A number of evidence-based treatments are available for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), including pharmacological, psychosocial, or a combination of the two treatments. For a significant number of children diagnosed with ADHD, however, these treatments are not utilized or adhered to for the recommended time period. Given that adherence to treatment regimens is necessary for reducing the symptoms of ADHD, it is crucial to develop a comprehensive understanding of why adherence rates are so low. The current review examines the literature to date that has directly explored utilization and adherence issues related to the treatment of ADHD in order to identify the key barriers to treatment. This review focused on four main factors that could account for the poor rates of treatment utilization and adherence: personal characteristics (socio-demographic characteristics and diagnostic issues), structural barriers, barriers related to the perception of ADHD, and barriers related to perceptions of treatment for ADHD. This review included 63 papers and covered a variety of barriers to treatment that have been found in research to have an impact on treatment adherence. Based on this review, we conclude that there are complex and interactive relationships among a variety of factors that influence treatment utilization and adherence. Four main gaps in the literature were identified: (1) there is limited information about barriers to psychosocial interventions, compared to pharmacological interventions; (2) there is a limited variety of research methodology being utilized; (3) treatment barrier knowledge is mostly from parents' perspectives; and (4) treatment utilization and treatment adherence are often studied jointly. Information from this review can help practitioners to identify potential barriers to their clients being adherent to treatment recommendations.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has a significant impact on children’s social, emotional, and academic performance in school, and as such, teachers are in a good position to provide evidence-based interventions to help ensure optimal adjustment of their students. The current study examined teachers’ knowledge and beliefs about ADHD, their self-reported use of evidence-based instructional and behaviour management strategies in the classroom, and the relationships between knowledge, beliefs, and classroom practices. It was expected that teachers would have a moderate amount of knowledge about ADHD, mixed positive and negative beliefs about ADHD, that they would regularly use less intensive evidence-based behaviour management strategies, and that more knowledge and positive beliefs about ADHD would be correlated with higher use of effective classroom practices. Web-based questionnaires were completed by 113 teachers from six school boards across Nova Scotia. Results indicated that the mean teacher knowledge score was ~68% and that they had more knowledge about symptoms/diagnosis of ADHD and less knowledge about general ADHD facts and about evidence-based treatments. Teachers had slightly more positive than negative beliefs about ADHD and reported occasional use of evidence-based instructional and behaviour management practices in their classrooms. There was a significant correlation between teachers’ beliefs about ADHD and their use of evidence-based behaviour management practices, but there was no significant correlation between specific ADHD knowledge and classroom practices. Information gained from this study has implications for the content of ADHD teacher training and professional development programs as well as for school psychologists and those in teacher consultation roles.

Web-based ADHD interventions have the potential to reduce the barriers to treatment utilization and implementation that are common problems for school-based ADHD interventions.

Self-report is a time- and cost-efficient screening measure that has the potential to be useful as a stand-alone means of recruiting adults for participation in reading research.We report on a sample of university students (N = 46) recruited using the Adult Reading History Questionnaire – Revised, half of whom reported early difficulty with reading acquisition. As a group, those reporting early difficulty with reading had poorer current reading skills than those who did not. Some (n = 13) of those who reported early reading difficulty appear to have compensated for this. We conclude that self-report has the potential to be used as an effective screening measure in research targeting adults with a history of early reading difficulties.

Registration as a psychologist in Nova Scotia can be at the master’s or doctoral level; however, the Nova Scotia Board of Examiners in Psychology has announced a move to the doctoral degree as the entry-level to practice. Many school psychologists in Nova Scotia practice at the master’s level; therefore, this change could affect school psychology training and practice. School psychologists in Nova Scotia have indicated that they wish to expand their roles to include more intervention and consultation, and teachers have also indicated that they would like more access to psychologists in their schools. Given recent calls to increase access to mental health services for children and youth, school psychologists could play an important role in service provision in this province. The move to doctoral-level registration may provide the impetus to begin important conversations about role expansion for school psychologists.