ADHD remote technology and ADHD transition : predicting and preventing negative outcomes (ART-transition) - an adolescent prospective cohort study protocol

Abstract

Late adolescence is a highly challenging and potentially critical period for young people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Many of the conditions that frequently co-occur with ADHD, such as depression, often first emerge in adolescence. Major life transitions, such as moving out of the parental home, lead to multiple new demands and changes in available support networks, further increasing the vulnerability. Additionally, UK data show that most young people with ADHD do not successfully transfer to adult services and thus do not receive appropriate interventions at a time when they may need them most. The lack of well-defined targets for holistic interventions limits opportunities for intervention. Our project on ADHD transition - ADHD Remote Technology and ADHD Transition: predicting and preventing negative outcomes (ART-transition) - uses remote measurement technology (RMT), which offers the potential to obtain ongoing, long-term, real-world data. We aim to identify the nature and timing of real-world changes in the transition to adulthood and what predicts such changes. We will further use these timeframes and intervention targets to co-design, with young people with ADHD, a prototype for an ADHD transition interactive smartphone app.