The following is a list of questions and answers other parents have asked us:

Are children kept on medication only for 2 weeks?

Actually, medication will not be administered for only one week (i.e., one week interruption). If the parent/physician decide to continue the medication, that is perfectly fine.

Most kids are on meds and can not change meds or go to sugar pill. 

Please keep in mind that this study is done under the supervision of the physician and parents. The information obtained from the one week of being off the medication may be invaluable for both the parents and physician (i.e., a better course of treatment can be planned). Finally, since the medication is fast acting, following the one-week of the placebo, the child can again benefit from the use of medication.

You cannot ensure child gets meds at same time each day.

Actually, this is not true. The aim of the study is to ensure just that, the child will be administered the same dose or placebo at the exact time (especially when they are at the clinic for the two days; total of 4 hours). This way, the child will receive both medication and testing in a consistent manner.

While parents want the study results, they do not want their kids to be the test participation case study.

This testing is no different to a psychological test. We are only examining performance; testing is totally NOT invasive. Also, keep in mind that this type of information is nearly impossible to obtain for most parents/physicians due to time constraints or lack of services. While this may not be for everyone, it is just what some people are looking for: Answers.

Parents will have to bring child to office for a number of days.

Yes, parents will have to bring their child to the clinic for 2 days (a total of 4 hours). The purpose of bringing a child in to the clinic is to ensure that testing is conducted in a controlled environment.

 Parents may not want teachers to know their child has ADHD. 

All the information obtained in this study is protected under HIPPA regulations and will only be shared with others via the parent's consent.

What specifically is the service you are offering?

We offer an analysis/tracking of how medications affect you (e.g., side-effects, brainwaves, memory, attention, reaction time, etc.).

Is this a drug study? Which drug?

This is a “drug study” in so much that we test you on and off the drug that your physician has placed you on. So, we are able to test most ADHD medications in much the same way.

Who is doing this study and why?

The study is being headed by Alexander Minevich, B.Sc (OTR/L), M.A. (Psych.) of Cherokee Pediatric Therapy Inc. The aim of this initial study is to provide a service that is generally not available to the general public: an objective analysis (since we are not affiliated with any drug company) of how drugs affect your ADHD symptoms.

Is this an imaging or invasive study?

No. This study utilizes: neuropsychological tests, EEG/biofeedback equipment and attention/reaction software. There are no invasive procedures of any kind.

What is the cost? What do you get out of this?

Currently, the cost is free as we are working on a pilot study (i.e., we want to develop the appropriate protocol before we charge people)

Our aim is to find out if a service where one can obtain subjective data on how medication affect them or their children is a needed service that individuals or insurance companies will pay for.

What are the risks?

There are no risks, so far as we do not diagnose nor prescribe medications; this is left up to the physician. None of our testing is invasive (e.g., paper pencil, computer reaction tests and EEG/biofeedback sensors that are attached to different parts of the body). In fact, we can monitor side-effects such as blood pressure, heart rate and brain waves and report this information to the treating physician.

What are my obligations?

You must complete various questionnaires (e.g., daily 5 minute reports), take the appropriate placebo and medications, have your treating physician oversee your progress and participate in two in-clinic sessions. Also, keep in mind that this is a voluntary study; you are free to quit any time.

Is insurance involved?

No. Since there is no fee for the pilot study, insurance companies are not involved.

Do I have to stop my current medication to do this? If so, how long?

The medication that you will be tested on is completely left up to your physician and you. We are unable to test only 3 medications that take some time to build up and leave your system. Hence, all the medications that we test are fast acting and leave your system quickly as well. You will, however, need your physician’s approval to be off your medication for 7 days (placebo phase). This is necessary to ensure that we can compare your medication results to those of non-medication (without you knowing which one you are using)

How long? Does this take? How many visits? How long for each visit?

The study takes a total of two weeks. You will need to visit the clinic a total of 2 times (2 hours each visit). The rest of the monitoring takes place at home, work, school, etc.

How long have you been doing this?

Alex Minevich has been a research coordinator for over 10 years. He has worked at various clinics, hospitals, universities and research institutions. He has worked on EEG/Biofeedback, Medication/ADHD, memory/attention, psychometric testing, learning disabilities and computer aided learning studies, to name but a few. Mr. Minevich is the director of the Cherokee Pediatric Therapy Inc. and a licensed Occupational Therapist.

Please contact us should you have additional questions.