myADHD.com Newsletter myADHD.com | Assessment Tools | Tracking Tools | Treatment Tools In This Issue How myADHD.com Can Help ADD Awareness Week The Three Legged Stool of ADHD Treatment ADHD in the News Quick Links Click to Order Subscribe Now to myADHD.com Click to Order Click to Order Try ADDitude Click to Order Join Our Mail List September 10 /2010 Greetings! In this edition of myADHD.com enjoy the following articles: How Can myADHD.com Help ADD Awareness Week: September 13-17th The Three Legged Stool of ADHD Treatment ADHD in the News New Book from Russell A. Barkley- Taking Charge of Adult ADHD (click banner for more information) Regards, Harvey Parker and the myADHD.com Team How myADHD.com Can Help Health care professionals will want to subscribe to myADHD.com to electronically send ADHD assessment and tracking scales (over 175,000 sent to date) to parents, teachers, and adults. Parents will also want access to ADHD assessment and tracking scales to monitor their child's progress in school so they can inform health providers of treatment progress. myADHD.com treatment tools provide worksheets for home token programs, daily report cards, reward programs, anger management, study strategies, CBT worksheets, organizing tips, etc. Join thousands of other myADHD.com subscribers who, since 2004, have used myADHD.com tools Subscribe today to myADHD.com for our low annual subscription of just pennies a day: $79.95 for professionals and $59.95 for adults and families. Subscribe to myADHD.com . ADD Awareness Week: September 13-17, 2010 by Harvey C. Parker, Ph.D. Children and adults with ADHD have a lot to be thankful for this week as ADD Awareness week begins this coming Monday. As a clinical psychologist, I have been involved in the ADHD movement since 1987 and I have seen tremendous gains in the recognition of this condition and better understanding about ADHD. I attribute this to the success of support groups like CHADD and ADDA, the accessibility of ADD information online, and the availability of numerous publications about children, adolescents, and adults with ADHD that have been produced over the past thirty years. In the early 1980's, for example, there were only a handful of books about ADHD, now there are hundreds, if not thousands, to choose from and adults with ADHD, families, and professionals can easily learn about this condition. In the 1980's public school faculty and administrators were not well-informed about ADHD. In fact, back then, ADHD was not even considered a handicapping condition unless a student also had a co-existing learning disability, emotional disturbance, or other disability to make him or her eligible for special education. This changed in 1991 when the US Department of Education recognized that children with ADHD could receive special education and accommodations in school. Even physicians such as pediatricians, psychiatrists, and primary care physicians had very limited knowledge of ADHD and its effect on children and adults. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry published practice parameters over the past dozen years that has greatly improved professional knowledge, competence, and practice performance surrounding the care and treatment of children and teens with ADHD. In the 1980's it was unusual for an adult to be diagnosed with ADHD. The condition was predominantly thought to affect children. Now adult ADHD is widely recognized. There are many publications on adult ADHD and research on adults is more wide spread. Still, less than 10% of adults with ADHD are currently being treated and there still exists significant gaps in primary care providers' understanding of diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD. In the 1980's there were few options for medical treatment. Short-acting stimulants were generally the best option for treatment. Now long-acting medications, both stimulants and non-stimulants, are available from several different manufacturers and in several different formulations to meet the needs of both children and adults. Furthermore, our understanding of the importance of multi-modal therapy for those with ADHD has been greatly enhanced. We have a long way to go to better understand the role of executive functions in those with ADHD, the causes of ADHD and how to reduce or prevent it, and applying appropriate resources to families and institutions of care and education to help improve the lives of those affected by ADHD. But....we are making progress. Take time this week-ADD Awareness Week-to inform others about ADHD so the world can be a healthier and friendlier place for those with this condition. For more information about ADD Awareness Week go to these sites: Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Attention Deficit Disorder Association ADD Coaches Organization ADDitude The Three-Legged Stool of ADHD Treatment by Melissa Orlov Optimal treatment for an adult in a committed relationship has three specific parts, the first two of which are true for treating ADHD all of the time, and the third of which is specific to being in a successful relationship. Because good treatment "stands" on three legs I like to think of it as a three-legged stool. You need all three legs to optimally treat ADHD: Leg 1: Making physical changes to your body. ADHD is the result of specific physical features in your body. These are often most effectively addressed at the root cause (physical) level. Examples include: medication, aerobic exercise, fish oil, better sleep and nutrition. Leg 2: Making behavioral (habit) changes. Physical differences manifest themselves as symptoms and behaviors. Coping strategies developed over the years without the benefit of physical changes (such as retreat and denial) are sub-optimal and often self-defeating within a committed relationship. So moving away from destructive coping strategies to creating "external structures" to support the ADHD partner is essential to improving your relationship. Examples of simple habit changes that can make a big difference include: lists and systems; alarms and reminders; anger management; separating bank accounts; hiring help; learning to not interrupt, etc. Leg 3: Developing strategies to use when interacting with your spouse. These include communication strategies and creating a hierarchy of issues to attack. You can't do it all at once, so picking the most meaningful symptoms and habits to address is an important step. A couple might decide to: designate a time to work together to plan household tasks for the week; develop verbal cues to stop escalation of disagreements; or schedule time to be together to overcome distraction. To my knowledge, no one has studied the specifics of leg three, but numerous research studies have shown that combining physical and behavioral changes is better than either alone. Medication alone, for example, often helps, but is sub-optimal. Physically changing the way your brain works is a great start, but it's what you do with that changed brain - i.e. your behaviors - that you and your spouse will notice most. It's a common misperception that a person with ADHD can make the behavioral changes without the physical changes by "just trying harder." But that assumes that the person with the ADHD hasn't been trying all these years. Not so! In general, people with ADHD try really, really hard, but something in their wiring (lack of focus, inability to create a hierarchy, impulsivity, etc.) has gotten in their way. To succeed, they need to get the ADHD symptom out of the way so that they can then make the behavioral change. Moving ahead with treatment seems obviously beneficial to a non-ADHD spouse but often is complicated for the ADHD partner by years of repeated failures. One ADHD woman spoke of it this way: "I have something of an aversion to medications, which is one issue for me. But the bigger issue is that I just have this feeling that I ought to be able to do this on my own, without the help of medication. Also, I have to admit that when I take the medications (intermittently) it is a painful reminder of how incompetent I am without the crutch. Too painful, really." The logic here, actually, is internally consistent and has to do with a poor self image developed over many years of failure. I suggested that she think of this chemical imbalance just as she would a hormonal chemical imbalance. If a doctor told her she wasn't creating enough estrogen, for example, she would feel fine about taking medication to correct the issue and would never consider telling herself she ought to be able to create more on her own. ADHD is, among other things, a chemical imbalance. It, too, benefits from "righting" that imbalance. If you or someone you love has ADHD, try thinking about treatment as a three-legged stool. It will help you both understand where opportunity exists to further improve treatment. Read Melissa Orlov's new book: The ADHD Effect on Marriage. An in- valuable resource for couples in which one of the partners suffers from ADHD. This authoritative book guides troubled marriages towards an understanding and appreciation for the struggles and triumphs of a relationship affected by it, and to look at the disorder in a more positive and less disruptive way. On sale now at ADD WareHouse and Amazon ADHD in the News ADHD Awareness Week Persistent myths about Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder damage public perception of the 4% to 9% of the population grappling with this devastating condition. The nation's four leading ADHD organizations seek to end the stigma, once and for all. Read more. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Appears Beneficial For Adults With ADHD Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who received medication and individual sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) showed greater improvement in symptoms through 12 months compared to patients who did not receive CBT, according to a study in the August 25 issue of JAMA. Read more.