Some have worried that by giving stimulant medication to children and teens with ADHD, we increase their risk to abuse substances in adolescence and adulthood. However, there really is no research to support this, and in fact, long-term studies of those with ADHD show the exact opposite. Do Stimulants Increase Risk for Substance Abuse in […]
Read MoreThere are still some professionals who doubt that ADHD is a “real” disorder, and cite poor parenting practices, for example, as an alternate explanation for the attentional and behavioral problems of ADHD children. However, many, many studies over the last 30 years have consistently shown that both teens and adults with ADHD show difficulties driving. […]
Read MoreThe NIMH funded the Multimodal Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA) study. It was a study of several treatments for almost 500 children with ADHD, including medication only medication and therapy combined therapy and community support, without medication The study spanned many sites, and entailed collecting follow-up data for several years (read more). The […]
Read MoreThe AACAP has offered several recommendations for treatment of ADHD (Pliszka, 2007): The treatment plan for the ADHD patient should be comprehensive and “well-thought-out”: This requires providers to recognize ADHD as a chronic disorder which presents different developmental challenges over time. Thus, exploration of the many treatments (including medical and behavioral) and combinations of treatments […]
Read MoreIs There A Genetic Cause For ADHD? What we know is that ADHD is associated with problems in dopamine receptors, or the neurons in the brain that respond to the neurotransmitter dopamine. There are five kinds of dopamine receptors (that have been identified) in the brain, and five genes (that have been identified) that code […]
Read MoreModel III – Deeper Brain Structure Dysfunction Another explanation for ADHD is a problem with the basal ganglia, and the corpus callosum just above the basal ganglia (Biederman et al, 2004). These are deeper brain structures, which serve as “switching stations” for information. In a typical brain, information passes through these structures, and a decision […]
Read MoreThere are three basic models to explain ADHD: Model I – Frontal/Pre-Frontal Lobe Dysfunction The frontal lobes, and especially the pre-frontal lobes, are involved in executive reasoning and inhibition of responses(Biederman et al, 2004). To explain, when you weigh possible solutions to a problem, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of each possible solutions and finally […]
Read MoreIs ADHD Real Estimates vary, but the rates of ADHD fall between 3 to 5% (APA) and 7 to 12% (CDC) of children, with 60-85% continuing to meet criteria in adolescence, and 60% continuing to meet criteria in adulthood. Some authors debate whether ADHD is a real disorder, or simply a problem resulting from poor […]
Read MoreWhat is Vedantic Thought? Vedantic thought is based on the vedas – the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and Brahma Sutras. These are the holy books of the Hindu or Yogi belief system. This philosophy has been developed for centuries, from Adi Shankara (800s), to Vivekananda (who came to Chicago in 1893), to Ramana Maharishi, to […]
Read MoreThis is what I offer to my students when I teach diversity courses. It is my personal understanding, which is based on my own readings, experiences, and insights, as well as my own intellectualizations, blind spots, and misunderstandings. Thus… don’t take this as a comprehensive and scholarly review of the concepts, but rather an incomplete […]
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