Tanya E. Froehlich, MD, MS, FAAP

I specialize in diagnosing and treating developmental and behavioral conditions in preschoolers, school-age children and adolescents. I love working with families to ensure that their children learn and grow emotionally in order to live their best and fullest lives.

Working in developmental-behavioral pediatrics is priceless to me because it’s a chance to change each child’s life trajectory by improving functioning at home, in school and with peers. Since my mother was a high school teacher and my father was a social worker, developmental-behavioral pediatrics is a natural fit for me.

My research focuses on interventions for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other developmental-behavioral issues, including predictors and treatment response correlations. I’m particularly interested in complex ADHD, which is ADHD in complicated circumstances, such as in the setting of coexisting conditions (like learning, neuro-genetic, autism spectrum, anxiety or other disorders) or psychosocial challenges/adversity.

For me, the field of ADHD is incredibly compelling and important because of the vast improvements appropriate treatment can have on patients. ADHD, especially when unrecognized and untreated, is linked to higher rates of many adverse outcomes, such as school failure, low occupational achievement, family strife, substance abuse and suicidality.

On the other hand, individuals with ADHD who receive appropriate treatment can thrive at school, at home and on the job. I’m investigating the effects of medication and behavioral interventions on individuals with ADHD and other developmental-behavioral challenges. I am particularly interested in identifying predictors of treatment benefits and side effects. I am also working to understand how treatments may work differently for individuals with complex ADHD compared to those with uncomplicated ADHD. This includes projects to further understanding of ADHD treatment in individuals with Down syndrome as well as in preschool-age children.

I’m the division director for the Cincinnati Children’s Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and program director for the Cincinnati Children’s Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Training Program. I’ve been named to Cincinnati Magazine’s “Best Doctors” list for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. I was given the Jack H. Rubinstein Award for embodying the mission and vision of Cincinnati Children’s Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (2018). I served on the committees that developed the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) ADHD Clinical Practice Guideline (2019) and the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Complex ADHD Clinical Practice Guideline (2020) and am currently vice chair of the committee updating the AAP ADHD Clinical Practice Guideline.

Currently, I serve on the board of directors for the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics as immediate past president and as co-chair of the American Professional Society for ADHD and Related Disorders Pediatric-Psychiatry Interface Special Interest Group. I’m also on the editorial board for the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and have been a standing member of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Biobehavioral and Behavioral Sciences subcommittee/study section. For the past 15 years, I have been continuously funded by the NIH to study predictors and correlates of ADHD treatment response, and am currently investigating the effects of ADHD medication in children with co-existing ADHD and Down syndrome. Additionally, I chair the ADHD Research Node for the Maternal Child Health Bureau-funded National Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Research Network (DBPNet).

I graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University and graduated with honors from Yale University School of Medicine. I completed a fellowship in developmental-behavioral pediatrics and a National Research Service Award fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s.