ADHD case series
Following 20 children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder receiving homeopathic treatment for a year
Lead researcher – Dr Philippa Fibert
Completed September 2012
Results
- Children with ADHD who received homeopathic treatment for a year in addition to conventional care improved more than children who received conventional care only
- The children who received homeopathy continued to improve for at least a year after treatment
HRI provided equal funding with Turner’s Court Youth Trust (a charity supporting preventative measures for youth offending), to enable a consecutive case series investigating whether homeopathic treatment is effective for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Twenty children received adjunctive homeopathic treatment and were compared with ten children not receiving homeopathic treatment, at baseline and after 24 weeks, based on DSMIV characteristics (Conner’s Parent Rating Scale – CPRS) and a self-selected-item scale (Measure Your Own Medical Outcome Profile – MYMOP). An analysis of variance (ANOVA) found a significant interaction between time and the treatment received.
A long term analysis of treated children after one year found that they continued to improve, with half the participants registering improvement in their DSMIV scores of over 10 percentiles; a quarter of participants registering improvement of over 20 percentiles, and a quarter registering improvement of less than 10 percentiles.
HRI is now funding a continuation of Dr Fibert’s work in the form of a Pragmatic Randomised Controlled Clinical Trial.
Despite the small sample size, this study suggests that homeopathic treatment is an effective intervention for children with ADHD. However limitations such as lack of randomisation, blinding and unequal sample sizes mean results have limited generalisability.
The results of this case series have been disseminated via Conferences, Seminars, Magazines and Journals. Publication in an academic peer reviewed journal has also been achieved.
- International Congress for Complementary Medicine Research (ICCMR) London. Poster Presentation
- Centre for Studies of Childhood and Youth (CSCY) Sheffield University. Poster Presentation
- The Scientific Society of Homeopathy (WissHom) Kothen, Germany. Poster Presentation
- Homeopathic Research Institute (HRI) Barcelona. Oral Presentation
- Children’s Complementary Therapies network (CCTN) Birmingham. Oral Presentation
- Oxford Paediatrician’s Research Department seminar presentation
- Bristol Homeopathic Hospital Academic Department Masterclass presentation
- Book Chapter for a forthcoming book on the treatment of Autism using Homeopathy. Editor Mike Andrews.
- Article in The Homeopath magazine
- Article in Autism Now (author, Fiona McNeil)
- Article in Green Parent (author, Fiona McNeil)
