ADHD in the News

1. Adopted Children More Prone to Health Conditions, U.S. Annual Study Shows (Bloomberg, July 6, 2011)
   
   "Nearly 45 percent of kids ages 12 to 17 who were adopted from foster care homes developed moderate to severe health problems, compared with 14 percent of all youth in the age group, according a report released today by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. The most common conditions were learning disabilities such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder..." Full Story
   
   
2. How Can we Help Boys Succeed? (Ellington-Somers Patch, July 6, 2011)
   
   "Research shows boys may be falling behind. Most of us know firsthand or have friends or family members with sons who are behavior problems. Many are diagnosed in elementary school with attention deficit problems or learning disorders. As a matter of fact boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and are twice more likely to get held back in school than girls according to author Peg Tyre. Tyre wrote a book about boys after visiting many schools across the county and speaking with hundreds of teachers. What she found was a "new gender gap."..." Full Story
   
   
3. Meds Not Only Answer for ADD/ADHD (Redondo Beach Patch, July 5, 2011)
   
   "Our columnist lists other things parents can try for their children...Somewhere there is a balance between creative energy and focused drive, the balance that any option should be striving to reach. Of course, medication is an option, but many non-medical options are also available..." Full Story
   
   
4. Is It ADHD, OCD or Both? (Huffington Post, July 1, 2011)
   
   "Both ADHD and OCD seem to be highly heritable: if you have it, it's likely that at least one of your parents also has it. When you have ADHD, one of the issues is that your brain has a low level of a chemical called dopamine. When you have OCD, one of the issues is that your brain has too much of a chemical called serotonin. Sometimes people have both ADHD and OCD. This means that you have the inattention and/or hyperactivity of ADHD, along with the compulsions and/or obsessions of OCD..." Full Story
   
   
5. Dogs and Young Readers: On the Same Page (San Francisco Chronicle, July 7, 2011)
   
   "Who doesn't talk to their dog? There's something in our dog's social pack-animal brain that inclines them to be attentive and attuned to our vocal cues and body language and there's something about being human that appreciates a good listener. Now we have some intriguing information from Jennifer Emmert, PhD, who manages our Animal Assisted Therapy programs, that the benefits of talking to a dog go beyond therapeutic value..." Full Story
   
   
6. Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities Secures $100,000 Challenge Grant to Enhance On-line Services (PRWEB (Westport, CT), July 4, 2011)
   
   "Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, Inc. (SKLD) recently secured a $100,000 Challenge Grant to enhance the non-profit's on-line services. The initiative was launched last fall with contributions from the organization's Board of Directors, the Laurence W. Levine Foundation, and an anonymous donor. Further, the Westport-based non-profit's blog was named one of the top 50 special-education blogs by Education-degree.net. SKLD's website will be redesigned based on a survey conducted by the Harvard Business School Community Partners of Fairfield County..." Full Story
   
   
7. Mice Study Shows Importance of Nicotine Receptors for Social Interaction (PsychCentral, July 1, 2011)
   
   "Emerging research suggests nicotine receptors play an important role in social interaction and the ability to choose between competing motivations. In the new research, scientists from France show that the nicotinic receptors in the prefrontal cortex are essential for social interaction in mice and that this area of the brain is necessary for adapted and balanced social interactions to occur. Experts believe this this new knowledge could eventually lead to new treatments for ADHD, schizophrenia, and depression, among other illnesses..." Full Story