Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Brain development – Autism and ADHD
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common mental health condition assessed and treated in our child and adolescent mental health services, making it a clinical, research and policy priority. Our team has been providing assessment and treatment for ADHD since the early 1990s and has developed into a national specialist service.
Our clinical work
We provide a unique service in an area where there is currently little clinical expertise or service provision in the NHS. In addition, we provide psychological interventions recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) including psychoeducation workshops and individual Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT).
Our research
Our research focuses on impulse and attention control difficulties including ADHD and its early signs. We are looking for special biological traits that indicate certain conditions so we can use them to target new treatments and therapies. We also are unravelling the connections and overlap between ADHD and conditions such as anxiety, autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Our work is divided into themes exploring the role of genetic and environmental risk factors, structural and functional alterations in the brain, and translating our basic research findings into therapeutic benefit.
Find out more
Read more about our research and key publications here.
Our partnership work
The focuses of our clinical and research teams are fully integrated; our clinicians bringing insights from patients and clinical work to researchers, and researchers explore how their findings in the lab can translate to the bedside.
Our future vision for children and young people
We are focusing on six themes in the future to combine our expertise and improve our understand and support of young people with ADHD. We will work on:
1) Early identification & intervention
2) Identifying new treatment targets
3) Evaluating novel treatments
4) Individualised medicine
5) Digital innovations to improve existing services
6) Emotional regulation
