Oregonian newspaper reporter Kristi Turnquist wrote a great article the other day that can be viewed online. The Title of the article is, Building awareness of ADHD and it features Ty Pennington of “Trading Spaces” and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition“.
Ty recently appeared in a classroom of Sherwood Middle School for a question and answer session. An unusual spot to find such a busy TV star, even more unusual was how he ended up there in this town of less than 10,000 people.
Cathy Jensen, school psychologist sent an e-mail to Ty back in September was hoping he would at least send an e-mail back to her. Cathy was shocked at Ty’s response, he wanted to visit the school and meet with the students enrolled in the school’s Bridge Program, a classroom of students with mental and behavioral issues such as ADHD.
Ty shared about growing up with ADHD and how his life changed when he found the right treatment that worked for him, in this case Adderall XR.
Here’s a quote from the article:
Standing before the Sherwood Middle School class, Pennington looks much as he does on TV, tall and lean, wearing casual jeans and an outdoorsy jacket. He’s cheerful, even when talking about serious topics. The students listen attentively as Pennington tells them what an out-of-control kid he was. “One day my mom sat down in the hallway and just broke down crying,” he says, “because I was such a handful and a nightmare.”
You can read the complete article at: http://www.oregonlive.com/living/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/living/1100696131146760.xml
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-ADHD Dad
A recent article published by the American Psychological Association asks the question “What if Einstein had taken Ritalin?”. More specifically, the article speculates how Einstein and Edison would have been affected if they had been taken Ritalin for their learning disabilities. If they had been on Ritalin, would they still have made the historical discoveries they are credited for?
This is the first time I’ve read that Chicago DJ, Erich “Mancow” Mueller had ADHD and his parents refused to give him Ritalin. He struggled through school, but now excels as a fast talking, wise guy radio personality.
Bottom line of the article: Ritalin or other drugs to treat ADHD will dull inspiration and creativity.
You can read it at: What if Einstein had taken Ritalin? ADHD’s impact on creativity
Image by Getty Images via DaylifeThe following article appeared in an issue of the Baltimore Sun. It mentions the fact that as a child, Michael Phelps was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. He managed to use his high energy level to become an Olympic Champion, winning 6 gold and 2 bronze medals during the 2004 Summer Olympics.
A reluctant prodigy
Michael Phelps had to be dragged onto the road to swimming greatness.
By Paul McMullen
Sun Staff
August 8, 2004
On the second Wednesday of 2004, Michael Phelps took his first solo business trip. Taking direction from a crew filming a commercial in Malibu, he splashed in the Pacific. Then Phelps hustled back across the country for a brief stop at his Rodgers Forge home before returning to Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
After two days of low-key competition at Auburn University, he unwound on Sunday night. Powerful enough to schmooze with CEOs but too young to experience Happy Hour, Phelps headed to his hotel bar, not to imbibe but to play arcade games.
With his mother as chaperone, Phelps set his jaw, worked a joystick and tried to crush a handful of teammates, one a 13-year-old girl.
“I can change from being a kid,” he said, “to being a professional. That’s something I’ve learned to do over the past few years.”
Phelps is among a tiny group of teens who became world-class athletes before they had a chance to grow up. His was a case of the stereotypical boy who couldn’t draw within the lines finding a niche in a sport defined by its lanes. Read more »
We recently attended an open house at my daughter’s school and I could see why she has been having problems concentrating. All four walls were covered with posters, student artwork, numbers, letters, and a calendar. There was even stuff hanging from the ceiling! I took a picture of a wall to post here, but I must have accidently deleted it.
One of the pictures I took of my daughter that night captured what she must be like in class. I squatted down in front of her desk and had her hold up her name card and smile. She held up the card and looked my way, but was having a tough time keeping herself focused on me. I clicked the shutter and that very instant her eyes glanced away. Looking at the photograph now, I can see what it’s like to be a child with ADHD. Her body is facing the camera, but her eyes and attention are somewhere else. She occupies a seat in the class, but she struggles to keep her attention in the classroom.
I was at the library today and stopped to check out the new book section, when I spotted a new book on the subject of ADHD, I pulled it off the shelf to take a closer look at it.
The title of the book is Born to be Wild: Freeing the Spirit of the Hyperactive Child and it’s written by the mother of a hyperactive son, or as she prefers, a highly active son. I’m only half way throught the book, but wanted to share this gem from page 92. On the subject of embracing ALL of our children’s traits.
“I believe what we really need to do is learn how to integrate the shadows with the light, the bad with the good, and the negative with the positive behavior. We must embrace all of our child’s traits, not just the ones that we perceive to be of value. For all characteristics, both good and bad, for the essence of the divine nature. Without their impulsive behavior, there is no natural intuition. Without their daydreams, there is no imagination or creativity. And without their obstinacy there is no perseverance.”
Written as only a parent of an ADD/ADHD child could write.
It’s IEP (Individualized Education Program) time of the year again. We’ll be meeting with our daughter’s educators and therapists to develop IEP goals for the next school year. If you have to develop an IEP in the future, I have a book recommendation. The title is “The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child” written by Larence M. Siegel. This is a great book to help you understand the whole process of developing IEP goals for your child. If you don’t read this book and your child will need special educational services, I urge you to inform yourself before you go to that first IEP meeting. I made the mistake of walking into our first meeting without any previous knowledge and felt like I was wasting my time being there. The educators and special ed director already had the plans written and they just had us sign something, pat us on our heads, and sent us home. The day after I must have read every book on the subject at my local library, please do the same.
“Problem Solver Guide for Students with ADHD” is written by Harvey C. Parker, Ph.D. Dr. Parker is a clinical psychologist, author, and consultant to schools and educational agencies. He is also co-founder and former Executive Director of CHADD, Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.
The book covers a variety of topics, but for the most part focuses on steps that parents and teachers can take to insure academic success for the child with ADHD. Being only 163 pages in length, this small trade paperback format book covers all this material with a good overview. The chapters have plenty of bullet points that make it an easy read, but at times it left me with a desire for more information. For instance chapter 11 explains the process of creating an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for your child. There are entire books written on this subject, the one I recommend is “The Complete IEP Guide“.
One chapter that was placed in a rather odd position in the sequences of chapters is titled, “Seven Principles for Raising a Child with ADHD”. The three chapters leading up to this one and the chapter after that deal specifically with strategies to be implemented by teachers. The seven principles are as follows:
1. Provide unconditional love and positive regard.
2. Spend enjoyable time with your child.
3. Become an ADHD expert.
4. Model good values.
5. Provide structure at home with clear, consistent rules.
6. Monitor compliance with rules and check behavior regularly.
7. Inspire confidence as a parent-coach.
Bottom Line: The book would be a helpful companion to a more comprehensive book about creating an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).
ADHD Dad’s Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
See more books about Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder in the new ADHD Bookstore.
Last week, The Patriot Ledger newspaper ran an article titled, “HEALTHY EATING: Nutrition intervention: Treating attention-deficit kids with food, vitamins - not drugs” by Joan Endyke. The focus of the article was treating children’s ADD/ADHD with a change in their diet rather than relying on ADHD medication. The author, a registered dietitian with a master’s degree in nutrition and food science, had specific strategies for an ADHD Diet. Here are a few mentioned in this article, I encourage you to read the complete article to see more suggestions:
- Add omega-3 fatty acids
- Provide extra dietary protein
- Limit sugar, soda, juice, candy and refined starches like white bagels and rice
The author mentioned that, “Preliminary - but promising - new research testing Ritalin against nutritional supplements in children with ADHD have found both to be equally effective”. Interested in reading this research, I e-mailed the author and asked how I could find out more about this study. She quickly wrote back that I could view the article on the PubMed site and search for “Outcome-based comparison of Ritalin versus food-supplement treated children with AD/HD”. The abstract is available at the PubMed site, but the full article is available at the Alternative Medicine Review site (Link to PDF).
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Focalin XR(TM) (dexmethylphenidate HCl) extended-release capsules for the treatment of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adults, adolescents and children.
“Focalin XR provides a new treatment option for adults, adolescents and children to address the many difficult symptoms of ADHD,” said Thomas Spencer,M.D., Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and Assistant Director of the Pediatric Psychopharmacology Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. “Focalin XR provides patients with a treatment that starts working quickly to alleviate symptoms with the advantage of a once-daily dose.”
“We are pleased to introduce Focalin XR as a valuable treatment to help adults, adolescents and children effectively manage their symptoms of ADHD,” said Paulo Costa, head of Pharma Americas and CEO, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. “Novartis has been a leader in helping ADHD patients since we first introduced Ritalin(R) in the 1960s. The addition of Focalin XR further emphasizes this commitment as it provides a new treatment option to address the many difficult symptoms of ADHD.”
Focalin XR was generally well tolerated. There were no significant changes in patient weight or vital signs, such as sitting pulse or sitting blood pressure, in adults or children. The most common side effects in adults and children include decreased appetite, headache, dyspepsia, anxiety, insomnia, feeling jittery and anorexia.
The approval of Focalin XR for the treatment of ADHD was based on efficacy and safety data from clinical trials involving approximately 320 adults, adolescents and children diagnosed with ADHD. Read more »
Girls with ADHD appear to have a higher risk of developing mental illness by the time they turn 17. This was the finding of a recent study conducted by Harvard Medical School researcher, Joseph Biederman. This study tracked 140 girls with ADHD from ages 12 to 17 and compared them with 122 girls without ADHD. By the time they reached 17, the girls with ADHD were far more likely to be clinically depressed, to have anxiety disorders and to have conduct disorder. 90% of the girls with ADHD in this study had received treatment for their disorder.
Here are the specific findings of the study:
- More than 20% were disruptive vs. 3% of those without ADHD.
- More than one in three suffered major depression, compared with three in 100 of those without ADHD.
- 56% suffered anxiety vs. 19% of those without ADHD.
- 4% drank alcohol vs. 1% of those without ADHD.
- 12% used drugs compared with 4% of those without ADHD.
- Anorexia and bulimia each claimed about 5% of ADHD sufferers.
- 28% smoked vs. 13% of those withour ADHD.
ADHD Dad July 8, 2008
