Marianne M. Glanzman, MD: Helping ADHD Patients Succeed

Helping a student with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) matriculate through school takes a committed effort from parents, physicians, teachers, administrators, family members, and friends.

This is especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic, where the transition to hybrid or virtual schooling has become a challenge for students with ADHD to maintain a steady routine.

Recently, during the 2021 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) virtual conference, Marianne M. Glanzman, MD, Attending Physician, Department of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), presented a session about executive function in patients with ADHD.

Executive functions are basically the ability to accomplish goal-directed behavior, including working memory, behavioral inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. However, Glanzman said those are most common impairments, they are not the only impairments. In fact there are about 33 different constructs considered part of executive function.

In an interview with HCPLive®, Glanzman explained how important it is for all aspects of the patient’s life to be pulling in the same direction and executive function should be a major part of that.

She said 1 area where ADHD care can improve is physicians should give parents guidance on how ADHD impacts executive function and what they can do to better help their child.

“As this term executive function becomes much, much more front and center in the world of ADHD, I think parents are going to be asking physicians for advice on this topic,” Glanzman said.