This free public talk will be hosted on March 24th, 2015 - that's one week from today! - and will explore the question: Can you lead a full life with Parkinson's, epilepsy, or attention deficit disorder?
Hear from three people who are doing just that:
Whitney Goulstone — who had a new kind of surgery to halt her epilepsy.
Andy Barrie — who underwent deep brain stimulation to ease his Parkinson's
Rick Green — who uses his ADD as an ally and empowers others to do the same.
Join these inspiring speakers for the Ontario Brain Institute's first public talk on the lived experiences of people with brain disorders.
MC and interviewer: André Picard, Health Reporter, Globe and Mail
Register online at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-public-talk-three-brains-three-lives-three-stories-tickets-15816527660.
A post published by Mark Bertin M.D recently caught my eye for several reasons – one being the fact that Dr. Bertin will be one of our featured 2015 conference speakers, and another being his well-balanced multimodal approach to addressing ADHD, and his realization that the high levels of stress this disorder causes often drives the way families deal with ADHD.
Dr. Bertin begins with a genius analogy describing the fundamentals; the need for a strong foundation consisting of three pillars that has been proven to have significant impact on ADHD symptoms; school accommodations that recognize executive functioning impairments and; family supports and medical interventions.
Next steps would involve looking for ways to better things such as sleep, nutrition, exercise, communication, time management, safe driving and the excess time spent with electronic technology and media. Dr. Bertin concludes his analogy by talking the focus of his upcoming book, the use of mindfulness as a tool to help in “holding it all together”. If you have a child with ADHD who is struggling, or you are having difficulty functioning as a family with ADHD, this article may assist you in assessing where to start and how to build upon the successful management of ADHD as a family. Unfortunately while reading this article what came to my mind is the fact that in many parts of Canada it still remains difficult to access two of the supports that Dr. Bertin identifies as crucial: school accommodations and family support.
To view the Dr. Bertin’s entire post: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/child-development-central/201501/the-house-we-build-adhd
Past studies have found that students with ADHD are underrepresented in the field of engineering. Researchers feel that traditional teaching methods are driving away those ADHD “out of the box” thinkers that have the potential to be pioneers in the field of engineering.
This study is going to compare the creative thinking processes of engineering students with and without ADHD, looking at what might be hindering students with ADHD from being successful in these traditional programs. The principal researcher, Arash Zaghi, is an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and was himself diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 32. He feels engineering courses do little to foster creativity.
An article on this study also points out that high school advisors often suggest university engineering programs to students who are creative and express a liking for things that are hands on, often resulting in a bad university program fit and unhappy students.
The study will also be looking to see if medications used to treat ADHD affect a student’s creative thinking. The study hopes to help dispel some of the myths about students with ADHD.
If only more of these types of studies could be funded, ones that provide insight into how students with ADHD can best use their strengths to become successful in their areas of study. Perhaps we need more adults with ADHD such as Arash Zagji, to lead the way.
For more information and to access the original article about this study, please visit:
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-02-strengths-adhd-students.html
CBC’s The Current, which I listen to daily, struck close to home for me this week with two stories that might seem unrelated to ADHD, but actually are perfect examples of the problem we continue to see with reporting on ADHD.
The first storey was an interview with writer John Semley where he questioned whether media should even be interviewing “anti-vaxxers”. He felt that media should not be giving a voice to those who were spreading untrue and scientifically unproven information causing confusion and ultimately harm to the public. The point was also made that by striving to give both sides of a story, journalists often misinform the public by allowing them to think that an issue is still being debated even when 97% of experts strongly support one side of the argument, as in the Global warming discussion.
The second was a discussion on an article published by the Toronto Star entitled “HPV vaccine Gardasil has a dark side, Star Investigation finds.” The guests felt that this story was just one more example of a news article on a public health issue that got it wrong due to overzealous reporters attempting to sell more papers and doing harm. Fortunately a rebuttal was quickly sent to the Star signed by over 60 doctors addressing the use of anecdotal stories based on correlation versus causation rather than scientific research. In fact world-wide research found that Gardasil has no dark side. The Star has conceded that the headline was misleading, but Anna Marie’s guest pointed out that it was really a case of poor medical journalism.
How does all of this fit in with ADHD?
For years now I have been voicing my view that media reporting on ADHD is very similar to their reporting on climate change. For decades, whenever a story or interview on ADHD occurred the media trotted out one or two naysayers with an agenda, to be interviewed alongside renowned medical ADHD experts. ADHD is not real, a conspiracy between physicians and pharmaceutical companies, due to bad parenting, too much sugar or TV, and a way for lazy parents and teaching to drug these children into compliance. We are forced to deal with this misinformation, which has long been disproven many, many times over every single day. We are also able to witness the damage it has caused families living with ADHD through stigma. But even more damaging is the confusion, doubt and fear it causes about the disorder, resulting in a hesitancy to accept the diagnosis, and reluctance to treat it.
In addition whenever something the least bit controversial, or something the media can make controversial, comes out about ADHD our phone rings off the hook, looking for a quote or a family that can be trotted out before the camera. But, trying to convey up-to-date medically scientifically based information through the media is almost impossible unless it too can be made to seem controversial.
Last year when Dr. Richard Saul published a book entitled, “ADHD Does Not Exist: The Truth About Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” the media went crazy. The author must have been exhausted with the number of interviews and story after story was written. In fact the book mostly pointed out that other things can cause symptoms that look like ADHD and need to be ruled out as causes before a diagnosis should be made. Any ADHD clinician worth their salt would have responded with “obviously”. It certainly showed what a good marketer or publisher, who most likely chose the title, could accomplish. Yet again, controversy about ADHD is what the media is drawn to, no matter how stupid the study, article, or book is.
Would papers publish articles questioning the existence of depression, even when they are just opinion pieces? Of course not, they would be tarred and feathered. Yet ADHD which has just as much medical science behind it continues to be fuelled by controversy.
In closing, I must say that I give CBC credit for these two interviews. When interviewed by Anna Marie Tremonti myself a couple of years ago for a show called “Diagnosing ADHD: Are we getting it right?” I found the questions balanced with a goal of seeking good research backed information. Not all CBC stories have been this way, with one even leading to us writing in and complaining.
I also applaud the physicians who spoke out about this so quickly and eloquently. Unfortunately too many physicians working in the field of ADHD, probably justifiably, fear being misquoted and labelled as being in the pocket of pharmaceutical companies to come out and be so vocal.
Heidi Bernhardt
A new study researching how individuals with low birth weights were impacted found that they had decreased chances of developing alcohol and substance use disorders later in life but an increased chance of developing other psychiatric problems. Funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), the study followed children into their 30s and found that they were 3 times less likely to develop alcohol or substance abuse issues, but 2.5 times more likely to develop psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, depression, and ADHD. Those born at an extremely low birth weight who received a full course of life saving steroids were nearly 4.5 times more likely to experience psychiatric problems.
Researchers feel that this information will increase awareness amongst parents and medical professionals and allow them to screen and assess for these disorders earlier. Of course it has been known for some time that premature babies have a higher incidence of ADHD, the new information about anxiety and depression is interesting. It would be interesting to find out how many of these adults who were diagnosed with ADHD also had comorbid anxiety and depression since these disorders frequently coexist in the adult ADHD population.
Because only 84 adults were followed all the way into their thirties, this is considered a small study; additionally, factors such as DNA and environment were not controlled and so a larger scale study would need to be completed before any definitive results could be reported.
For more information visit the original article at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150209083008.htm.
An interesting survey was recently conducted by Harris Poll for the newly-created Coalition to Prevent Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Medication Misuse (CPAMM), a network of organizations with the shared goal of developing and educational strategy for college students focusing on reducing misuse amongst college students.
The study found that while students generally felt that they are aware of the risks of misusing ADHD medication, further investigation found that this was incorrect. Most expressed understanding why some students decide to use the medication, especially when taking into account the pressure to succeed in today’s post-secondary environments. The majority of students believed that misusing stimulant medication (75%), was unethical and a form of cheating similar to athletes using performance-enhancing drugs. However, almost half of these students also felt that those who do take these medications without the presence of ADHD were doing what was necessary to keep up with extreme pressure. Most felt that the main reasons students were misusing these medications was to get better grades and to succeed.
CPAMM hopes to create peer-to-peer interventions to assist with the common misconceptions that misusing ADHD medications leads to better grades, is not harmful and that “everyone is doing it”, and to provide information of better ways to cope with educational stress.
This certainly looks like a step in the right direction.
For further information on this survey access www.uloop.com/news/view.php/144465/College-Students-Split-On-ADHD-Prescript.
A Great Resource for Teens, Preteens and Young Adults with ADHD
by Heidi Bernhardt
I came across an interesting resource for teens and young adults with ADHD, a web site http://www.addyteen.com/adhd/ that also hosts a free guide for teens with ADHD entitled “Embracing Your ADHD.” The guide is free to download after registering on the site.
The site notes that, due to high costs, medication is often the only option for many teens with ADHD despite the fact that so much more is required to meet their needs emotionally, socially, academically, and organizationally. The free guide is written by Grace Friedman who is still a teen herself, and provides useful tips and strategies on how to not only “survive but thrive” in school and life in general. The guide is a well balanced view of ADHD addressing it as a medical condition while looking at it from a young person’s perspective.
Wisely, the guide devotes a great deal to addressing emotional challenges and ways to understand and cope with them when you have ADHD. It also covers the topic of medication and typical feelings around this and reviews beneficial health strategies around diet, exercise, and sleep. In addition, academic strategies, accommodations, and self-advocacy are reviewed along with methods that can be useful at home. The guide ends with a section on the importance of and how to discover your talents, gifts, and passions – a great message for any teen.
Below is a link to an article written by Grace Friedman for the Huffington Post that originally led me to this great resource:
Keep your eyes out for our article in upcoming issues of Metro! CADDAC had the chance to speak with Metro news about October`s ADHD Awareness Month, and the article will be featured in issues across Vancouver BC, Calgary AB, Toronto ON, and Halifax NS. The article features an interview with comedian, actor, and ADHD advocate Rick Green, as he speaks candidly about his experiences and how ADHD has impacted his career. The article will be posted on Thursday October 15th, 2014 – feel free to share widely!
Don't forget to register for CADDAC's upcoming workshop on Adult ADHD, less than two weeks away!
Date: Saturday October 4th, 2014.
Location: Centennial College Culinary Arts Centre, 940 Progress Avenue, Toronto Ontario M1G 3T5.
Time: Registration and Breakfast from 8:00AM to 9:00AM. Presentations from 9:00AM to 3:30PM, followed by a Q & A Discussion session.
CADDAC is hosting a full day workshop on Understanding Adult ADHD. Presentations will be geared to adults and their families dealing with adult ADHD. This workshop will also be of interest to health professionals who wish to gain an understanding of adult ADHD and potential treatments.
The morning sessions will cover the medical science of adult ADHD, how it presents itself, how it differs from childhood ADHD, medication and psychosocial treatment options. These sessions will be followed by a unique presentation by adults with ADHD speaking about their own experiences and insights.
The afternoon will include a presentation on emotional dysregulation in adult ADHD and a presentation on ADHD in the workplace, discussing potential strategies and accommodations. An open question and answer and discussion period will follow where attendees can ask questions and share their insights.
For further details and to register please visit www.caddac.ca and select Events followed by Full Day Workshop on ADHD in Adults.
Featured presenters include:
Dr. Flood, is a graduate of McGill University and the University of Manitoba. She is a family physician with a focused practice in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Shoniker Clinic. She has considerable experience working in the field of ADHD, Learning Disorders and Autism. She is a member of CADDRA and on the Advisory Board of CADDAC.
Dr. David Teplin, is an adult clinical psychologist in private practice in Richmond Hill, Ontario. His primary focus is diagnostic assessment, clinical consultation, adult ADHD, and substance use disorders. Dr. Teplin is adjunct faculty in the Doctor of Clinical Psychology program at Medaille College in Buffalo, New York, and is on the editorial review boards of several clinical journals. He is also on the Advisory Board of CADDAC.
Heidi Bernhardt RN, is the mother of three young men with ADHD. She has a background in psychiatric nursing, was the Executive Director of the (CADDRA), a national not-for-profit organization of the leading clinicians and researchers in ADHD in Canada, and a founder of CADDAC and the ADRN. Heidi is presently the President and Executive Director of the Centre for ADHD Awareness Canada (CADDAC).
After several decades of co-parenting three sons with ADHD and being married to my husband who also has ADHD, I can attest to the validity of the analysis provided by associate professor of Psychiatry, James Waxmonsky: “Patients with ADHD are at increased risk to engage in problematic parenting techniques, including inconsistent disciplinary practices, making ineffectual commands, and diminished use of praise.”
Our family meetings generally resulted in children who understood new rules or schedules, at least in the short term, leading them to complain that “Dad was not following the rules!”
A new study on parenting skills demonstrated both on and off Vyvanse, an ADHD medication, has found that parents with ADHD on medication were less likely to make negative statements towards their children while engaging in a homework task, were more responsive to their child, made fewer commands, were less demanding, and praised their child more.
While medicating parents with ADHD is not the single answer to this, assessment, diagnosis, and some form of treatment has clearly been found to be beneficial for parenting skills. Some ADHD experts believe that if the parent is not dealing with their own ADHD there is a reduced chance that the child will respond to medication or counselling treatments.
Thinking back, what I can say is that parenting a child or children with ADHD while coping with one of the parents having untreated ADHD is difficult. Working as a team becomes a huge challenge; attaining consistency is almost impossible; and avoiding resentment of the other parent, from both parties, becomes a daily struggle. Although little was known about adult ADHD 30 years ago when we were struggling with this, today my first suggestion to families whose child has been recently diagnosis is to become educated about ADHD. During this period of enlightenment, if the suspicion that one or both of the parents may have ADHD arises don’t ignore it. For your child’s sake and the sake of your relationship get an assessment and look into appropriate treatment options. If nothing else, think of the great role model you will become for your child.
To access additional details:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140730093520.htm
