Honoring L. Eugene Arnold, MD, MEd

CHADD’s Resident Expert and Pioneering ADHD Researcher Dies

With profound gratitude for a life well-lived in service to others, and with deep sadness, CHADD remembers L. Eugene Arnold, MD, MEd, and all that he contributed to CHADD and the ADHD community.

Dr. Arnold served as CHADD’s resident expert and frequently contributed to CHADD’s work. In 2014 he was inducted into the CHADD Hall of Fame for his groundbreaking work in the ADHD community and his foundational work on the Multimodal Treatment Assessment Study, which helped to develop the current model of ADHD care.

CHADD’s resident expert on ADHD

Dr. Arnold was a distinguished child and adolescent psychiatrist with more than sixty years in pediatric medicine, mental health, and research on ADHD and autism, significantly advancing our understanding and treatment of these conditions. Most recently, he was a professor emeritus at Ohio State University, where he directed the division of child psychiatry and served as vice-chair of the department of psychiatry. Throughout his career, Dr. Arnold authored more than three hundred and fifty articles and nine books, including nine articles for CHADD’s Attention magazine. He frequently contributed to ADHD Weekly newsletter articles and was a guest expert for CHADD’s webinar series.

Dr. Arnold worked in partnership with CHADD leaders to establish and maintain positive collaborative relationships with other professional organizations to further serve children and adults with ADHD, as well as their families.

Working with CHADD’s National Resource Center on ADHD, he hosted podcasts for All Things ADHD and PocketMD, a training program for medical professionals, and reviewed fact sheets and webpages for scientific accuracy. He was a past chair of CHADD’s professional advisory board and remained a contributing member.

Dr. Arnold presented his research, or co-presented with colleagues, at the Annual Conference on ADHD, most recently speaking at the 2024 conference in Anaheim, California. In his presentations, he frequently discussed the benefits of complementary approaches and supports to the multimodal standard of treatment for ADHD.

He was also called upon by CHADD to talk with members of the press as a trusted spokesperson who could make scientific information and language accessible and understandable for the general community.

A man of character and exploration

During the past week, many colleagues, friends, and professional acquaintances have reached out to share their remembrances of Dr. Arnold and express condolences at the news of his death.

“Dr. Gene Arnold was one of the most special people we had in our midst in the ADHD community,” says Margaret H. Sibley, PhD. She has worked closely with Dr. Arnold during the past ten years and is currently a member of CHADD’s professional advisory board. “He was both the most rigorous scientist and the most open-minded thinker. He was a steady shepherd for the MTA Cooperative Group and mentored many of us by example and through direct guidance. He was wise and kind and leaves a lasting legacy through all of us who were inspired by his character and work. We will miss his insights and the apples from his farm that he always brought to share at CHADD meetings.”

Another professional advisory board member offered that during a conference on child and adolescent mental health, a panel of experts discussing ADHD was asked by someone in the audience if there was anything positive about ADHD. The panel of experts stated there were no positives and the condition was bad for both the individual and the community.

Dr. Arnold, the member recalls, was not part of the panel but stood to speak next.

“I disagree with this panel,” he said. “Because people with ADHD are curious and interested and full of life. They are our explorers, and the world needs more explorers.”

CHADD’s tributes to a friend and advocate

In the coming months, CHADD plans additional tributes to Dr. Arnold in Attention magazine and during the 2025 Annual ADHD Conference, celebrating his dedication to the ADHD community. Many members of our staff had the opportunity to work closely with him through the years and meet his loss with both sadness and appreciation for having known him. We’ve had the chance to discuss the intricacies of the human mind and the wonders of an apple orchard he tended at his home. He answered our questions and prompted us to find deeper answers to share with the CHADD community. These, and many other moments, will be cherished and celebrated.

 

Lawrence Eugene “Gene” Arnold, MD, MEd, passed away Sunday evening, April 27, 2025, shortly after tending to his beloved apple orchard. Born February 16, 1936, in Zanesville, Ohio, to Carl and Carrie (Untied) Arnold. Gene was a 1954 graduate of Bishop Rosecrans High School after which he attended and graduated from the University of Dayton.

Gene lived his life as a devoted follower of Christ, attending the St. Charles Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, before finding his true calling: marrying the apple of his eye, Billie Marie (Crowley) on December 26, 1961. After pursuing his education in a variety of states and fathering five children, Gene and Billie settled their family on the Sunbury, Ohio, farm in 1974. Gene was an original parishioner at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Sunbury. Raising everything from hogs, cattle, and sheep to raspberries, peaches, plums, and apples, he focused on two favorite hobbies in recent years: apples and sheep. The apples, from blooms to harvest, never ceased to amaze him, and were miracles of the nature he loved. He divulged that he liked seeing the newborn lambs in the spring, as he adored babies of all species, most of all his own children, grandchildren, and great-grandchild.

Learn more about Dr. Arnold and leave your condolences.