July 25, 2024 From age 8 to 12, children with ADHD experience significant functional changes in the brain regions that control motor and executive function, as well as visual processing and spatial cognition, suggests new research published in the journal Scientific Reports. 1 For the study, a research team from Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) in South Korea analyzed the brain scans of 157 children diagnosed with ADHD and 109 children without the condition using a noninvasive imaging technique that uses magnets to label and measure cerebral blood flow (CBF). The researchers found tha ..read more

After-School Routines for Managing Transitions Q: “When our child comes home from school, they immediately get on their phone or play video games. I allow this because it’s their downtime, but the transition to getting them off their screens to do homework or chores is rough. How can we make this easier?” Children need decompression time after school. It is challenging for an inattentive or hyperactive student to stay focused and on point for the duration of the school day. So I am all about them coming home from school and just going outside or watching videos for 30 to 40 minutes. But at 40 ..read more

The following is a personal essay reflecting the opinions of the author. A few years ago, Michael, a nine-year-old boy, was brought to my office by his parents. Mom and Dad seemed comfortable when I greeted them in the waiting room, and they easily conversed as they followed me back to my office. They joked with Michael, and he appeared at ease. After talking for a few minutes, I asked them, “So, why did you bring Michael to see me? “The teachers say that he has a lot of trouble staying focused in the classroom,” his mom responded. “They say that he is very bright but doesn’t do well on tests ..read more

On a recent Saturday, I woke from my daytime ADHD hyperfocus coma (which I didn’t realize I had slipped into) and was horrified to see that I had fallen behind my usual schedule. I write a few stories a week for the web, and weekends are critical in getting these ready to send off. But as the day drew to a close, I only had one story done. How could time be so slippery? I went back and counted all the things I’d done earlier, because there surely had to be more accomplishments in my day. And there were — dishes, laundry, work tasks. Not bad — I’d assumed I’d only accomplished one thing, but I ..read more

July 22, 2024 Teens who take prescription stimulants to manage their diagnosed ADHD face no elevated risk for later prescription drug misuse (PDM), according to a study published in Psychiatry Services.1 Further, young adults with ADHD who took stimulants as teens are less likely to misuse stimulants compared with same-age peers who did not receive stimulant therapy. The strongest predictor of prescription stimulant misuse in young adulthood? Prescription drug misuse in adolescence. The multi-cohort, U.S. national longitudinal study included 11,066 participants, ages 17 or 18, who completed qu ..read more

When I was diagnosed with ADHD and dyscalculia at age 38, I wept for 10-year-old me. For the little girl who could not make sense of numbers, whose legs would shake and voice tremble when forced to stand and recite multiplication tables. When I fumbled, my teacher would smack the chalkboard and shout “Wrong again!” as the class erupted in laughter. “Stupid, dumb me.” I whispered to myself as I retreated. I also wept for teenage me, who was called “dumb” and told countless times that she just needed to “try harder.” For the girl who felt she needed to wear a mask. No matter what I did, it never ..read more

Do I Have Social Anxiety? Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by an intense fear of scrutiny and judgment by others in social situations. Individuals with social anxiety fear that they will be negatively evaluated — judged as anxious, weak, boring, weird, or unlikeable. They fear being observed and/or performing in front of others, and they worry that their nervousness and anxiety will show through. Everyone experiences social anxiety occasionally. For individuals with social anxiety disorder, the fear of social scrutiny — often out of proportion to the actual threat posed by the so ..read more

July 16, 2024 Heavy social media use and poor sleep quality can alter brain activity related to executive function and reward processing in adolescents, suggest findings from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) presented last month at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting. The findings demonstrate a strong correlation between greater social media use, shorter sleep duration, and lower activity in the inferior and middle frontal gyrus regions in the prefrontal cortex of adolescents ages 10 to 14. The inferior frontal gyrus brain region influences inhibitory control; weakness in this region ma ..read more

Editor’s Note: Self-harm impacts an estimated 17% of teens worldwide.1 Among youth with ADHD, especially girls, the prevalence of self-injury is significantly increased, in part, because hallmark characteristics of ADHD such as impulsivity and emotional dysregulation can compel self-injurious behavior. Dramatically higher rates of self-harm among youth with ADHD are reflected in many studies, including the Berkeley Girls ADHD Longitudinal Study (BGALS), which found that girls with combined-type ADHD are 2.5 times more likely than their neurotypical peers to engage in non-suicidal self-injury ..read more

Forge Stronger Executive Functions 90% of kids with ADHD have an executive function deficit. Learn how to align intentions with actions here. Removed ..read more