Study looks at primary care for teens with ADHD

The rate of youths with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder who had a primary care visit dropped from 63% during preadolescence to 41% in late adolescence, researchers reported in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics. The findings also showed that nearly 90% of teens with ADHD received monitoring for substance abuse, depression and suicide during primary care visits between preadolescence and late adolescence but only about 50% received monitoring for risky sexual activity and almost none had documented driver readiness or medication diversion discussions.   Full Story: Physician's Briefing/HealthDay News

Adolescent Drivers With ADHD Have Higher Crash Rate Than Their Peers

A NICHD-funded study found adolescent drivers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a higher crash rate than adolescents who do not have the disorder. The adolescent drivers with ADHD also were more likely to have alcohol-related crashes and to be cited for speeding, not using seatbelts, and texting or talking on a cell phone compared with adolescents who do not have ADHD. The authors called for studies to identify strategies for reducing these behaviors.  View More Here . . .

ADHD risk not higher with prenatal benzodiazepine, z-hypnotic exposure

Children whose mothers took benzodiazepines or z-hypnotics anytime during pregnancy didn't have increased odds of greater attention-deficit/hyperactivity symptoms or deficits in fine motor ability, compared with those without prenatal benzodiazepine/z-hypnotic exposure, according to a Norwegian study in JAMA Network Open. However, researchers found a higher likelihood of communication and gross motor deficits among boys whose mothers received benzodiazepines/z-hypnotics for anxiety or depressive disorders during late pregnancy.  Psychiatry Advisor

Youths at risk of ADHD, depression more likely to be bullied

Children who were most likely to develop attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and depression had increased odds of being bullied, UK researchers reported in JAMA Psychiatry. The findings, based on data involving 5,028 youths in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children born between 1991 and 1992, also showed a higher likelihood of bullying exposure among those with elevated body mass index, but not those who were more likely to develop autism, obsessive compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder or neuroticism.  Newsweek

Prenatal omega-6: omega-3 ratio tied to pediatric ADHD risk

Spanish researchers found that every unit increase in umbilical cord plasma omega-6: omega-3 ratio was associated with a 13% increase in pediatric attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms by age 7. The study in The Journal of Pediatrics, based on data involving 600 Spanish youths, "adds more evidence to the growing body of research on the importance of maternal diet during pregnancy," said researcher Jordi Julvez.   Deccan Chronicle (India)/Asian News International

Amphetamine linked to higher psychosis risk in youths with ADHD

Only about 1 in 660 children and young adults who received stimulants for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder developed psychosis, but those who were given amphetamine had twice the psychosis risk, compared with those who took methylphenidate, researchers reported in The New England Journal of Medicine. The findings also showed that amphetamine and methylphenidate prescriptions among youths with ADHD rose by nearly fourfold and 60%, respectively, between 2005 and 2014.  Reuters (3/20),  CNN

Video game treatment may be beneficial for ASD, ADHD

Children with autism spectrum disorder and concurrent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms who were treated with a new video game tool saw improvements to their attention spans, according to a study published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Children using the Project: EVO video game treatment scored better on the TOVA API test, and parents reported that the game helped mitigate ADHD symptoms.   Psych Central

ADHD diagnosis more likely for youngest in class

Children born in August in states with the Sept. 1 kindergarten enrollment cutoff were nearly 35% more likely to be diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder than their older peers, according to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine. "Our findings suggest the possibility that large numbers of kids are being overdiagnosed & overtreated for ADHD because they happen to be relatively immature compared to their older classmates in the early years of elementary school," Timothy Layton, lead author of the study, said. The Washington Post (tiered subscription model) (11/28),  National Public Radio

ADHD more likely in youths with prenatal valproate exposure

Children whose mothers took valproate for epilepsy during pregnancy had 48% increased odds of developing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder compared with those who weren't exposed to valproate, Danish researchers reported in JAMA Network Open. The findings also showed an 11% absolute 15-year ADHD risk among those with prenatal valproate exposure compared with 4.6% among those without exposure, but prenatal exposure to other anti-epileptic drugs wasn't tied to an increased likelihood of pediatric ADHD.   Physician's Briefing/HealthDay News (1/4),  Healio (free registration)

Percentage Of Children With ADHD Nearly Doubles

The number of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has reached more than 10 percent, a significant increase during the past 20 years, according to a new study. Read More >

Study: Screen time may increase risk of ADHD symptoms

More frequent screen time may boost teens' risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, according to a study of 2,587 10th-graders in Los Angeles in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Findings show that students who were high frequency users of seven or 14 digital media platforms studied were more than twice as likely to develop ADHD symptoms as students who didn't have a high frequency use rate of any of the online social activities.   National Public Radio

Review finds lacking evidence on benefits of nonpharmacologic ADHD treatments

Studies assessing the efficacy of nonpharmacologic treatments for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, cognitive training, neurofeedback, child or parent training, and dietary omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, had either short follow-up periods, small sample sizes or varied outcomes, researchers reported in Pediatrics. The findings, based on a review of 54 studies, suggest the need for more pragmatic randomized trials for nonpharmacologic ADHD treatments, researchers wrote.

Reuters (6/1),  Healio (free registration)/Infectious Diseases in Children (5/30) 

4 strategies for supporting students with ADHD

Strategies from movement breaks to staggered deadlines for larger projects can help students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder succeed in the classroom, special-education teacher Nina Parrish writes in this blog post. Parrish describes how teachers can apply her four tips for supporting these students.    Edutopia online

What You Need to Know About ADHD

Guest blog by Marie Miguel

Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to have certain behavior and learning disorders, according to experts. They are also more susceptible to bullying in school. Also, more and more children seem to be diagnosed with ADHD and experts believe that many of them are being misdiagnosed.

Too Quick to Diagnose?
It seems that people are so fast to label your child as having ADHD just because they cannot sit still for long periods of time. The thing is, most of these children are just being normal children. It could be because children are going to preschool at an earlier age and it is then that the suspected ADHD is being noticed. Of course, children under the age of four are likely to have a hard time sitting still for long because they are just being children. How many kids under the age of four are able to sit in a circle for over a half hour for story time? Not many. But, that does not mean they have ADHD.

Getting A Diagnosis

However, those who do have children with ADHD understand the need for that diagnosis. Trying to raise a child with this disorder is difficult enough, but it is even more difficult when the doctors do not believe you. You cannot get help or treatment for your child if the doctor does not believe that your there’s something wrong with your child. Without medication and therapy, you may be spending every waking moment trying to calm your child. To make a diagnosis, your child’s physician has to determine that your child has at least three of the symptoms as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. The doctor also has to rule out any other causes for your child’s symptoms such as developmental, physical, and behavioral disorders.

Symptoms of ADHD

Although there are many different signs of ADHD that can vary in each child, the most common signs include:

·         Difficulty organizing things

·         Does not like anything that requires too much concentration or effort
·         Frequently loses things
·         Often distracted by everything
·         Loses track of time
·         Forgets things
·         Constantly fidgeting
·         Cannot stay seated for any period of time
·         Always moving
·         Talks a lot
·         Cannot follow directions
·         Does not pay attention
·         Rarely completes any activity
·         Always busy but never seems to finish anything

Do you believe your child may have ADHD? You can talk to your child’s physician or talk to a therapist or counselor about your feelings. BetterHelp.com offers free counseling online so you can talk to a professional without even leaving the house.

Prenatal ADHD drug intake linked to higher odds of heart defects in babies

A study in JAMA Psychiatry found that infants whose mothers took the attention-deficit/hyperactivity drug methylphenidate during the first trimester of pregnancy had a 28% higher likelihood of developing cardiac malformations, compared with those whose mothers didn't take the drug. However, the findings, based on data involving more than 4.3 million births in the US and five Nordic countries, showed no increased heart defect risk among those whose mothers received amphetamines.

CNN (12/13),  Physician's Briefing/HealthDay News (12/13),  Healio (free registration)/Psychiatric Annals

Study: Video game benefits students with ADHD

Children diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder who played a video game for four weeks showed signs of improvement in a study of 348 children between ages 8 and 12. The company that produces the game plans to seek approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to make the first prescription video game.    Reuters

CDC: Pregnancy spacing linked to ASD risk

CDC researchers found that second- or later-born babies of mothers who conceived less than 18 months or more than 60 months after their previous birth were more likely to develop autism spectrum disorder. The findings in the journal Autism Research didn't link overly long or overly short pregnancy spacing with other developmental disabilities.

Business Standard (India) (tiered subscription model)/Asian News International (11/25),  CTV.ca (Canada)/RelaxNews

Study: Parenting affects children's ADHD symptoms

Training parents in positive parenting techniques may help young children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder learn to control their behavior better, a study shows. Researchers found behavioral improvements two months after parents started the training and a year after completion.

HealthDay News

Behavior Therapy For ADHD

This CDC webpage describes a behavior therapy for ADHD recommended for preschool and elementary school-aged children. Parents are trained by a therapist over the course of eight to 16 sessions to learn approaches that encourage positive behavior, address negative behavior, improve communication, and strengthen their relationship with their child.

Study examines "relative age effect" on ADHD diagnosis in youths

Finnish researchers found that boys and girls ages 7 to 9 who were born from September to December had an increased likelihood of receiving an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnosis compared with peers in the same grade who were born from January to April. However, the findings in The Lancet Psychiatry didn't show an increased incidence of ADHD diagnosis among those diagnosed at age 10 or older.    MedPage Today (free registration)