New Driving Program for Teens with ADHD

Monitors are also placed in the car to beep when the driver stops too quickly or accelerates too fast.

"Teenagers with ADHD - the teens who need the most driving instruction - often get the least because they're not communicating effectively with their parents," said Fabiano.

Chris Zeigler Dendy, ADHD expert and author of "Teenagers with ADD and ADHD", endorses the idea of using a contract but notes it isn't the complete solution to the problem.

"There is no guarantee the good intentions will translate into the right actions at the moment they're needed", she states.

Dr. Barkley has his concerns as well and remains skeptical as to whether teenagers will benefit from behavioral therapy once they are behind the wheel, unless the program builds in some accountability.  

"It's a practical problem. Teens drive well in training, but can you get it to endure? To me, it's an open question," he said. Additionally, Barkley notes that young people with ADHD often don't have a realistic picture of their driving skills.

"Teens with ADHD tend to evaluate their driving performance as normal when, in fact, it's horrible," he said. "Then there is the disorder itself. It's often not a problem of knowing how to behave. It's about acting on what you know."

Counters Fabiano, "Behavioral therapy won't endure unless families learn to continually work on the skills they learn. The question is whether you can teach skills that can be applied to new situations." In addition, he points out that many teens aren't able to take medications for one reason or another, thus his program offers a viable solution for those youngsters.