Recent Developments in ADHD Research - April '25

Peer-Reviewed research continues to shed light on Attention Defficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which is a different style of learning that is appears in one in nine kids (1).

Here are some of the most recent developments in ADHD research on kids

Classroom Movement Enhances Focus

Not surprising any teachers, Western University (2) has found that kids can channel their movements positively by physically moving during lessons, which leads to better concentration and results!

The faculty of education tested this by monitoring kids' ability to concentrate and the blood flow in their brains while they pedalled at a desk while learning. Kids had higher blood flow to the areas in their brain related to problem solving and completed tasks more efficiently.

Here's an excerpt from their article:

What else would you want teachers or families to take away from this study? The research shows that we need a cultural reframing of how we look at children and adults with ADHD. We need to recognize some of the things they do are not inherently bad, but rather it’s the context that has made those habits “bad.” In classrooms, the context is that children have to be seated for six to eight hours a day. Everybody’s different, so some kids can handle that better than others. It’s important to instead view the symptoms of ADHD as functional. These kids are really smart, and their bodies are highly intelligent in making them do things that will help them pay attention better.

tldr; movement acts like medication and reroutes blood in the brain of ADHD kids to help them concentrate.

💡Key Parent Takeaway: When your kids are learning, see if they can stand, walk, or have access to a yoga mat or ball while learning.

Tech-Enabled Breakthrough in Early ADHD Detection

Our own Alma Mater, the University of Alberta, has pioneered work in detecting ADHD in very young minds (3), which will help youngsters get access to techniques and knowledge that will allow them to lean into their neurodivergence skills! Using available historical health records and developmental assessments, they trained a model that accurately predicts ADHD diagnoses in kindergarten-aged children, which is 2-7 years ahead of current averages.

Here's an excerpt from the University of Alberta's article:

"Unidentified ADHD can have a huge impact on the developmental trajectory of kids because if they can’t follow the class in kindergarten, then it just gets harder in the later grades,” says first author Yang Liu, research associate in the Computational Psychiatry Lab...The research team also included contributors from Alberta Health and the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute.

tldr; we can now predict ADHD in kids as young as 5 through machine learning, which helps get kids access to resources 2-7 years earlier

💡Key Parent Takeaway: it's never too early to make sure your kid has the access to social and academic help for ADHD since diagnosing kids early is getting easier and faster

Getting outside reduces ADHD Symptoms!

A systematic review of seven studies found that exposure to natural environments can significantly reduce ADHD symptoms in children! Additionally, a national study revealed that children engaging in green outdoor activities experienced notable symptom reduction compared to those in other settings. This suggests that incorporating natural elements into daily routines may offer therapeutic benefits for children with ADHD.

An excerpt from the review:

"Furthermore, when several covariates, such as age, gender, annual household income, parental income, and education level, as well as several pre-natal factors, were controlled for, the relationship between nature and ADHD remained significant."

this suggests that across the board, nature exposure should work for all kids with ADHD!

tldr; getting kids in nature has been shown to reduce ADHD symptoms

💡Key Parent Takeaway: get your kid up and out into the great outdoors, or around the neighbourhood as often as you can in order to help reduce their ADHD symptoms

References

(1) Danielson ML, Claussen AH, Bitsko RH, Katz SM, Newsome K, Blumberg SJ, Kogan MD, Ghandour R. ADHD Prevalence Among U.S. Children and Adolescents in 2022: Diagnosis, Severity, Co-Occurring Disorders, and Treatment. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2024 May-Jun;53(3):343-360. doi: 10.1080/15374416.2024.2335625. Epub 2024 May 22. PMID: 38778436; PMCID: PMC11334226. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38778436/,

(2) Hoy, B.-A., Bi, M., Lam, M., Krishnasamy, G., Abdalmalak, A., & Fenesi, B. (2024). Hyperactivity in ADHD: Friend or Foe? Brain Sciences, 14(7), 719. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/14/7/719

(3) Liu YS, Talarico F, Metes D, Song Y, Wang M, et al. (2024) Early identification of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). PLOS Digital Health 3(11): e0000620. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0000620

(4) Hood M, Baumann O. Could Nature Contribute to the Management of ADHD in Children? A Systematic Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Jun 5;21(6):736. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21060736. PMID: 38928982; PMCID: PMC11203786. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11203786/