These results confirm and extend previous retrospective results indicating that children with ADHD are at high risk of developing a wide range of impairments affecting multiple domains of psychopathology such as cognition, interpersonal, school, and family functioning. These findings provide further support for the value of considering psychiatric comorbidity in both clinical assessment and research protocols involving children with ADHD.

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This study is the first to systematically examine estimated rates of sensory processing disorders using survey data. Parents of incoming kindergartners from one suburban U.S. public school district were surveyed using the Short Sensory Profile, a parent-report screening tool that evaluates parents' perceptions of functional correlates of sensory processing disorders (McIntosh, Miller, Shyu, & Dunn, 1999a). A total of 703 completed surveys were returned, which represents 39% of the kindergarten enrollment (n = 1,796) in the district for the 1999-2000 school year. Of the 703 children represented by the surveys, 96 children (13.7% of 703) met criteria for sensory processing disorders based upon parental perceptions. A more conservative prevalence estimate of children having sensory processing disorders based on parental perceptions was calculated by assuming that all non-respondents failed to meet screening criteria. This cautious estimate suggests that based on parents' perceptions, 5.3% (96 of 1796) of the kindergarten enrollment met screening criteria for sensory processing disorders. These percentages are consistent with hypothesized estimates published in the literature. Findings suggest a need for rigorous epidemiological studies of sensory processing disorders.

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Investigated the role of maternal smoking during pregnancy in the etiology of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Siblings of ADHD (N = 174) and non-ADHD (N = 129) probands were studied. Information on maternal smoking was obtained from mothers in a standardized manner blind to the sibling's ADHD and high-risk status (i.e., whether a sibling of an ADHD or non-ADHD proband). Fifteen (47%) of the high-risk siblings with ADHD had a history of maternal smoking during pregnancy compared with 33 (24%) of the siblings without ADHD (p = 0.009). This positive association remained significant after adjusting for socioeconomic status, parental IQ, and parental ADHD status. Lower IQ scores were found among those high-risk siblings whose mothers smoked during pregnancy compared with those whose mothers did not smoke. These findings extend our previous findings of an association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and ADHD. Moreover, they highlight the importance of programs aimed at smoking prevention in nonsmoking women and smoking cessation in smoking women of child-bearing age.