A large Danish study found that teens with ADHD were at least twice as likely as their peers without ADHD to become parents and have more children by the age of 25.
Early teen years were especially concerning since girls with ADHD were three and a half times more likely, and boys were almost two and a half times more likely to become parents between the ages of 12-15. Even researchers, who expected increased rates, where shocked at the extent of the increase.
Researchers looked at 2,698,052 people born between 1960 and 2001 in Denmark, including 27,479 who had been diagnosed with ADHD and grouped the data into a variety of age intervals. They analyzed the likelihood of becoming a parent during age intervals of 12-16, 17-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39 and over 40. The age interval between 17 and 19 indicated at a rate at least twice as high for those with ADHD.
“It is well established that becoming a teenage parent, irrespective of your mental health status, is burdensome for both parents and children,” lead author Dr. Soren Dinesen Ostergaard, of Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark said. “It is also well known that parenting is often difficult for individuals with ADHD.” For this reason he and his colleagues suggest creating sexual education and contraceptive counseling programs tailored for adolescents with ADHD. Other experts commented that awareness of the issue and educating parents of teens with ADHD about this research was paramount.
Access more information HERE
Spinner toys, the newest craze, are being marketed as appropriate fidget toys that increase the focus of children with ADHD. They actually have the opposite effect. These claims are simply a marketing stunt to encourage parents to purchase the toy for their children with ADHD. If you are wondering if these toys might be useful for your child please read Dr. Doron Almagor’s article in the Huffington Post before running out to purchase a spinner. Dr. Almagor, a Canadian child and adolescent psychiatrist specializing in ADHD, points out that movement of a manipulative, or fidget toy, should stimulate the child’s brain just enough to keep their focus engaged on something other than the toy, like their teacher. Repetitive or unintentional movement is what helps the ADHD brain focus. These spinners actually draw a child’s focus to the toy and away from where their focus needs to be.
Hopefully false claims such as these, designed to market products to children with disabilities and their parents, will be called out and the companies fined.
Access Dr. Almagor’s article Here.
Most parents are aware that their children with ADHD struggle with poor self-esteem and find it heartbreaking to hear their child voice negative comments about themselves like, “I’m stupid, I’m just so dumb I’ll never be able to do this”. Parents hate to see their kids discouraged, afraid to try difficult or new things and to hear their children lament that they feel misunderstood and that no one likes them. A child with ADHD will receive at least twice as many negative messages in a day than other children.
Sometimes as parents, educators, coaches and others who interact with these kids we are the ones who inadvertently or even intentionally relay these negative messages in the hope that it will alter the child’s behaviour. In fact, positive consequences in the form of verbal feedback, has been shown to be far superior in changing the behaviour of children with ADHD and I would suspect most children. Unfortunately as humans in the midst of busy lives we tend to pay attention to the things that annoy, interrupt or distress us and ignore our children and the things they are doing when they are behaving well or accomplishing what we have asked of them.
So parents will need to make a conscious effort and actively work on increasing their child’s view of themselves by balancing out all the negative messages their children are getting throughout the day with more positive feedback and experiences.
Here are several links to tips that you might find useful.
http://www.healthcentral.com/adhd/raising-child-with-adhd-192990-5_3.html
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/conditions/adhd/a5237/self-esteem-and-adhd-child/
http://www.adhdtogether.com/sites/default/files/Ideas-help-build-self-esteem_COA.pdf
One mother Liz Wisnieski, a graphic designer who herself has ADHD, decided that her daughters Kathleen (11) and Sarah (8), needed an extra boost to their self-esteem. When her daughter Kathleen was upset about struggling at school and having to re-start medication, Liz printed out a list of famous inventors, musicians, artists, and athletes who were diagnosed with ADHD. She lit up.
Liz realized that her daughters along with most children were only hearing negative messages about ADHD and that’s when she decided that her daughter’s needed a more visual lasting message about the positives aspects of ADHD. She designed some posters to hang in her daughters’ bedrooms to remind them of all the positives of the condition. (See below) She hopes that these posters can help bring positive awareness of ADHD to as many people as possible.
You can purchase one of Liz’s posters at https://www.etsy.com/shop/ADHDPosters
A new Australian study looked at why some children with ADHD present quite late without having receiving any professional services. Researchers wanted to understand what drives parents to look for medical services for their child’s issues. The study collected information on 179 children ages 6 to 8 who met the diagnostic criteria for ADHD from 43 schools in Melbourne and found that 37% had not received any professional services within the past year. The researchers found families sought out help more for older children and children whose behaviour impacted the family. When impact on the family increased it doubled the likelihood that that child had received services.
This is of significant concern because research tells us that in fact it is the impairment in attention regulation and not the outward hyperactive or impulsive behaviour that causes the most impairment for these children, especially academically. These research findings may also be helpful when looking at why fewer girls are diagnosed at earlier ages.
The parent’s mental health, education level or socioeconomic status did not influence whether parents had accessed services for their child. Of the 17% who had been diagnosed before the survey 94% had received services. Fifty-seven percent had not been diagnosed before the survey. One of the physicians who commented noted that when they finally diagnosed older children parents frequently stated that symptoms had been evident for many years.
To access the full article
Two ADHD media posts I viewed today demonstrate some examples of the right and the horribly wrong ways to deal with children with ADHD. A recent study out of the University of Buffalo shows that praise of the potential for rewards improves the performance of children with ADHD on certain cognitive tasks. Prior to this it was not known if increased motivation accounted for this improvement or if children with ADHD scored lower than other children on these tests so had more room for improvement. This study indicated that increased external motivation is a critical factor in improving the performance of children with ADHD. Positive reinforcement, rather than punishment is the corner stone of behaviour therapy for children with ADHD. The study looked at whether children with ADHD have an increased sensitivity to external motivation and found that this was indeed the case. This would make perfect sense when taking into consideration Russell Barkley’s information on Executive Functioning impairment and the role it plays in self-regulation and motivation.
On the other hand, it seems that many uninformed people still believe that negative consequences are the way to improve the behaviour of children with ADHD. In the news last night and in several posts today including the Huffington Post you can view a very disturbing video of a Sherriff’s deputy placing handcuffs on the biceps of an 8 year old as a consequence of misbehaving in class. Apparently this has happened before and a lawsuit has now been launched.
The ADHD Prep (Parent Readiness Education Program) is fast approaching!
With only a few spots left his weekend, Saturday April 25 from 9AM – 4PM and Sunday April 26 9AM – 4PM, secure your spot and Click here to Register for ADHD PREP!
ADHD PREP is a comprehensive 12-hour program geared to parents of newly diagnosed children and adolescents with ADHD, and to parents wishing to upgrade their knowledge on the more complex aspects of ADHD including ADHD and learning, executive functioning and self and mood regulation.
Treatment options, parenting strategies and advocacy skills will also be covered. The program will occur over a weekend allowing parents from outside the local area to drive in for the weekend. Pricing includes workshop materials and light refreshments each morning and afternoon.
Visit the ADHD Prep Outline for an overview of the course content.
Click here to Register for ADHD PREP!
CADDAC presents ADHD PREP, a 2-day program on Saturday April 25 from 9AM - 4PM and Sunday April 26 9AM - 4PM
Visit the ADHD Prep Outline for an overview of the course content.
ADHD PREP is a comprehensive 12-hour program geared to parents of newly diagnosed children and adolescents with ADHD, and to parents wishing to upgrade their knowledge on the more complex aspects of ADHD including ADHD and learning, executive functioning and self and mood regulation.
Treatment options, parenting strategies and advocacy skills will also be covered. The program will occur over a weekend allowing parents from outside the local area to drive in for the weekend. Pricing includes workshop materials and light refreshments each morning and afternoon.
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
While it has long been known that smoking during pregnancy is never a good thing, a new study suggests that women who smoke while pregnant have a greater chance of having a child with ADHD. The study also hints, but does not prove, that being on a nicotine patch may also increase the risk. It must be noted however, that there may also be other factors at play. ADHD runs in families due to the strong genetic component, and those families are more likely to smoke than those without ADHD. So, while we know that there is a link between smoking during pregnancy and ADHD we cannot confirm that there is a direct cause. Genetics or being in a smoking environment may also play a role. Do the children of mothers who smoke have a greater chance of having ADHD because their mothers have ADHD and therefore have a greater chance of smoking?
The records of 85,000 children whose mothers signed up between 1996 and 2002 in Denmark were reviewed with the following results:
ADHD rates for children of:
• Non smokers: 1.8%
• Mothers who quit and Father was a non-smoker: 2%
• Parents who both smoked: 4.2%
• Mothers who smoked: 3.4%
• Mom’s who were on nicotine-replacement therapy: 3.8%
• Father’s who smoked and mothers on nicotine-replacement therapy: 2.9%
Since only 29 women in the study were on nicotine-replacement therapy, these small numbers may make findings on the therapy less accurate.
The good news is that smoking prior to pregnancy does not seem to increase the risk, however stopping smoking well before conception will also decrease the risk of requiring nicotine-replacement therapy during any part of the pregnancy. While we are not yet able to show direct causality to ADHD, not smoking during pregnancy is always recommended; this is just one more reason to stop.
To access more detailed information please see:
http://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20140721/smoking-while-pregnant-linked-to-adhd-in-children.
