What will happen in the study?

If your child qualifies and you decide you want your child to be in the study, you and your child will come to Cincinnati Children’s three times during approximately one month. These are the things that will happen to your child while in the study:

We will:

• Collect information from you and your child related to past medical history and medications, development, learning, and current symptoms.
• Complete diagnostic and psycho-educational testing with your child, as well as tests of patterns of thinking and emotion and tests of motor coordination.
• Complete a test to look at an area of your child’s brain that controls movement, using a research device called a transcranial magnetic stimulator (TMS). This involves using a hand-held magnet over the scalp. The strength of the magnetic pulses is similar to the strength of pulses used in brain MRI scanners.
• Administer study medication. At one visit the medication will be 10 mg of methylphenidate. At the other visit it will be placebo. The study is “blinded”, meaning that on the day of the visit neither you nor the research team will know which pill was given. TMS testing is repeated after the dose.

You and your child will be given a consent form that thoroughly explains all of the details of the study. A member of the study staff will review the consent form with you and will be sure that all of your questions are answered.