Parenting interventions, ADHD and homework: a systematic review

Abstract

Extant evidence indicates that there is a stronger link between homework difficulties and ADHD than in the general population of children. In addition, parents’ involvement in education is an important factor in academic success. Despite the well-established challenges that homework presents to children with ADHD, none of the existing treatment protocols or standard therapeutic options are specifically designed to target homework difficulties. This study aims to identify, describe and appraise studies that have empirically evaluated interventions to optimise the homework performance of children with ADHD. The three databases searched were: Medline, PsycInfo, Embase The keywords ‘ADHD’ and ‘Homework’ were used in combination to search the three databases. The search was designed to identify therapeutic interventions which sought to aid parents of children with ADHD to optimise their child’s homework performance. The systematic review included 14 studies. The quality of the trials was mixed and generally low; for the other trial types (n = 5) STROBE scores ranged from 6 to 14. The literature in this field points to increased awareness of the need to focus on specific areas of functional impairment in the lives of children with ADHD and to tailor therapeutic supports to enhance a child’s educational trajectory.