In Memoriam: Professor Joseph Biederman’s Contributions to Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Abstract

Objective: To provide an overview of Joe Biederman’s contributions to child and adolescent psychiatry. Method: Nine colleagues described his contributions to: psychopharmacology, comorbidity and genetics, pediatric bipolar disorder, autism spectrum disorders, Tourette’s and tic disorders, clinical and neuro biomarkers for pediatric mood disorders, executive functioning, and adult ADHD. Results: Joe Biederman left us with many concrete indicators of his contributions to child and adolescent psychiatry. He set up the world’s first pediatric psychopharmacology clinic and clinical research program in child adolescent psychiatry. As a young faculty member he began a research program that led to many awards and eventual promotion to full professor at Harvard Medical School. He was for many years the most highly cited researcher in ADHD. He achieved this while maintaining a full clinical load and was widely respected for his clinical acumen. Conclusion: The world is a better place because Joe Biederman was here.

The High Rates of Comorbidity among Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Reconsidering the Clinical Utility of Distinct Diagnostic Categories

“…In addition, over 50% of children with the aforementioned disorders (ADHD, ASD, and SLD) also present symptoms of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) [ 8 ]. Finally, according to [ 9 ], up to 50% of children with comorbid NDDs also present Tourette’s syndrome symptoms, often leading to temper tantrums, insomnia, obsessive–compulsive disorder, self-injuries, mood disorders, and oppositional defiant disorders or conduct disorders. All these conditions further inhibit the children’s overall functioning and emotional state [ 10 ].…”

“…Various other studies reported a high prevalence of ADHD in children and adolescents with tic disorders (e.g., Tourette’s syndrome) [ 40 ], while much higher rates of other disorders, including obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), insomnia, mood disorders, were also found to be comorbid with ADHD [ 9 , 40 ].…”

“…Additional studies that investigated the co-occurrence of ADHD with internalized behavioral disorders found that depressive disorders in youth with ADHD were five times higher than in the ‘typical’ youth. The rates of comorbidity range between 12 and 50% among the several studies (e.g., [ 9 , 41 ]).…”

“…The prevalence of anxiety disorders in individuals with ADHD ranges from 15% to 35% across studies [ 46 , 47 ]. This comorbid condition was found to negatively affect the person’s attentional issues and was associated with the development of school phobia, mood disorders, and social incompetence [ 9 ].…”