Deborah Does Navel-Gazing » ADHD

Brain Pathways Seem Disrupted in Kids With ADHD

Deborah — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:35:56 +0000

HealthDay News — The brains of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ADHD show abnormalities in certain areas involved with "visual attention," new research finds.Researchers performed functional MRIs fMRIs on 19 children aged 9 to 15 diagnosed with ADHD and 19 without the disorder while the children took a test in which they were shown a set of numbers and then asked to remember whether a subsequent group of numbers matched the original.

via Brain Pathways Seem Disrupted in Kids With ADHD.

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Decluttering My Desk: Avoiding ADHD Pitfalls

Deborah — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 16:06:50 +0000

So recently I decided that I couldn’t live with the clutter on my tiny desk anymore. Here’s a reminder of what my desk looks like pre-de-clutter:

The first thing I did was to take everything out and put it in a single big pile. There’s a good reason for doing it this way instead of doing one surface at a time. That way all similar items are put away in one fell swoop instead of being handled a few times.

via Decluttering My Desk: Avoiding ADHD Pitfalls – Organization at Home – ADHD.

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Decluttering My Desk: How Did the Mess Get Here?

Deborah — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 16:04:12 +0000

So, I was finally fed up with not being able to find anything on my desk. I keep throwing things on it that never leave, and since I have a very small desk area, it doesn’t take much in the way of neglect to make it look like this (the bottom part is the keyboard shelf):

via Decluttering My Desk: How Did the Mess Get Here? – Organization at Home – ADHD.

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Some Kids Respond Better to ADHD Drug Than Others

Deborah — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:49:03 +0000

HealthDay News — Children with specific gene variants respond better to the drug methylphenidate Ritalin, Concerta, which is widely used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD, a new study says.The finding could help improve treatment of ADHD, according to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center researchers."Physicians don’t have a good way of predicting who will experience great improvement in ADHD symptoms with a particular medication, so currently we use a trial-and-error approach. Unfortunately, as a result, finding an effective treatment can take a long time," lead investigator Dr. Tanya Froehlich, a physician in the division of developmental and behavioral pediatrics, said in a medical center news release.

via Some Kids Respond Better to ADHD Drug Than Others.

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New ADHD Guidelines Include Preschoolers, Older Teens

Deborah — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 01:21:20 +0000

(HealthDay News) — In new guidelines released Sunday, the American Academy of Pediatrics has expanded the age range for the diagnosis and treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to children as young as 4 and as old as 18.

For the youngest children, the academy is emphasizing the use of behavior treatments over medication in most cases.

"I think the most significant changes are expanding the ages from preschool through adolescence. The original guidelines were from 6 to 12, because that’s where the evidence was. We’ve been able to broaden the scope of the guidelines because there was more evidence available for preschoolers and adolescents," said the lead author of the new recommendations, Dr. Mark Wolraich, CMRI Shaun Walters Professor of Pediatrics and the Edith Kinney Gaylord Presidential Professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City.

via New ADHD Guidelines Include Preschoolers, Older Teens.

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Study Links Writing Difficulties to ADHD

Deborah — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 13:21:29 +0000

(HealthDay News) — Children diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a much higher risk of developing a written language disorder, a new study indicates.

To ADHD experts, the current observation does not come as a particular surprise. It has long been known that children with ADHD stand a much higher chance of developing some form of learning disability — especially a reading disability, which accounts for about 80 percent of all learning disabilities affecting ADHD patients.

But the new finding, say researchers, is the first evidence to support a specific link between ADHD and a writing disorder.

via Study Links Writing Difficulties to ADHD.

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Action Plan: Back to School Season with ADHD

Deborah — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:34:17 +0000

Ah, summer. Is there any time of the year more dear to children’s hearts? Its bliss is only marred by what’s at the end of it – back to school. After months of nothing more strenuous than camp, children’s brains are just not ready for the rigors of the classroom and the structured format of the school day. The switching of gears is especially hard on children with ADHD. They often need time to get used to changes, so a little preparation is in order to keep from the first day of school being a rude shock.

via Action Plan: Back to School Season with ADHD – In School – ADHD.

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Brain Scan Spots Differences in Tots With ADHD Symptoms – Yahoo! News

Deborah — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:20:28 +0000

HealthDay News — Preschool children with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ADHD have a smaller-than-normal structure in the brain that plays an important role in cognitive and motor control, new research shows.The finding may help efforts to develop ways to treat the common behavioral disorder in the early stages, according to the researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore.In the study, high-resolution MRI was used to examine the brains of 13 preschoolers with ADHD symptoms including inattentiveness and impulsivity and 13 without ADHD symptoms. The scans showed that children with ADHD symptoms had a significantly smaller caudate nucleus, a small structure in the subcortical region of the brain.In addition, the smaller the child’s caudate nucleus, the greater the level of ADHD symptoms reported by parents, the investigators found.

via Brain Scan Spots Differences in Tots With ADHD Symptoms – Yahoo! News.

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U.S. Rates of Autism, ADHD Continue to Rise: Report

Deborah — Mon, 23 May 2011 15:23:48 +0000

(HealthDay News) — One in six U.S. children now has a developmental disability such as autism, learning disorders or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to new research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That number appears to be on the rise. In 1997-1999, about 12.8 percent of kids were diagnosed with a developmental disability. That number rose to 15 percent in 2006-2008 — or an additional 1.8 million U.S. children.

Much of the bump up in cases seems driven by rising rates of autism and ADHD, experts say.

via U.S. Rates of Autism, ADHD Continue to Rise: Report.

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Social Skills Training for Children with ADHD

Deborah — Fri, 13 May 2011 15:58:32 +0000

Very few children are naturals at social interaction and sail through childhood making friends effortlessly, but children with ADHD/ADD have a harder time socializing than most. I remember being laughed at when I marched up to my 4th grade crush and told him I liked him and wanted him to come over to my house in front of his friends. I was terrible at picking up on social cues and figuring out the unspoken rules. Even more painful than my own memories is the possibility that my son might go through the same thing, although his issues are a little different than mine were. For some reason, I was more ADD than ADHD when I was a kid, but my son is very definitely in the ADHD camp. As such, he often has problems with being bossy, interrupting other people and not wanting to take turns. If you’re the parent of a child with ADHD, you might be in the same position and wondering how to help.

via Social Skills Training for Children with ADHD – ADHD.

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