William Pelham

Adolescents with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are at high risk for academic failure and school dropout. Middle and high school students with ADHD experience substantially more academic impairment than their peers, with an estimated one-third of students with ADHD ultimately dropping out of high school. Core symptoms of ADHD include disorganization and inattention, which make learning and retaining academic information difficult. Research has shown that students with ADHD h...

In this project, researchers aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the Academic and Behavioral Competencies (ABC) model, a school-wide program designed to enhance students' social competencies and behavior. The ABC model included strategies such as school-wide discipline rules, social skills training, peer tutoring, peer mediation, and parent training, and include methods of working with children with impaired behavioral or social functioning (such as ADHD).

The purpose of this study it to examine the efficacy of language, behavior, or a combination of language and behavioral interventions for students classified as English language learners (ELLs) who are also at-risk for ADHD. Although there is substantial support for language development and reading interventions to aid young children in the acquisition of language skills, there is a significant lack of research addressing interventions for ELLs with disabilities of any type, particularly for...

The purpose of this project is to investigate the efficacy of adaptive, evidence-based classroom interventions (i.e., Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions delivered through a Response to Intervention (RTI) framework) for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The research team will experimentally evaluate the efficacy of well-developed and evidence-based behavioral interventions within a problem-solving framework such as RTI. The findings from this project will significant...

The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy of two forms of ADHD treatment: medication and behavioral intervention. Unlike previous research, this study proposes to examine the effect of sequential implementation of the two forms of ADHD treatment on students unresponsive to the primary intervention. By using sequential implementation of either medication followed by behavioral intervention or behavioral intervention followed by medication, students with ADHD will receive the ...

This postdoctoral program trained three postdoctoral fellows on contemporary intervention research design and evaluation with a focus on behavior disorders.