Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

ADHD Is Different for Women When you live in total squalor—cookies in your pants drawer, pants in your cookies drawer, and nickels, dresses, old New Yorkers, and apple seeds in your bed—it’s hard to know where to look when you lose your keys. The other day, after two weeks of fruitless searching, I found my keys in the refrigerator on top of the roasted garlic hummus. I can’t say I was surprised. I was surprised when my psychiatrist diagnosed me with ADHD two years ago, when I was a junior at Yale. In editorials and in waiting rooms, concerns of too-liberal diagnoses and over-medication dominate our discussions of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. The New York Times recently reported, with great alarm, the findings of a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study: 11 percent of school-age children have received an ADHD diagnosis, a 16 percent increase since 2007. The idea that young adults, particularly women, actually have ADHD routinely evokes skepticism.

ADHD and Addictions Blog Posts, Books and Articles If you find this page useful, please share it. While adults with ADHD are only 5% of the population, ADDers are dramatically over represented in people who are addicted to alcohol and drugs, the SMALLEST numbers I’ve seen on ADHD and addiction are 20-25% in peer reviewed clinical journals in Pub Med, and I’ve frequently seem much larger ones. If adults with ADHD aren’t diagnosed and treated, and 85% of them aren’t, they will find ways to treat themselves or self medicate. Unfortunately as many former addicts have told me, many Adders going through rehab or drug and alcohol counselling, aren't told about the connections between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Addictions, which will make it harder for them to stop and stay sober. Blog Posts on ADHD and Addictions Books on ADHD and Addictions Articles on ADHD and Addictions Blog Posts on ADHD and Addictions Study 33% of Alcoholics had ADHD 65% of Drug Users Had ADHD From the Journal Alcohol and Alcoholism. Books on ADHD and Addictions

ADHD: The Facts | ADDA - Attention Deficit Disorder Association Written by Michelle Frank, Psy.D., as adapted and updated from Peter Jaska’s article, “ADHD Facts” originally posted on the ADDA website in 1998 Auerbach, J.G., Atzaba-Poria, N., Berger, A., Landau, R., Arbelle, S., Raz, Y., & Ebstein, R. (2010). Dopamine risk and paternal ADHD symptomatology associated with ADHD symptoms in four and a half-year-old boys. Psychiatric Genetics, 20(4), 160-165. doi: 10.1097/YPG.0b013e32833a1f27. Barkley, R., Murphy, K.R., & Fischer, M. (2008). ADHD in adults: What the science says. Castellanos, X. (2002). Castellanos, X., Lee, P., Sharp, W., Jeffries, N., Greenstein, D. Cho, S., Son, J., Kim, B., Kim, J., Yoo, H., Hwang, J., Cho, D., Chung, U., & Park, T. (2012). Kessler, R., Adler, L., Barkley, R., Biederman, J., Conners, C., Demier, O., Faraone, S., . . . Faraone, S. (2007). Gizer, I.R., Waldman, I.D., Abramowitz, A., Barr, C.L., Feng, Y., Wigg, K.G., Misener, V.L., & Rowe, D.C. (2008). Lee, S.S., Humphreys, K.L., Flory, K., Liu, R., & Glass, K. (2011).

ADHD: Executive Function Impairments A New Understanding of ADHD in Children and Adults: Executive Function Impairments by: Thomas E. Brown Preview the first 18 pages by clicking here Purchase this book here A new model of ADHD proposed by Thomas Brown, Associate Director of the Yale Clinic for Attention and Related Disorders in Yale’s Dept. of Psychiatry, explains why individuals with ADHD can focus very well for a few specific activities that strongly interest them or which threaten imminent unpleasantness, even though they have chronic difficulties in focusing for most other tasks, including some they recognize as important. Many who know persons with ADHD, even some professionals, assume that individuals with ADHD simply need to exercise “willpower” to make themselves apply their ability to focus in other areas where they need it. Dr. Why can those with ADHD focus very well on some tasks while having great difficulty in focusing on other tasks they recognize as important? Dr. Reprinted with permission. by

Adult ADHD Test | ADDA - Attention Deficit Disorder Association | ADDA - Attention Deficit Disorder Association Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a relatively common, often unrecognized condition. It affects 4.4% of U.S. adults, but most adults with ADHD live with the symptoms and suffer the often-devastating effects of ADHD in their lives without identifying the source of their struggles. Instead, their difficulties are attributed to their own shortcomings. Once diagnosed, many adults are happy to learn that they do not have a character flaw as aptly described in the title of one popular book on ADHD, “You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!” Adult ADHD Exists Many adults who suffer from untreated ADHD avoid diagnosis or treatment due to the negative stigma associated with ADHD. Regardless of the stigma surrounding ADHD, knowing about your adult ADHD is preferable to struggling unawares. It’s Better to Know An ADHD diagnosis is not a death sentence, nor does it guarantee a lifetime of taking pills. The World Health Organization Adult Self-Report Scale (ASRS) Screener

What is ADHD? - Cathi Zillmann - All about ADHD The definition of this disorder is a work in progress because the exact nature of brain problems is as yet impossible to see. The most recent official definition from the American Academy of Psychiatry was published in 2013, and many in the ADHD field are not satisfied with it because it leaves out any discussion of executive function. The complete name is Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, it comes in three types: -Predominantly Inattentive Presentation (formerly called ADD) -Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Presentation -Combined Type (formerly called ADD with Hyperactivity) The name is confusing, and most people have trouble remembering that it isn’t just about “being hyper” despite the name. The evolving definition Since the late 1990s and the work of Russell Barkley, it has come to be considered a problem with the brain’s executive function–or self-regulation system. My favorite author about ADHD is Thomas E. So what is it really? ADHD affects emotional regulation as well.

New to ADHD? ADDA’s Got the Resources You Need | ADDA - Attention Deficit Disorder Association Congratulations! If you’re new to adult ADHD, you’ve found your best source of information you can trust, resources you can count on and caring people you can connect with. At ADDA, the Attention Deficit Disorder Association, we’re a little different (ok, we’re really a lot different!) On the other hand, we don’t come down on the side of “ADHD is a debilitating condition”, “Adults with ADHD are disabled” or “if you’re diagnosed with ADHD, give up all hope for a normal life.” So which side ARE we on? It’s Better to Learn Educating yourself on your ADHD and how it manifests will help you understand what resources will serve you best. On top of that, for our members, we have an enormous library of articles on virtually every aspect of adult ADHD, all written by ADHD professionals and conforming to ADDA’s standards. But don’t take our word for it! It’s Better to Know Many adults who suspect they have ADHD don’t get tested. If you suspect you have ADHD, we recommend you find out for sure.

ADHD & the brain: Does ADHD treatment improve long-term academic, social and behavioral outcomes? The ADHD challenge The core symp­toms of ADHD fre­quently cause sig­nif­i­cant impair­ment in aca­d­e­mic, social and behav­ioral func­tion­ing that adversely impact indi­vid­u­als’ qual­ity of life. These symp­toms often per­sist into adult­hood, poten­tially com­pro­mis­ing an individual’s func­tion­ing over many years. Under­stand­ing how ADHD impacts long-term func­tion­ing, and whether adverse long-term affects are dimin­ished with treat­ment, is thus extremely impor­tant. In last month’s issue of Atten­tion Research Update I reviewed a paper that syn­the­sized research on long-term aca­d­e­mic out­comes for youth with ADHD. What about the impact of ADHD and ADHD treat­ment on long-term out­comes in other impor­tant domains such as social and occu­pa­tional func­tion­ing, anti­so­cial behav­ior and sub­stance use, dri­ving, and self-esteem? The evi­dence review The authors began by search­ing for rel­e­vant stud­ies pub­lished between 1980 and 2010. The Results An impor­tant caution