Social interactions are often hard for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, as many ADHD kids are either too shy or too aggressive. But there are some simple steps parents can take to help their ADHD child learn certain skills that will make developing friendships much easier.

"Teach your child how to make friends by making and keeping friends yourself.... have a friendly home and invite people over often. Be hospitable to other children, especially children with interests similar to your child's...."

Teach your child how to recognize and respond to non-verbal communication, and how to engage in small talk. Though these skills don't come naturally to children with ADHD, they can be learned - and your child's social experiences will be much more rewarding as a result. Source: LifeWithADHD website

If your daughter could benefit from improved social skills, a private boarding school might help.

Labels: social_skills, shy

Posted By: Staff Writer 1 Comment

According to Dec. 29 article on the website Medscape Today, a study of more than 500 children has revealed significant deficiencies in Medicaid-funded treatment for children with ADHD.

Writer Deborah Brauser described the situation:

Investigators evaluated data on 530 children between the ages of 5 and 11 years (mean age, 9.9 years; 68% boys; 54% Latino, 23% black, 13% white, 10% from more than 1 ethnic background) diagnosed with ADHD. ...

Results showed that 34% of all participants received no care of any type during the 6 months before the baseline interview, and 44% received no care between the 6- and 12-month follow-up time points. Among those in the primary care group only, 52% received no care between the 2 follow-up times.

"That there were only 1 to 2 follow-up visits a year by the children in primary care is a concern because those receiving stimulant medication require more frequent monitoring," explained [lead author] Dr. Zima. "We also anticipated higher rates of stimulant use in the mental health clinics."

Instead, "the rates of stimulant medication treatment in primary care clinics was consistently at least 2.8 times greater than that found in specialty mental health programs over the 3 time intervals," the authors write. ...

"Care for childhood ADHD in the [studied] Medicaid program failed to meet the Institute of Medicine's definition of quality that requires 'consistency with current professional knowledge' and 'improved likelihood of destined health outcomes,' " the authors write.

Labels: treatment

Posted By: 4ADHD.com 1 Comment

A Jan. 3 article on the Daily Health Report website indicates that physicians are ignoring warnings about over-prescribing Ritalin to children with ADHD:

Although many experts have warned about the dangers of children using stimulant drugs like Ritalin frequently, doctors continue prescribing these drugs at an alarming rate.

In 2008, the national average of Ritalin prescriptions for children with Attention Deficit Hyper-activity Disorder (ADHD) was about 40 percent. However, that figure has since grown to more than 80 percent.

Evident during a study in  a St. Mary’s Hospital, 446 of the 529 cases of ADHD were treated using some kind of stimulant drug.

While stimulant drugs have long been known to help children with ADHD alleviate symptoms, new studies have shown the opposite effects.

Labels: ritalin, stimulants

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Research conducted at Britain's University of Nottingham appears to indicate that children with ADHD have an impaired ability to turn off a "daydreaming switch" in their brain. This "daydreaming" function is designed to help the brain pass time when not focused on a particular task -- but the inability to turn this feature off can create significant difficulties when the time comes to take on a tast that demands complete attention.

Richard Alleyne, the science correspondent for The Telegraph, described this research:

Using a video game, researchers compared brain scans of eighteen children with ADHD, aged between nine and 15 years old, against scans of a similar group of children without the condition.

The children with ADHD were tested when they were taking their methylphenidate and when they were off their medication.

By studying the brain scans, the researchers were able to show that typically developing children switched off their DMN network whenever they saw an item requiring their attention.

However, unless the incentive was high, or they had taken their medication, the children with ADHD would fail to switch off the DMN and would perform poorly.

Dr Martin Batty, co-author of the study, said: "Using brain imaging, we have been able to see inside the children's heads and observe what it is about ADHD that is stopping them concentrating.

The team's findings were published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

Labels: brain_activity, health, brain_chemistry

Posted By: 4ADHD.com 1 Comment

In a Jan. 7 article on the Huffington Post website, ADHD expert Steven M.S. Kurtz, Ph. D., sounded the alarm about the potential damage to children and society if health care reform rollbacks impede or impair the ability of ADHD patients to get the medical treatment they need:

Teenagers and young adults with untreated ADHD are often plagued with impulsivity, failure to think through the consequences of their decisions, an inability to finish what they start and poor judgment.

The statistics show that they are more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs, more likely to get addicted, more likely to have early (and unprotected) sex, as well as being more likely to be expelled from school. And Dan's car accident? That was no exception either -- people with ADHD are also more likely to get into accidents, and more likely to be seriously injured. ...

What these people brooding over the cost of health care don't seem to realize is that not providing care is already costing us. By not offering adequate treatment to the nation's children, even if we don't know it, we are already paying -- in addition to the price the kids are paying.

Decades of research have shown us that kids with untreated ADHD -- not to speak of anxiety, depression and other very treatable conditions -- struggle just to become productive citizens. These kids have a harder time holding jobs, staying married, raising children and even keeping out of jail. As long as we continue to deprive our youth of the mental health care they need, we are sabotaging our own future as well as theirs.

We need their talents and ingenuity and intelligence; we need them to step up and become our nation's entrepreneurs, engineers and political leaders.

Labels: treatment

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