Research
Project PEAK - Promoting Engagement with ADHD Pre-Kindergarteners
About
Parents gain effective behavior management strategies to use in their home and community, receive support from a child development specialist, develop a personalized plan of action and connect with other parents.
We conduct initial screenings/assessments in the summer and fall and conduct classes in the fall and spring. The family education program will begin in the fall.
Sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES)
U.S. Department of Education
We're Looking For
- Children, ages 3-5
- Enrolled (or plan to be enrolled) in a preschool, nursery school or group daycare setting at least 2 days per week
- Exhibiting behavioral symptoms of ADHD (ADHD diagnosis not necessary) including frequent inattention, acting quickly without thinking, distractibility, and a high level of activity
- Families living within a 1 1/2 hour radius of Lehigh University, located in Bethlehem, PA
- Parent(s) must have access to a computer with internet access. However, parents and guardians are strongly encouraged to reach out to us if they have difficulties in obtaining access.
Complete our interest form to begin the eligibility process!
You Will Receive
- Free education on how to improve your child's behavior and early reading/math skills
- A brief report regarding your child's behavioral and academic functioning based on our research measures
- Small stipend for completing a set of measures before and after treatment
The purpose of PEAK is to evaluate both face-to-face and online early intervention family education programs. The project is designed to target the issues of young children (ages 3-5) exhibiting early behavioral symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We are looking for 180 parents/guardians to assist with the evaluation of this program.
Contact us at inpeak@lehigh.edu or 610-758-5270 to learn more.
Project Expectations
- Complete 10 weekly parent education sessions
- Allow data collectors to visit your home in person or over Zoom 3 times over a ten-week period to observe you using the strategies taught in the program
- Complete a set of assessment measures several times across a two-year period
Project CAP
Project CAP is a control group under Project PEAK for families of typically developing 3-5 year old children. Interested in supporting families experiencing challenging child behaviors? Consider participating in Project CAP. Participating families are compensated for completing academic and behavioral assessments and receive written reports of their child's progress over time. Find more information on Project CAP here or complete our interest form to begin the eligibility process.
Resources
Young Children with ADHD
The symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often begin early in life. In fact, many young children enter school with behavioral and cognitive symptoms that put them at a significant disadvantage compared with their typically-developing peers. Over the past several decades, researchers, psychologists and educators have devoted much time and effort to understanding and treating ADHD. Yet only recently have these efforts begun to focus more closely on the specific needs of preschool-aged children who are disruptive or inattentive.
The book, “Young Children with ADHD”, by George DuPaul and Lee Kern, a school psychologist and special educator respectively, is the first to describe empirically supported early intervention with children aged 3–5 years who have or are at risk for ADHD.
Non-Medical Interventions
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, has quietly become one of America's most critical public health crises. The incurable disorder is responsible for upward of $52 billion in health care costs every year—nearly $17,500 per individual, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unfortunately, children are being diagnosed with the disorder at a record pace. ADHD diagnoses have increased an average of 3 percent annually since 1997. But helping children and families identify—and manage—the symptoms during early school years may help offset the problems associated with the disorder as they get older, says George DuPaul, professor of school psychology.
In 2009, DuPaul and colleague, Lee Kern, professor of special education, found that a series of non-medicinal interventions geared toward children between the ages of 3 and 5 significantly improved their social and academic behavior. The 135 children who participated in the study had all shown signs of having ADHD, using criteria established by the American Psychological Association.
In 2011, the team extended their research of the same children to include a wider set of 40 measures. Again, they found the children responded favorably to tailored interventions. Teachers reported a sharp decrease in students' oppositional and noncompliant behavior, for example. Remarkably, the percentage of children in the multiyear study meeting the criteria for ADHD declined from 100 percent to 62 percent in just two years.
"We have a lot to learn about children who are the most vulnerable and at-risk for ADHD," says DuPaul. "But intervening with appropriate supports, especially in the home, can go a long way in helping children manage and treat their ADHD symptoms."
Presentations and Publications
DuPaul, G.J., Kern, L., Belk, G., Custer, B., Daffner, M., Hatfield, A., & Peek, D. (2018). Face-to-face vs. online behavioral parent training for young children at-risk for ADHD: Treatment engagement and outcomes. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 47(sup1), S369-S383.
DuPaul, G.J., Kern, L., Belk, G., Custer, B., Hatfield, A., Daffner, M., & Peek, D. (2018). Promoting parent engagement in behavioral intervention for young children with ADHD: Iterative treatment development. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 38, 42-53.
Lam, J. Kern, L., & DuPaul, G. J. (2024, February). Parenting, self-regulation, and sleep in preschoolers at risk for ADHD. Paper presented at the National Association of School Psychologists Annual Convention. New Orleans, LA.
Lam, J., Rosenthal, E., Joell, I., Kern, L., & DuPaul, G. J. (2023, November). Sibling relationships, self-regulation, and parenting stress in young children at-risk for ADHD. Poster presented at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Annual Conference. Seattle, WA.
Nelson, A., Lam, J., Ahn, J., Dever, B.V., Kern, L., & DuPaul, G. J. (2023, November). Influence of sleep on parenting stress in young children who are at-risk for ADHD. Poster presented at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Annual Conference. Seattle, WA.
Jung, H. J., Shi, C., Dever, B., Kern, L., & DuPaul, G. J. (August 2023). Parenting Stress Moderates Link between ADHD-Related Behaviors and Parent Attributions Regarding Child Behavior. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.
Chunta, A., Ahn, J.H, Chen, R., & Clarke, S. (February, 2022). Supporting Caregivers of Children At-Risk for ADHD Through Optimism Training. Practitioners Conversation at the National Association For School Psychologists Annual Conference. Boston, MA.
Franklin-Gillette, S., Rosenthal, E., Chunta, A., & DuPaul, G. J. (February, 2022). Early Academic Skill Challenges in Children At-Risk for ADHD. Paper Presentation at the National Association For School Psychologists Annual Conference. Boston, MA.
Chunta, A., Jung, H., Zimmerman, C., & DuPaul, G.J. (February, 2022). Self-Regulation and Social Behavior Differences in Preschoolers At-Risk for ADHD. Paper Presentation at the National Association For School Psychologists Annual Conference. Boston, MA.
Ahn, J.H., Chunta, A., DuPaul, G.J., & Kern, L. (2020, November). The Impact of Behavioral and Optimistic Parenting Training and Immersive Virtual Reality on Parental Affiliate Stigma. Poster presented at the annual convention of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) (virtual).
Meet the Team
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Dr. George J. DuPaul
Professor
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Dr. Lee Kern
Professor and Director of the Center for Promoting Research to Practice
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Dr. Bridget V. Dever
Professor and Associate Dean for Research
Dr. Shin-Yi Chou
Dr/ Shin-Yi Chou is Arthur F. Searing Professor of Economics, chair of the Economics Department at Lehigh University and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economics Research. She received her Ph.D. in economics from Duke University (1999). Her research focuses on the economics of health and health care.
Her research has been published in the Journal of Human Resources, American Journal of Economics: Applied Economics, Journal of Law and Economics, Journal of Econometrics, Journal of Health Economics, Rand Journal of Economics, Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Public Economics, Journal of Development Economics and Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. She has been a dissertation adviser for twenty Ph.D. students at Lehigh. Chou was the recipient of the Hillman Award for Graduate Advising (2009) and the Carl R. and Ingeborg Beidleman Research Award (2006) at Lehigh.
- Hi Jae Jung
Hi Jae Jung is a fourth-year doctoral student in the School Psychology program. Her research interests include school adjustment for students with SEBD, neurodevelopmental disorders and learning disorders. She is also interested in protective factors–provided at the school or through family-school cooperation–that support student resilience and school life.
- Dee Snow
Dee Snow is the web designer for Project PEAK. She graduated with her B.S. in English Education from Utah State University, after which she taught high school English and ESL. She is currently a master’s student in Instructional Technology at Lehigh. Contact Dee at dms219@lehigh.edu.
- Sean Morse
Sean Morse is a third-year doctoral student in the School Psychology program and co-coordinator of Project PEAK. He graduated from Georgia State University in 2021 with a B.A. in Psychology. His research interests include school-based interventions to support children and adolescents with ADHD and other emotional/behavioral challenges as well as implementation science and treatment integrity in school mental health practices.
His current research focuses on the identification of school mental health professional skills and behaviors that can be prioritized during dissemination efforts and implementation support for an evidence-based, multicomponent intervention for high school students with ADHD. Contact Sean at stm321@lehigh.edu.
- Marsha Ariol
Marsha Ariol is a third-year student in the School Psychology doctoral program and co-coordinator of Project PEAK. She graduated from Florida State University with a B.S. in Family and Child Sciences and from Barry University with a M.S. in Clinical Psychology. After completing her master’s degree, she worked as a research assistant for the Partnering to Achieve School Success (PASS) study at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Her current research looks at both student and teacher perspectives of student-teacher relationships in Black youth with ADHD. More broadly, she is interested in family-school collaborations, implementing effective and culturally responsive interventions for children with ADHD and other disruptive behaviors, and integrated behavioral healthcare. Contact Marsha at maa721@lehigh.edu.
- Chen Shi
Chen Shi is a third-year doctoral student in the Special Education program, specializing in Parent Training and Family-Based Interventions for children with ADHD and Emotional Behavioral Disorders (EBD). Her research endeavors are underpinned by a profound commitment to empowering families with practical, evidence-based interventions. Chen's overarching goal is to facilitate a seamless translation of research findings into tangible support systems, thereby contributing to the enhancement of the quality of life for children facing these challenges and their parents. Contact Chen at chs321@lehigh.edu.
Joey Lam
Joey Lam is a second-year doctoral student in the School Psychology program. She graduated with a B.S. in Psychology and an M.S. in Experimental Psychology from Saint Joseph's University. During her master's program, she was a graduate research coordinator for the Behavior, Emotions, Development, and Sleep (BEDS) lab at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Her current research project focuses on parenting practices, child behavioral regulation and sleep functioning in young children at-risk for ADHD. Contact Joey at jol322@lehigh.edu.
Nathan Kirk
Nathan Kirk is a first-year doctoral student in the School Psychology program. He graduated from UCLA in 2021 with B.A.degrees in Psychology and Education & Social Transformation and worked as a research assistant for the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study at the UCLA Semel Institute. Subsequently, he worked as a research coordinator for the Brains-in-Growth (BIG) Emotions Study at Diego State University.
His research and clinical interests lie in two interrelated sectors of treatment effectiveness and accessibility. Specifically, he is interested in incorporating person-centered approaches to psychological interventions to tailor mental health services to each child's unique needs and leveraging schools as a platform for identifying at-risk youth, with the goal of increasing accessibility to vital mental health services. Contact Nathan at nak323@lehigh.edu.
Lauryn Konieczka
- Lauryn Konieczka is a first-year Ed.S. student in the School Psychology program. She graduated with a B.A. in Psychology with a concentration in Clinical Counseling from Washington College. Her research interests include school-based interventions for students with ADHD, assessment and treatment of ADHD and related behavior disorders for K-12 students, and teachers' impact on academic outcomes for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Contact Lauryn at lak223@lehigh.edu.