Clinical Decision Support Systems and Artificial Intelligence in ADHD Assessment and Rehabilitation: Opportunities and Challenges for Technology-Assisted Care

Abstract

Background: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental condition affecting children, adolescents, and adults worldwide. Despite evidence-based treatments, long-term functional outcomes remain variable due to heterogeneity in symptoms, comorbidities, and environmental contexts. Digital technologies, including AI-augmented digital Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSSs), are increasingly proposed to support more precise and personalized ADHD care. This concept paper provides a theoretical discussion of the potential applications of CDSSs in ADHD rehabilitation and examines key considerations for system design, usability, and ethical implementation. Discussion: CDSSs and AI technologies offer conceptual promise for enhancing ADHD care by integrating patient-specific data to guide diagnosis, intervention planning, monitoring, and outcome prediction. Incorporating Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) principles is critical to ensure systems are intuitive, engaging, and supportive of adherence, particularly for children and adolescents with ADHD. Ethical, practical, and implementation challenges, including data privacy, equity, and variability in healthcare infrastructures, must be addressed. Thoughtful design and governance of AI-supported CDSSs may improve decision-making, optimize functional outcomes, and facilitate more individualized rehabilitation pathways. Conclusions: The paper concludes by emphasizing future research directions that may include translating conceptual frameworks into empirically testable models, developing guidelines for user-centered and ethically responsible technology deployment, and evaluating long-term impacts on clinical outcomes. By providing a theoretical foundation, this paper aims to guide the integration of AI-augmented CDSSs into technology-assisted ADHD rehabilitation while highlighting the importance of ethical, practical, and human-centered design considerations.