 11 to 3 and finally, from 3 to a single child to be successful. A significant improvement from pre- and post-hypnotic sessions was noted.

The correlation of self-esteem and mental age was estimated for 14 boys and 15 girls on Coopersmith's Self-esteem Inventory and the Goodenough-Harris Draw-a-Man. A significant negative Pearson correlation of .710 between mean self-esteem and drawing was noted for boys. A significant sex difference for drawing was observed.

Alternative treatments to stimulant drugs for children with AttentionDeficit Hyperactivity Disorder are suggested.The number of children identified as hyperactive or Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has reached alarming proportions; a disproportionate number are preschoolers. A large percentage are receiving psychostimulant drug therapy to control overactive behavior; however, many do not respond to amphetamines or psychostimulant drugs and tend to experience numerous side-effects associated with long-term drug therapy. About two decades ago, nearly a million school-age children were prescribed drugs to treat A D H D (7): "A small percentage of those children suffer from some diagnosable medical ailment sufficiently serious to warrant chemotherapy. Most do not; they are being drugged, often at the insistence of schools or individual teachers, to make them more manageable" (p. xii-xiii). Pelham (5) found that pharmacological intervention to control A D H D was effective with most children; however, he did agree that approximately one-third of those children prescribed stimulant drugs do not respond: ". . . not d ADD children show positive responses to stimulant drugs. Approximately 70% of ADD children respond positively to a stimulant regimen, but the remaining 30% show either an adverse response or none. Of those who do respond, only a minority show sufficient improvement for their behavior to fall within the normal range; the rest are improved but their behavior is not normalized"