Effects of dextroamphetamine and contingency management on a preschooler with ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder.

Abstract A double-blind time-scries design was used to evaluate the effects of dcxtroamphetamine (10 nig and 5 nig/day) on the work behavior, play interaction, and aggressiveness of a 4-year-old boy with Attention Deficit Hypcractivity Disorder and aggressive, oppositional behavior who had not responded sufficiently to behavioral interventions in a day treatment setting. Significant changes in work behavior and aggressiveness were attributable to the medication, with episodes of tantrums declining from an average of nearly four per day during baseline and placebo to less than one per day during active medication. The results are discussed with respect to: (1) the significance of behavior change in relation to mild side effects, (2) the maintenance of treatment changes 2 years after the initial drug trial, and (3) the implications of our findings for research on the effects of combined drug and behavioral interventions with children under 6 years of age. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry , 1988, 27. 2:175–178.