Researchers from Nottingham University in Britain have found that the right kind of behavior therapy produces results similar to those of Ritalin for children with ADHD. The study focused on the effects that instant rewards had on ADHD kids.

"They found that the incentives helped the children perform better at the game, although not to the same extent as the child's normal dose of Ritalin. However, the EEG revealed that both were 'normalizing' brain activity in the same region." [Source: BBC News]

Lead researcher Professor Chris Hollis said the study found that a combination of drugs and incentives produces the best results. He believes their study implies that children may be able to take lower doses of medication if behavior incentives are used properly by parents, teachers and other caregivers.

Labels: behavior, rewards, medications

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Kids aren't the only people that have trouble sitting still. Many adults, especially those with ADHD, are more productive if they can move around a little  shake a foot or bounce a leg, for example.

According to an April 13 article by Livia McCoy on www.examiner.com, teaching children how to fidget in ways that aren't disruptive can help them focus better in school and elsewhere.

Children can be taught how to shake their foot or lower leg without kicking the table and disturbing others. They need to practice this in the classroom setting and to be shown the difference between kicking the air and kicking the table leg (or even their neighbor!). They also need to understand why it is important.

Wiggle-worms do not purposefully want to disturb others! They just do not realize that what they are doing may be harmful to another person nearby.

Labels: fidgeting

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A study out of Nottingham, England has found that not only does medication help children with ADHD, but incentives improve behavior as well.

"According to the researchers & the study's results indicate that stimulant medication normalizes brain function in children with ADHD so that they can pay better attention and be less impulsive. But using motivational incentives along with the drugs, they said, improved the children's performance." [Source: HealthDay News]

Dr. John Krystal, editor of Biological Psychiatry, says the findings suggest that behavioral strategies combined with appropriate medication may give kids with ADHD the best chance possible for improving their performance at school and elsewhere.

Labels: behavior, motivation

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The days are already getting warmer and longer, and soon the year will be over. During this time of year, many parents begin thinking about sending their children to summer camp. If your child has ADHD, there are a few things you can do to make his camp experience enjoyable.

An Aug. 7 article on healthcentral.com provided the following tips to ensure that your child has an enjoyable summer camp experience:

If your child already knows at least one other child at camp before they go, it will increase his comfort level. Ask the camp for a list of local campers, so you can contact the parents. You can either have your child talk on the phone with the camper, set up a play date with one child, or set up a group play date.

You might want to consider doing this with a day camp as well as sleepaway camp. ...

The camp director should meet with your child before camp starts. If he or she is reluctant to for some reason, or too busy, find another camp.

Click here to learn more about summer camps for children with ADHD.

Labels: summer_camp

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Since 2001, thousands of parents of autistic children have filed suit and asked for damages through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program at Health and Human Services Administration. They allege that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine caused their child to develop autism.

Now special masters in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled that three families cannot be compensated through this program because there is no scientific evidence that the MMR vaccine causes autism.

Despite this and previous court rulings based on similar scientific evidence, a recent study published in the journal Pediatrics found that about 25 percent of all parents still believe that vaccines cause autism, more than 50 percent worry when their child gets vaccinated, and 11.5 percent have refused at least one vaccine.

Labels: vaccines, autism

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A survey conducted by Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota found that ninety percent of parents want to learn more about alternative medicine options for their children.

"The survey also found that & 85 percent would like to minimize their [childs] dependence on drugs. Parents felt especially strongly about reducing drug treatment for mood or behavioral problems such as anxiety or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Sixty-eight percent of parents believed that integrative treatment could be effective." [Source: NaturalNews.com]

Despite the high level of interest, the study also found that only 12 percent of parents surveyed had ever talked to a doctor or other medical professional about alternative treatment options. Most parents only begin investigating alternative options after conventional treatments prove ineffective.

The survey also found that 95 percent of parents whose children used alternative treatment reported having a positive experience.

Labels: medications, alternative_medicine

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Not everyone learns the same way. This can be especially true for students with ADHD. According to an April 5 press release from Insight Schoool, Inc, students who struggle to thrive in a traditional high school setting may benefit from online learning:

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, 2.4 million children between the ages of 12 and 17 have ADHD, and the diagnosis of the disorder in that age group increased an average of 3 percent per year from 1997 to 2006.

In addition, Dr. Russell Barkley reports in the book Taking Charge of ADHD that 21 percent of teens with ADHD skip school on a regular basis, 35 percent drop out before finishing high school and 50 percent experience sleep problems.

Students with ADHD may have trouble focusing in a class full of students. Online learning allows them to study at home, in their room, with minimal distractions.

Labels: students, online, education

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A group of parents and students, in conjunction with the American Civil Liberties Union, is suing a Rhode Island Family Court Judge and his appointees, saying they violated the constitutional rights of public school children.

The suit claims that students' medical issues were all but ignored by the court, which used arrest warrants and the threat of "state custody" to intimidate students and parents.

"The alleged abuses occurred in five school districts -- Providence, North Providence, Woonsocket, Coventry and Cumberland -- where the truancy courts had jurisdiction over more than 700 students during each of the past two school years, according to the suit." [Source: The Providence Journal]

One of the plaintiffs, a 53-year-old mother whose daughter has ADHD and Tourette's Syndrome, claims that the court repeatedly threatened to remove her daughter from the home if she continued to miss school.

The mother tried to explain that she only pulled her child if a change in her medication made her extremely disruptive in class, but the court refused to take that into consideration. A hearing date has yet to be set for the case.

Labels: schools, laws

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Dr. Claudia Gold was just beginning her own pediatrics practice when she unexpectedly inherited an already-developed practice from a doctor who suddenly passed away. All of her new patients had been diagnosed with ADHD, which fit perfectly with her expertise and experience. Her first order of business was to re-evaluate her new patients.

"If I was going to prescribe a mind altering drug to these children, I wanted to learn what was going on in their lives. I particularly tried to open things up when kids were doing poorly. I didn’t focus on adjusting the dose of medication when they were failing in school, but explored other possible reasons for their academic struggles.” [Source: MedPage Today]

While some patients were frustrated with Dr. Gold’s approach, others welcomed it. Over the course of a year some of her patients have agreed to therapy and other behavioral treatments, and have been able to reduce or eliminate ADHD medication. Dr. Gold knows that some of her patients have neurological deficiencies that require medication, and for those she’s happy to prescribe something appropriate. But she also knows that sometimes ADHD-like symptoms aren’t caused by ADHD, and for those patients, medication may not be needed at all.


 

Labels: diagnosis

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments

A new study out of Michigan State University has found a unique combination of factors that may contribute to ADHD in children. The study reviewed a specific genetic region of the brain associated with serotonin, and children’s tendency to experience psychological distress.

“In the study of 304 youths, researchers found that those children who reported more self-blame, and had variants in the region[of the brain] associated with both high and low serotonergic activity, had more ADHD symptoms… ‘Our work examines the interaction between a specific gene variant and a family environmental risk factor in order to determine their roles in the development of ADHD via behavioral and emotional dysregulation in children.’” (Source: PsychCentral)

The specific region studied, called 5HTTLPR, regulates the transmission of serotonin, and has previously been linked with a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders. Researchers believe their study points to a genetic liability for ADHD, rather than a risk. The difference being that the liability is only an issue if certain environmental factors are present to trigger the ADHD.

 

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments