ADHD: Is There an App for That? A Suitability Assessment of Apps for the Parents of Children and Young People With ADHD

BACKGROUND: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a highly comorbid disorder that can impact significantly on the individual and their family. ADHD is managed via pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions. Parents also gain support from parent support groups, which may include chat rooms, as well as face-to-face meetings. With the growth of technology use over recent years, parents have access to more resources that ever before. A number of mobile apps have been developed to help parents manage ADHD in their children and young people. Unfortunately many of these apps are not evidence-based, and little is known of their suitability for the parents or whether they are helpful in ADHD management. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the (1) parents' views of the suitability of the top ten listed apps for parents of children and young people with ADHD and (2) the views of clinicians that work with them on the suitability and value of the apps. METHODS: The top 10 listed apps specifically targeted toward the parents of children and young people with ADHD were identified via the Google Play (n=5) and iTunes store (n=5). Interviews were then undertaken with 7 parents of children or young people with ADHD and 6 clinicians who specialize in working with this population to explore their opinions of the 10 apps identified and what they believe the key components are for apps to be suitable and valuable for this population. RESULTS: Four themes emerged from clinician and parent interviews: (1) the importance of relating to the app, (2) apps that address ADHD-related difficulties, (3) how the apps can affect family relationships, and (4) apps as an educational tool. Two additional themes emerged from the clinician interviews alone: monitoring ADHD symptoms and that apps should be practical. Parents also identified an additional theme: the importance of the technology. Overall, the characteristics of the current top 10 listed apps did not appear to match well to the views of our sample. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that these apps may not fully meet the complex needs of this parent population. Further research is required to explore the value of apps with this population and how they can be tailored to their very specific needs

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Is There an App for That? Suitability Assessment of Apps for Children and Young People With ADHD

Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complex highly comorbid disorder, which can have a huge impact on those with ADHD, their family, and the community around them. ADHD is currently managed using pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions. However, with advances in technology and an increase in the use of mobile apps, managing ADHD can be augmented using apps specifically designed for this population. However, little is known regarding the suitability and usability of currently available apps. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the suitability of the top 10 listed apps for children and young people with ADHD and clinicians who work with them. It is hypothesized that mobile apps designed for this population could be more suitably designed for this population. Methods: The top 10 listed apps that are specifically targeted toward children and young people with ADHD in the United Kingdom were identified via the Google Play (n=5) and iTunes store (n=5). Interviews were then undertaken with 5 clinicians who specialize in treating this population and 5 children and young people with ADHD themselves, to explore their opinions of the 10 apps identified and what they believe the key components are for apps to be suitable for this population. Results: Five themes emerged from clinician and young people interviews: the accessibility of the technology, the importance of relating to apps, addressing ADHD symptoms and related difficulties, age appropriateness, and app interaction. Three additional themes emerged from the clinician interviews alone: monitoring symptoms, side effects and app effect on relationships, and the impact of common comorbid conditions. The characteristics of the apps did not appear to match well with the views of our sample. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the apps may not be suitable in meeting the complex needs associated with this condition. Further research is required to explore the value of apps for children and young people with ADHD and their families and, in particular, any positive role for apps in the management of ADHD in this age group. A systematic review on how technology can be used to engage this population and how it can be used to help them would be a useful way forward. This could be the platform to begin exploring the use of apps further

Active cooling control of the CLEO detector using a hydrocarbon coolant farm

We describe a novel approach to particle-detector cooling in which a modular farm of active coolant-control platforms provides independent and regulated heat removal from four recently upgraded subsystems of the CLEO detector: the ring-imaging Cherenkov detector, the drift chamber, the silicon vertex detector, and the beryllium beam pipe. We report on several aspects of the system: the suitability of using the aliphatic-hydrocarbon solvent PF(TM)-200IG as a heat-transfer fluid, the sensor elements and the mechanical design of the farm platforms, a control system that is founded upon a commercial programmable logic controller employed in industrial process-control applications, and a diagnostic system based on virtual instrumentation. We summarize the system's performance and point out the potential application of the design to future high-energy physics apparatus.Comment: 21 pages, LaTeX, 5 PostScript figures; version accepted for publication in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research

Measurement of \cal{B}(D^+ --> mu^+ nu) and the Pseudoscalar Decay Constant fD+f_{D^+}

In 60 pb-1 of data taken on the psi(3770) resonance with the CLEO-c detector, we find 8 D+ to mu+ nu event candidates that are mostly signal, containing only 1 estimated background. Using this statistically compelling sample, we measure preliminary values of B(D+ to mu+ nu) = (3.5 +- 1.4 +- 0.6)*10^{-4}, and determine f_{D+} =(201+- 41+- 17) MeV.Comment: 17 pages postscript, also available through http://www.lns.cornell.edu/public/CONF/2004/, Presented at ICHEP Aug 16-22,2004, Beijing, Chin

Branching Fractions of tau Leptons to Three Charged Hadrons

From electron-positron collision data collected with the CLEO detector operating at CESR near \sqrt{s}=10.6 GeV, improved measurements of the branching fractions for tau decays into three explicitly identified hadrons and a neutrino are presented as {\cal B}(\tau^-\to\pi^-\pi^+\pi^-\nu_\tau)=(9.13\pm0.05\pm0.46)%, {\cal B}(\tau^-\to K^-\pi^+\pi^-\nu_\tau)=(3.84\pm0.14\pm0.38)\times10^{-3}, {\cal B}(\tau^-\to K^-K^+\pi^-\nu_\tau)=(1.55\pm0.06\pm0.09)\times10^{-3}, and {\cal B}(\tau^-\to K^-K^+K^-\nu_\tau)<3.7\times10^{-5} at 90% C.L., where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.Comment: 10 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Improved Measurement of the Form Factors in the Decay Lambda_c^+ --> Lambda e^+ nu_e

Using the CLEO detector at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring, we have studied the distribution of kinematic variables in the decay Lambda_c^+ -> Lambda e^+ nu_e. By performing a four-dimensional maximum likelihood fit, we determine the form factor ratio, R = f_2/f_1 = -0.31 +/- 0.05(stat) +/- 0.04(syst), the pole mass, M_{pole} = (2.21 +/- 0.08(stat) +/- 0.14(syst)) GeV/c^2, and the decay asymmetry parameter of the Lambda_c, alpha_{Lambda_c} = -0.86 +/- 0.03(stat) +/- 0.02(syst), for = 0.67 (GeV/c^2)^2. We compare the angular distributions of the Lambda_c^+ and Lambda_c^- and find no evidence for CP-violation: A_{Lambda_c} = (alpha_{Lambda_c^+} + alpha_{Lambda_c^-})/ (alpha_{Lambda_c^+} - alpha_{Lambda_c^-}) = 0.00 +/- 0.03(stat) +/- 0.01(syst) +/- 0.02, where the third error is from the uncertainty in the world average of the CP-violating parameter, A_{Lambda}, for Lambda -> p pi^-.Comment: 8 pages postscript,also available through http://www.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS/2004/, submitted to PR