A study out of Europe has found a connection between being ambidextrous and having ADHD. Researchers studied nearly 8,000 children and found that ambidextrous 15- and 16-year-olds were twice as likely to have ADHD symptoms.

The adolescents also reported having greater difficulties with language than those who were left- or right-handed. This is in line with earlier studies that have linked mixed-handedness with dyslexia&

Some researchers have suggested that mixed-handedness indicated that the pattern of dominance is not that which is typically seen in most people, i.e. it is less clear that one hemisphere is dominant over the other. [Source: PsychCentral]

Though the study indicated that ambidextrous kids are at greater risk of developing ADHD, researchers cautioned against assuming ADHD is inevitable. Researchers have yet to discover the reason for the link.

Labels: research, ambidextrous

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Between 1990 and 1998, more than 5 million children and adults were diagnosed with ADHD. Of those 5 million, some are likely to be gifted children who were misdiagnosed.

Writer Suki Wessling addressed the misdiagnosis of gifted children in a Jan 21 article on examiner.com:

Many parents of gifted children are familiar with Dabrowskis theory of overexcitability in gifted people. However, teachers, therapists and family doctors are unlikely to have any knowledge or practical training in this area &

"Gifted children, many of who are also asynchronous (developing at different rates in different areas) encounter difficulties conforming to expectations, have behavior problems due to boredom, or otherwise struggle in a school setting," explains [Mike] Gustavson. ...

It's to clear to those who work with the gifted, however, that many of the physicians and mental health professionals prescribing ADHD drugs are probably dealing with, and not recognizing, gifted children.

"One of the things that I'm working with them on this is to try to educate pediatricians and family practitioners and nurse practitioners as well as psychologists," says [author James T. Webb, founder of Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted]. "Other than Wright State University, there just aren't graduate programs that specialize in training psychologists about the gifted."

Labels: misdiagnosis, gifted children

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Children who experience social rejection often lack three skills -- the ability to pick up on nonverbal and social cues, the ability to recognize what those cues mean, and the ability to respond to cues appropriately, according to new research published in the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.

• Dr. Clark McKown and his colleagues at Rush University Medical Center studied 126 children referred by a psychological clinic and compared them to 158 children who had been chosen randomly from the Chicago school system.
• Many children in the study had difficulty picking up on other children's body language and social cues. For example, they simply did not notice indicators like slumped shoulders and angry faces.
  
• Among those who recognize the cues, many did not know how to respond to these cues or attach meaning to them.

"The number of children who cannot negotiate the steps and who are at risk for social rejection is startling," said Dr. McKown.

Labels: social_skills

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Experts with the University of Hertfordshire have developed a video game that they believe may be able to help ADHD children gain greater control over their behaviors. Nicky Broyd of WebMD Health News profiled the game in a Dec. 8, 2010, article:

Researchers from the University of Hertfordshires School of Psychology have been testing the game called Play Attention which uses EEG (Electroencephalography) biofeedback by detecting brain waves.

Researchers got 10 children with an attention deficit from Hertfordshire schools to use it three times a week for twelve weeks.

Children have to wear what looks like a cycle helmet, but is really a set of brain wave sensors linked to a computer. As long as the child concentrates, they stay in control of the games; but if their attention waivers the game stops.

The researchers found that, at the end of the study, the childrens impulsive behaviour was reduced, compared to a control group who had not used the system.

Labels: brain_activity, video_games, concentration

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Having educated parents does not cause autism. However, more cases of autism are diagnosed in areas where parents are older, better educated, and white.

More cases of autism are also diagnosed in communities near regional service centers for people with autism, according to a new study from University of California at Davis.

• UCD researchers set out to find environmental factors that may cause autism clusters in certain geographic areas.
  
• They were unable to find links to pollution or chemical exposure, and they suggest that areas with high rates of autism are probably just places where parents are more likely to obtain a diagnosis for a child.
  
• Differences in parents' age, education, and ethnicity could explain autism clusters most of the time.

"These clusters correlated with neighborhoods of higher education or neighborhoods that were near a major treatment center for autism," said senior author Irva Hertz-Picciotto.

The study appeared in the journal Autism Research.

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Allergies to gluten and casein -- which have been shown to aggravate behavioral issues in children with ADHD -- appear to be on the rise. These substances are common in a variety of foods and ingredients, including wheat, rye, oats, milk, ice cream and yogurt. The official diagnosis for this type of allergy is "celiac disease."

"Although there is no scientific evidence on the effectiveness of gluten-free and/or casein-free diets, many parents have reported improvement in controlling the behavior and symptoms of their child & by following such a diet," Indianapolis Star correspondent Joanie Fuson reported in a Jan. 20 article.

Celiac disease is an inherited disorder that causes the immune system to attack the small intestine when gluten or casein is consumed. As a result, nutrients arent properly absorbed into the body.

Labels: behavior, allergies, health

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Lack of communication can cause all sorts of trouble. Scientists from the University of California Davis have found that may it be causing trouble in kids with ADHD. A study of childrens brain waves has revealed that certain areas of an ADHD childs brain dont communicate appropriately during tasks that require attention.

"In the experiments, children with diagnosed ADHD and normal children were given a simple attention test while their brain waves were measured. The test consisted of being shown a red or blue image, or hearing a high or low sound, and having to react by pressing a button." (Source: UCD)

Visual cues should have resulted in brain wave changes, and did in kids without ADHD. But kids with ADHD showed little or no change, indicating a lack of communication between the frontal cortex and other parts of the brain. Researchers say it's the first time such a disconnect has been documented.

Labels: brain_activity

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Tennessee Reed has written six books. Her latest, Spell Albuquerque is a memoir about her experiences growing up with learning disabilities. She has also written a one-woman play that was produced in her hometown, and shes currently writing a novella.

A Jan. 13 article by Angela Hill of the Oakland Tribune provided the following look at Reed's ability to overcome childhood challenges thanks in large part to the support of her mother and father:

[Reed's literary accomplishments are] not bad for someone who, when she was in kindergarten, was told by teachers and various education experts that her multiple learning disabilities, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, would prevent her from ever reading or writing, much less accomplishing much in life at all.

"Some people have stopped their lives after hearing something like that," Reed, 32, said from her West Oakland home, where she lives with her parents, renowned author Ishmael Reed and choreographer Carla Blank.

"But with my family, that's not our M.O.," Reed said, with a knowing grin. "We don't stop. Since I was a kid, I was always told to write 10 minutes a day. So I wrote journals and poems. It really comes naturally."

Labels: success, parents, writing

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"Living better through chemistry" is how Huffington Post columnist Michael Laskoff describes life with ADHD and the right medication. In his Thanksgiving article, he not only expressed his gratitude for medication, but offered an innovative explanation of how it works:

For help with that, I turn to baseball. There, individual players with many different talents and propensities can all be compared using a batting average. That single number tells you nothing about a players potential, but it does communicate a great deal about his aggregate performance. &

In baseball terms, [people with ADHD] had been hitting a .200 when their natural talents might have led their teachers, employers, family and friends to expect a .400.

Use of the right medication, Laskoff goes on to say, can raise that "batting average" to .300, by helping the person focus, and stay more organized and motivated. Laskoff is not arguing that medication is right for every person who struggles with ADHD. However, the right medication, in the right doses, can improve the quality of life for some, he believes

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Its called electroencephalography (EEG) biofeedback -- the monitoring of brain wave activity. Its used as part of a system called Play Attention that teaches kids how to focus.

• Professor Karen Pine of the University of Hertfordshires School of Psychology, and her assistant Farjana Nasrin studied the systems effects on kids with attention deficit.
  
• They found that impulsive behavior, which is difficult for ADHD kids to control, was reduced after kids used the system three times a week for twelve weeks.
  
• Games for Life, which developed and owns Play Attention, plans to make the system available in the United Kingdom this month.

"The system involves the child playing a fun educational computer game whilst wearing a helmet similar to a bicycle helmet," the University of Hertfordshire reported. "The helmet picks up their brain activity in the form of EEG waves related to attention. As long as the child concentrates they control the games, but as soon as their attention waivers the game stops."

Labels: biofeedback, hyperactivity, treatment

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As kids reach adolescence, they begin breaking away from their parents. They want to decide when they should do homework, if they should get an after-school job, and what time they should go to bed.

However, an article on the website of KMOT-TV (Minot, ND) indicates that parents of teens shouldn't give up on ensuring that their children get enough sleep:

A new study finds moms and dads shouldnt completely give up the parenting basics when it comes to bedtime. The study, conducted by a Columbia University Medical Center doctor, finds a link between lack of sleep among teens and depression.

Researchers found adolescents who reported sleeping five or fewer hours a night were 71 percent more likely to suffer from depression, and 50 percent more likely to think about committing suicide than teens getting eight hours of rest.

Lana Curl, a sleep center director, suggests that parents keep computers and televisions out of their kids rooms. She also suggests taking away cell phones if kids are texting late into the night.

Labels: research, teens, depression, sleep

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Rebecca Riley was diagnosed with ADHD before she turned three. In December 2006, she died. Her parents say pneumonia caused her death. Prosecutors allege that the parents are guilty of giving their child a fatal overdose of ADHD medication.

The Buffalo News reported the following about the case:

Some psychiatrists believe the case illustrates a trend of over-diagnosing young children. &

"There are some kids who need those medicines, but I think you get on a slippery slope when, rather than acknowledging that it's really tough to diagnose this in preschoolers, there's a tendency to say, 'Lets give her medication,'" said Dr. Oscar Bukstein, a child psychiatrist and professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

A state medical examiner has said that Rebeccas death was caused by a combination of Clonidine, Depakote, and two over-the-counter drugs  a cough suppressant and an antihistamine. The amount of Clondine alone in Rebeccas system was enough to be fatal.

The doctor who prescribed the medication says she warned Rebeccas parents about the dangers of overdose, and is scheduled to testify in the trial.

Labels: medications, laws

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On January 12, Attention Deficit Disorder Resources is hosting a free teleconference called "Navigating ADHD."Hosted by Tracey Bromley Goodwin, M.Ed. and Holly Oberacker, ART, LMHC, the free program will discuss communication strategies parents can implement with their ADHD kids.

"Navigating ADHD is a solutions-based approach to supporting families whose lives are affected by ADHD. [Goodwin and Oberacker] merged their unique expertise and ADHD focused experience to develop proven methods for managing the symptoms of ADHD. Their multi-sensory approach addresses the behavioral, organizational, and executive functioning needs of those affected by ADHD." [Source: Examiner.com]

The teleconference will begin at 5 pm PST (8 pm EST), and can be accessed by calling (219) 509-8222. When prompted, used access code 659037#

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