In my family we have a love-hate relationship with holidays, especially Christmas. Every since my boys were little and as far back to when I was little we have had the same traditions. Open presents Christmas morning, off the Grannys house for lunch and more presents, and to grandma and grandpas for yes, you guessed it, more persents.
As you can imagin a house full of kids, food, sweets, and presents to open all leads to one things. Sinsory overload, and we all know this will end up in a major meltdown for them, and for me. This happens with all kids but for kids with ADHD and other psychological issues its much more prevalent and seems to take less to push them over the edge with no warning at all!
When my son was younger I was always trying new things trying to hold off the meltdowns and somewhat save his sanity and mine! Maybe some of them will work for you too.
1. Make sure meds are taken on time (this is easy to forget with all the excitment)
2. Try to get them to eat something healthy for breakfast (it may be a while till lunch and hungry kids are not good)
3. Try to have a break for the kids, a time when they can, if possable, go outside and play. They need to let loose and burn off some energy.
4. If you see a meltdown coming on sometimes a little one on one time with them will help to calm them back down.
As my son has gotten older he will take a game or his IPOD with his so he can isolate himself if it all becomes too much for him. Another thing that really works for him, especially late in the day when his meds are starting to wear off, caffine. I'm by no means suggesting you give your 2 year old pop or coffee but for my son it worked in the same way as his meds do to calm him down even if only temporarily. We'll take anything we can get!
Have a very merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Thank You
I know I have not updated in several weeks I have been super busy with finals and finishing the dreaded research paper, BUT now are both finished!
I want to take this time to thank each and every one of you that took time to share your experiances with me and those of you who took time out of your daily lives to read my blog. If I have halped one person, or touched one person in any way all the hard work was worth it.
For those of you that would life to read the paper I will post it below. For those of you that care I got an A on the paper!
I know there are alot of you that have expressed doubts out the subject and it is an extreamly contravercial topic, I understand that, but I also believe that more research needs to be done. I am in no way condoning the use of any illegal drugs. If you have questions please feel free to leave a comment and I will get back with you if you leave your email address.Denise Sellers
Amanda Schafer
English 1203
12/09/2009
Illegal Street Drug or Under Utilized Medication?
Do you know someone that has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD, chances are you do. It is the most commonly diagnosed neurobehavioral, psychosocial disorders today. It does not only affect children of all ages but also adults. It was once thought that children diagnosed with ADHD would out grow the disorder but that is not the case. ADHD not only affects the person suffering with the condition, but the entire family both emotionally and financially. There is no known cure for ADHD and medications that are currently being used to treat the condition have serious side effects, and have even caused death in some patients. They are increasing in cost and insurance companies are becoming more reluctant to cover them making it that much harder to get treatment. There are alternatives to conventional drug therapies currently being studied around the world. Some of them seemingly as simple as vitamins and a healthy diet, and others more controversial such as the use of cannabis. If you or your child were suffering from this disease and you had tried every treatment and nothing had worked would you be willing to try the alternative and sometimes controversial treatments in order to live a “normal” life and be a productive member of society? In the United States alone the Centers for Disease Control, CDC, estimates three to five percent of the population has ADHD. That means in a room of thirty people three of them will be diagnosed with ADHD. It is also estimated to effect men and boys three times more often than girls. Emotional development in children with ADHD is thirty percent slower than in typical children. For example a ten year old child will have the same emotional development as a seven year old typical child, and a twenty year old will have the emotional maturity of a fourteen year old. According to Dr. Russell Barkley one forth of the children diagnosed with ADHD have serious learning disabilities, sixty five percent have problems with authority, and over half suffer from sleep disturbances. Teens with ADHD have four times the traffic accidents, and are seven times more likely to have repeat accidents. Twenty one percent of teens with ADHD skip school regularly, and thirty five
percent drop out before graduating. Adults diagnosed with ADHD often suffer the same symptoms as they did as children but on a much bigger scale. The pressures of adult life make coping difficult. They have lower vocational achievements, poor driving records, and frequent job changes.There are several types of ADHD Inattentive Type with symptoms varying from organization problems, the inability to finish tasks, and easily distracted. Hyperactive-Impulsive Type with symptoms somewhat like Inattentive Type but the person will also have trouble sitting still, may talk more than what is socially appropriate, and have little to no impulse control. There is also a Combined Type which is exactly what it say, it is a combination of both types of ADHD usually not showing all symptoms from both types but any combination of symptoms from either type.
There is also another increasing diagnosis among those with ADHD, it is ADHD with co-morbidity, meaning patients with ADHD having been diagnosed with other psychiatric illness'.
According to a study done on the use of Atomoxetine in Patients with ADHD and Co-Morbid Conditions that as many as eighty five percent of patients that suffer from ADHD also have at least one psychiatric co-morbidity, and sixty percent have two or more. One of the most common co-morbid conditions are Oppositional Defiance Disorder, ODD. Symptoms of ODD range from arguing with adults and authority figures,anger, resentfulness, and blaming others for mistakes. Patients who have ADHD/ODD tend to have more severe symptoms that are harder to treat conventionally.
Some other co-morbid disorders are Depression, Bi-Polar Disorder, Generalized Anxiety
Disorder (GAD), Conduct disorder, Sleep Disorder, Sensory Integrity Disorder, Learning Disabilities,
Early speech and language problems, and more recently Tourette's Syndrome, and Aspergers Syndrome
which is on the Autisim Spectrom. Because of the co-morbidity's and the wide variety of symptoms,
and the over lap of symptoms ADHD with Co-Morbidity is harder to treat therefore people with these illnesses often times can not function in society and spend their lives dependent on such powerful psychiatric drugs they become prisoners to their illness. As adults they are unable to keep jobs and often times become dependent on others financially for support. There are currently two types of drug therapies used in the treatment of ADHD. Stimulants and Non-Stimulants. Stimulants such as Ritalin, Concerta, Daytrana, Focalin, Dexadrine, and Adderall all work in basicly the same way by stimulating parts of the brain to help it stay focused on the task at hand. Stimulants are usually the drug of choice to treat ADHD but for some it just does not work. The other option is a non-stimulant drug such as Strattera, or Wellbutrin that were introduced in 2002 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Also patients that have co-morbid conditions also have to be on additional medications such as anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, and even sleeping pills in order to function.
Side effects from the drugs used to treat ADHD and co-morbid conditions can sometimes be worse than dealing with the illness itself. The National Resource Center on ADHD released the following list of possible side effects from the use of stimulant and non-stimulant medications in 2008.Moderate appetite suppression, weight loss,upset stomach, headaches, nervousness, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dizziness, tics, diarrhea, fatigue, mood swings, sleep disturbances, dry mouth, accelerated heart rate, seizures, liver damage, and yes even death. According to a report on CNN there are 2.5 MILLION children in the United States alone that are currently taking these medications as part of a treatment plan for ADHD. A study was recently
published in The American Journal of Psychiatry that suggest that almost two percent of unexplained deaths of children are linked to the use of these medications that are being prescribed to treat ADHD and co-morbid illness'. In 2006 the FDA required that all stimulant and non-stimulant medications come with a black box warning on their labels about the possibility of death from the use of the product.
There are several alternative treatments to consider when making a treatment plan for ADHD and co-morbid conditions. The most common ones being diet, either by changing the things that are eaten by leaving out things like red die and certain preservatives, to adding vitamins and minerals. The most recent studies are being done of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acid. Other treatments that do not even require any type of medication called “green” therapy. All this is really is getting outside more, being exposed to sun shine and getting more exercise to help stabilize the brain. Bio-feedback is another treatment being studied with some success in younger children. Electrodes are places on the head of a patient and the patient learns to play a game using nothing but brainwaves. The computer is programed to positively reinforce the right brainwaves while ignoring brainwaves with ADHD behavior . The most controversial treatment being studied to date is the use of cannabis to treat ADHD.
“The use of Marijuana to treat young people has to include a consideration of the risk/benefit ratio on the effects of cannabis on youth,” says Deborah Malka Md. PhD. Although most of the information regarding cannabis being used to treat ADHD is still anecdotal progress is being made in clinical trials. There are eighteen FDA approved studies at UCI, UCSF, UC Davis, and UCSD School of Medicine. Cannabis works in the brain to stimulate the production of dopamine. It is thought that patients with ADHD have less free dopamine in their brains therefore triggering the ADHD symptoms.The side effects of cannabis are far less than with stimulants. Medical marijuana has been used for thousands of years and in spite of substantial efforts to find negative effects it remains the safest treatment available. There has never been a reported case of accidental overdoes on cannabis, in past studies researchers have been unable to give animals enough cannabis to cause an overdose even while trying to do just that.
In 1988, after a two year long hearing on cannabis DEA Administrative Law Judge, Francis L. Young said:
“Nearly all medicines have toxic, potentially lethal effects. But Marijuana is not such a
substance. There is no record in the extensive medical literature describing a proven, documented cannabis-induced fatality... Simply stated, researchers have been unable to give animals enough marijuana to induce death...In Practical terms, marijuana cannot induce a lethal response as a result of drug related toxicity...In strict medical terms marijuana is safer than many foods we commonly consume...Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substance known to man.”
The biggest worry for scientist, doctors, and researchers is that smoking the cannabis will cause lung damage, but that seems to be unfounded as well according to Dr. Claudia Jensen who thinks that in order to keep the cannabis at a therapeutic level it would need to be eaten either by sprinkling it onto food, or taken in pill form.After doing my own research, I spoke with parents that have children diagnosed with ADHD
and other co-morbid conditions. They were all asked the same questions, focusing on what medication(s) their child/children are taking, how well the medication(s) have worked, and if there are any side effects from the medication(s). Out of the one hundred and twelve people questioned all of them have tried at least two different stimulant medications as part of their treatment plans. Over half of them were also taking some type of anti-depressant, and the majority of them were also taking some type of sleep aid weather it be over the counter (OTC) or physician prescribed. When presented with the question “how well is your current medication working?” With the three possible answers being : working great, working okay, not working at all. The majority, fourty six percent, said their medication was working okay, and twenty percent answered that it was not working at all. When asked if they were either currently, or had they in the past experiencing side effects all of them answered yes. All but two of them have tried alternative treatments including but not limited to diet change, vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids. When the same one hundred and twelve people were posed the question “ if it were proven to work and be safe would you consider using cannabis to treat ADHD?” Over half of them said yes they would consider it, twenty five percent said they would not even consider it, but the remaining twenty five percent had questions regarding its safety but said they would consider it once they had all the information.
As a parent I want the best for my child, if cannabis could eliminate my child's medication dependance, stop the horrible side effects that he suffers on top of the stigma of being labeled as mentally ill and help him live a “normal” life, of course I would consider it.Pot, reefer, grass, Mary Jane, weed, or cannabis, illegal drug or legitimate medication used to treat an illness. Everyone has their own opinion about it, but is it not worth a little more time and research if there is a possibility that millions of people could be helped?
American Academy of Pediatrics (may 2006)
American Psychiatric association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.).
Washington,DC: American Psychiatric Press.
Dell' Agnello, G., Zuddas, A., Masi, G., Curatolo, P., Besana, D., & Rossi, A. (2009). Use of
atomoxetine in patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and co-morbid conditions. CNS
Drugs, 23(9), 739-753.
Early studies of atomoxetine show effectiveness, tolerability.(2004). ADHD Report, 12(2), 12-12.
Is Marijuana The Right Medicine for you?; Bill Zimmerman PhD., Rick Bayer M.D., Nancy
Crumpacker M.D.; (1998) Keats Publishing Inc.
Marijuana,The Forbidden Medicine, Lester Grinspoon M.D.,James B. Bakalar, Yale University Press,
1997.
Medical Uses of Cannabis, Tod H. Mikiuriya,M.D.
Prasad, S., & Steer, C. (2008). Switching from neurostimulant therapy to atomoxetine in children and
adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: Clinical approaches and review of current
available evidence. Pediatric Drugs, 10.
Prasad, S., & Steer, C. (2008). Switching from neurostimulant therapy to atomoxetine in children and
adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: Clinical approaches and review of current
available evidence. Pediatric Drugs, 10(1), 39.
Ramsay, J. R., & Rostain, A. L. (2007). Psychosocial treatments for attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
disorder in adults: Current evidence and future directions. Professional Psychology: Research &
Practice, 38(4), 338-346. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.38.4.338.
Ramsay, J. R., & Rostain, A. L. (2007). Psychosocial treatments for attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
disorder in adults: Current evidence and future directions. Professional Psychology: Research &
Practice, 38(4), 338-346. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.38.4.338
Ramsay, J. R., & Rostain, A. L. (2007). Psychosocial treatments for attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
disorder in adults: Current evidence and future directions. Professional Psychology: Research &
Practice, 38(4), 338-346. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.38.4.338
Rapport, L. J., Friedman, S. R., Tzelepis, A., & Van Voorhis, A. (2002). "Experienced emotion and
affect recognition in adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder": Correction to rapport et al. (2002).
Neuropsychology, 16(3), 369-369. doi:10.1037/0894-4105.16.3.369
I want to take this time to thank each and every one of you that took time to share your experiances with me and those of you who took time out of your daily lives to read my blog. If I have halped one person, or touched one person in any way all the hard work was worth it.
For those of you that would life to read the paper I will post it below. For those of you that care I got an A on the paper!
I know there are alot of you that have expressed doubts out the subject and it is an extreamly contravercial topic, I understand that, but I also believe that more research needs to be done. I am in no way condoning the use of any illegal drugs. If you have questions please feel free to leave a comment and I will get back with you if you leave your email address.Denise Sellers
Amanda Schafer
English 1203
12/09/2009
Illegal Street Drug or Under Utilized Medication?
Do you know someone that has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD, chances are you do. It is the most commonly diagnosed neurobehavioral, psychosocial disorders today. It does not only affect children of all ages but also adults. It was once thought that children diagnosed with ADHD would out grow the disorder but that is not the case. ADHD not only affects the person suffering with the condition, but the entire family both emotionally and financially. There is no known cure for ADHD and medications that are currently being used to treat the condition have serious side effects, and have even caused death in some patients. They are increasing in cost and insurance companies are becoming more reluctant to cover them making it that much harder to get treatment. There are alternatives to conventional drug therapies currently being studied around the world. Some of them seemingly as simple as vitamins and a healthy diet, and others more controversial such as the use of cannabis. If you or your child were suffering from this disease and you had tried every treatment and nothing had worked would you be willing to try the alternative and sometimes controversial treatments in order to live a “normal” life and be a productive member of society? In the United States alone the Centers for Disease Control, CDC, estimates three to five percent of the population has ADHD. That means in a room of thirty people three of them will be diagnosed with ADHD. It is also estimated to effect men and boys three times more often than girls. Emotional development in children with ADHD is thirty percent slower than in typical children. For example a ten year old child will have the same emotional development as a seven year old typical child, and a twenty year old will have the emotional maturity of a fourteen year old. According to Dr. Russell Barkley one forth of the children diagnosed with ADHD have serious learning disabilities, sixty five percent have problems with authority, and over half suffer from sleep disturbances. Teens with ADHD have four times the traffic accidents, and are seven times more likely to have repeat accidents. Twenty one percent of teens with ADHD skip school regularly, and thirty five
percent drop out before graduating. Adults diagnosed with ADHD often suffer the same symptoms as they did as children but on a much bigger scale. The pressures of adult life make coping difficult. They have lower vocational achievements, poor driving records, and frequent job changes.There are several types of ADHD Inattentive Type with symptoms varying from organization problems, the inability to finish tasks, and easily distracted. Hyperactive-Impulsive Type with symptoms somewhat like Inattentive Type but the person will also have trouble sitting still, may talk more than what is socially appropriate, and have little to no impulse control. There is also a Combined Type which is exactly what it say, it is a combination of both types of ADHD usually not showing all symptoms from both types but any combination of symptoms from either type.
There is also another increasing diagnosis among those with ADHD, it is ADHD with co-morbidity, meaning patients with ADHD having been diagnosed with other psychiatric illness'.
According to a study done on the use of Atomoxetine in Patients with ADHD and Co-Morbid Conditions that as many as eighty five percent of patients that suffer from ADHD also have at least one psychiatric co-morbidity, and sixty percent have two or more. One of the most common co-morbid conditions are Oppositional Defiance Disorder, ODD. Symptoms of ODD range from arguing with adults and authority figures,anger, resentfulness, and blaming others for mistakes. Patients who have ADHD/ODD tend to have more severe symptoms that are harder to treat conventionally.
Some other co-morbid disorders are Depression, Bi-Polar Disorder, Generalized Anxiety
Disorder (GAD), Conduct disorder, Sleep Disorder, Sensory Integrity Disorder, Learning Disabilities,
Early speech and language problems, and more recently Tourette's Syndrome, and Aspergers Syndrome
which is on the Autisim Spectrom. Because of the co-morbidity's and the wide variety of symptoms,
and the over lap of symptoms ADHD with Co-Morbidity is harder to treat therefore people with these illnesses often times can not function in society and spend their lives dependent on such powerful psychiatric drugs they become prisoners to their illness. As adults they are unable to keep jobs and often times become dependent on others financially for support. There are currently two types of drug therapies used in the treatment of ADHD. Stimulants and Non-Stimulants. Stimulants such as Ritalin, Concerta, Daytrana, Focalin, Dexadrine, and Adderall all work in basicly the same way by stimulating parts of the brain to help it stay focused on the task at hand. Stimulants are usually the drug of choice to treat ADHD but for some it just does not work. The other option is a non-stimulant drug such as Strattera, or Wellbutrin that were introduced in 2002 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Also patients that have co-morbid conditions also have to be on additional medications such as anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, and even sleeping pills in order to function.
Side effects from the drugs used to treat ADHD and co-morbid conditions can sometimes be worse than dealing with the illness itself. The National Resource Center on ADHD released the following list of possible side effects from the use of stimulant and non-stimulant medications in 2008.Moderate appetite suppression, weight loss,upset stomach, headaches, nervousness, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dizziness, tics, diarrhea, fatigue, mood swings, sleep disturbances, dry mouth, accelerated heart rate, seizures, liver damage, and yes even death. According to a report on CNN there are 2.5 MILLION children in the United States alone that are currently taking these medications as part of a treatment plan for ADHD. A study was recently
published in The American Journal of Psychiatry that suggest that almost two percent of unexplained deaths of children are linked to the use of these medications that are being prescribed to treat ADHD and co-morbid illness'. In 2006 the FDA required that all stimulant and non-stimulant medications come with a black box warning on their labels about the possibility of death from the use of the product.
There are several alternative treatments to consider when making a treatment plan for ADHD and co-morbid conditions. The most common ones being diet, either by changing the things that are eaten by leaving out things like red die and certain preservatives, to adding vitamins and minerals. The most recent studies are being done of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acid. Other treatments that do not even require any type of medication called “green” therapy. All this is really is getting outside more, being exposed to sun shine and getting more exercise to help stabilize the brain. Bio-feedback is another treatment being studied with some success in younger children. Electrodes are places on the head of a patient and the patient learns to play a game using nothing but brainwaves. The computer is programed to positively reinforce the right brainwaves while ignoring brainwaves with ADHD behavior . The most controversial treatment being studied to date is the use of cannabis to treat ADHD.
“The use of Marijuana to treat young people has to include a consideration of the risk/benefit ratio on the effects of cannabis on youth,” says Deborah Malka Md. PhD. Although most of the information regarding cannabis being used to treat ADHD is still anecdotal progress is being made in clinical trials. There are eighteen FDA approved studies at UCI, UCSF, UC Davis, and UCSD School of Medicine. Cannabis works in the brain to stimulate the production of dopamine. It is thought that patients with ADHD have less free dopamine in their brains therefore triggering the ADHD symptoms.The side effects of cannabis are far less than with stimulants. Medical marijuana has been used for thousands of years and in spite of substantial efforts to find negative effects it remains the safest treatment available. There has never been a reported case of accidental overdoes on cannabis, in past studies researchers have been unable to give animals enough cannabis to cause an overdose even while trying to do just that.
In 1988, after a two year long hearing on cannabis DEA Administrative Law Judge, Francis L. Young said:
“Nearly all medicines have toxic, potentially lethal effects. But Marijuana is not such a
substance. There is no record in the extensive medical literature describing a proven, documented cannabis-induced fatality... Simply stated, researchers have been unable to give animals enough marijuana to induce death...In Practical terms, marijuana cannot induce a lethal response as a result of drug related toxicity...In strict medical terms marijuana is safer than many foods we commonly consume...Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substance known to man.”
The biggest worry for scientist, doctors, and researchers is that smoking the cannabis will cause lung damage, but that seems to be unfounded as well according to Dr. Claudia Jensen who thinks that in order to keep the cannabis at a therapeutic level it would need to be eaten either by sprinkling it onto food, or taken in pill form.After doing my own research, I spoke with parents that have children diagnosed with ADHD
and other co-morbid conditions. They were all asked the same questions, focusing on what medication(s) their child/children are taking, how well the medication(s) have worked, and if there are any side effects from the medication(s). Out of the one hundred and twelve people questioned all of them have tried at least two different stimulant medications as part of their treatment plans. Over half of them were also taking some type of anti-depressant, and the majority of them were also taking some type of sleep aid weather it be over the counter (OTC) or physician prescribed. When presented with the question “how well is your current medication working?” With the three possible answers being : working great, working okay, not working at all. The majority, fourty six percent, said their medication was working okay, and twenty percent answered that it was not working at all. When asked if they were either currently, or had they in the past experiencing side effects all of them answered yes. All but two of them have tried alternative treatments including but not limited to diet change, vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids. When the same one hundred and twelve people were posed the question “ if it were proven to work and be safe would you consider using cannabis to treat ADHD?” Over half of them said yes they would consider it, twenty five percent said they would not even consider it, but the remaining twenty five percent had questions regarding its safety but said they would consider it once they had all the information.
As a parent I want the best for my child, if cannabis could eliminate my child's medication dependance, stop the horrible side effects that he suffers on top of the stigma of being labeled as mentally ill and help him live a “normal” life, of course I would consider it.Pot, reefer, grass, Mary Jane, weed, or cannabis, illegal drug or legitimate medication used to treat an illness. Everyone has their own opinion about it, but is it not worth a little more time and research if there is a possibility that millions of people could be helped?
American Academy of Pediatrics (may 2006)
American Psychiatric association (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.).
Washington,DC: American Psychiatric Press.
Dell' Agnello, G., Zuddas, A., Masi, G., Curatolo, P., Besana, D., & Rossi, A. (2009). Use of
atomoxetine in patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and co-morbid conditions. CNS
Drugs, 23(9), 739-753.
Early studies of atomoxetine show effectiveness, tolerability.(2004). ADHD Report, 12(2), 12-12.
Is Marijuana The Right Medicine for you?; Bill Zimmerman PhD., Rick Bayer M.D., Nancy
Crumpacker M.D.; (1998) Keats Publishing Inc.
Marijuana,The Forbidden Medicine, Lester Grinspoon M.D.,James B. Bakalar, Yale University Press,
1997.
Medical Uses of Cannabis, Tod H. Mikiuriya,M.D.
Prasad, S., & Steer, C. (2008). Switching from neurostimulant therapy to atomoxetine in children and
adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: Clinical approaches and review of current
available evidence. Pediatric Drugs, 10.
Prasad, S., & Steer, C. (2008). Switching from neurostimulant therapy to atomoxetine in children and
adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: Clinical approaches and review of current
available evidence. Pediatric Drugs, 10(1), 39.
Ramsay, J. R., & Rostain, A. L. (2007). Psychosocial treatments for attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
disorder in adults: Current evidence and future directions. Professional Psychology: Research &
Practice, 38(4), 338-346. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.38.4.338.
Ramsay, J. R., & Rostain, A. L. (2007). Psychosocial treatments for attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
disorder in adults: Current evidence and future directions. Professional Psychology: Research &
Practice, 38(4), 338-346. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.38.4.338
Ramsay, J. R., & Rostain, A. L. (2007). Psychosocial treatments for attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
disorder in adults: Current evidence and future directions. Professional Psychology: Research &
Practice, 38(4), 338-346. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.38.4.338
Rapport, L. J., Friedman, S. R., Tzelepis, A., & Van Voorhis, A. (2002). "Experienced emotion and
affect recognition in adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder": Correction to rapport et al. (2002).
Neuropsychology, 16(3), 369-369. doi:10.1037/0894-4105.16.3.369
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Do You Remember The Day......
......You Got The Diagnosis?
Was it a relief? Thank goodness! I knew I was not imagining it!
Was it a shock? No way! Not my child!
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was like someone had finally listened to what I was saying, and more importantly, to what my son was saying. He was having a routine physical for school but there was nothing routine about it. The doctor was running several hours behind due to an emergency. I had always schedualed his appointments for a certin time of day when I knew we would not have a long wait because he would start to melt down after a while. You say to yourself, well thats normal for any young child, but he was not a young child. He was about 11 at the time, he should have been able to sit there and entertain himself for a couple of hours, but he couldn't. By the time we finally got to see the doctor she got to see first hand what I had been trying to explain to her for months. He was agitated, he could not sit still, he couldn't concentrate long enough to answer simple questions he was being asked by the doctor, oh and don't forget the paranoia! He had been in a doctors office with sick people for hours so he was convinced he was dying of whatever else all the other kids had! At the time the bird flu was that latest disease on the news so he was FULL of questions about that he even tried to convince her that he had it!!
Well after his doctor finished the check up we were fixing to leave and I jokingly made a comment about him having ADHD and she looked at me like my head had just popped off my body and I was jumping around like a chicken. She asked us to come back in the office and starting going through his chart frantically. Thats when it happened, she looked at me strangly and said you mean no one has ever told you your son has ADHD? What? Excuse me? ADHD No, no one has told me this before. She sat down on her little rolly stool and said WOW I just assumed since he has been in therapy for all this time they would have told you his diagnosis.
What? His DIAGNOSIS? Yes ma'am your son has ADHD, I assumed thats was why he was in therapy. You see my son had been in therapy for some time by this point because he was having trouble in school, had become violent, was having panic attacks, and horrable mood swings. I just figured it was due to the divorce and the abuse. This was the begining of the revolving door of therapists! (but thats a whole other discussion)
Looking back there had always been signs "symptoms" I just didn't realize it. It all made since, EVERYTING MADE SINCE, it was like someone had flipped a switch.
We went home from that appointment with a new perscription and Alot of reading to do, but with a new perspective on the whole situation.
My sons not a brat, hes sick! WOW!
What was your diagnosis experiance? Was at a relief as in my situation?
Please leave a comment and share your experiance.....
Was it a relief? Thank goodness! I knew I was not imagining it!
Was it a shock? No way! Not my child!
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was like someone had finally listened to what I was saying, and more importantly, to what my son was saying. He was having a routine physical for school but there was nothing routine about it. The doctor was running several hours behind due to an emergency. I had always schedualed his appointments for a certin time of day when I knew we would not have a long wait because he would start to melt down after a while. You say to yourself, well thats normal for any young child, but he was not a young child. He was about 11 at the time, he should have been able to sit there and entertain himself for a couple of hours, but he couldn't. By the time we finally got to see the doctor she got to see first hand what I had been trying to explain to her for months. He was agitated, he could not sit still, he couldn't concentrate long enough to answer simple questions he was being asked by the doctor, oh and don't forget the paranoia! He had been in a doctors office with sick people for hours so he was convinced he was dying of whatever else all the other kids had! At the time the bird flu was that latest disease on the news so he was FULL of questions about that he even tried to convince her that he had it!!
Well after his doctor finished the check up we were fixing to leave and I jokingly made a comment about him having ADHD and she looked at me like my head had just popped off my body and I was jumping around like a chicken. She asked us to come back in the office and starting going through his chart frantically. Thats when it happened, she looked at me strangly and said you mean no one has ever told you your son has ADHD? What? Excuse me? ADHD No, no one has told me this before. She sat down on her little rolly stool and said WOW I just assumed since he has been in therapy for all this time they would have told you his diagnosis.
What? His DIAGNOSIS? Yes ma'am your son has ADHD, I assumed thats was why he was in therapy. You see my son had been in therapy for some time by this point because he was having trouble in school, had become violent, was having panic attacks, and horrable mood swings. I just figured it was due to the divorce and the abuse. This was the begining of the revolving door of therapists! (but thats a whole other discussion)
Looking back there had always been signs "symptoms" I just didn't realize it. It all made since, EVERYTING MADE SINCE, it was like someone had flipped a switch.
We went home from that appointment with a new perscription and Alot of reading to do, but with a new perspective on the whole situation.
My sons not a brat, hes sick! WOW!
What was your diagnosis experiance? Was at a relief as in my situation?
Please leave a comment and share your experiance.....
Monday, November 16, 2009
Have You Ever.....
Been treated differently or made fun of?
Remember back to when you were in school. For some of you that was not so long ago, for others, its been a while. For me its both. I have been out of high school for 20 years, but I recently started college and all the memories come back with a vengence.
Alot has changed since I was in high school, I have changed alot since high school. 20 years ago I wouldn't dare do anything to draw attention to myself in fear of the being singled out, made fun of, talked about.
I am who I am. This is what you get. I'm not afraid to stand up for what is right or what I believe in, even if everyone else dose not agree. I'm not afraid to speak my mind even if the someone I am speaking to is a person of "authority".
And yes, for those of you wondering, my hair is pink. I'm not afraid to stand out, to be unique. I have learned alot about myself in the past 10 years, since my sons diagnosis. I can be myself and its ok to be different. We should embrace our differences not hide them.
I watched him struggle at school to make friends, to fit in, to be accepted. It breaks a mothers heart to see her child struggle with anything. It broke my heart to watch him and not be able to fix it. When I look at him I see an amazing kid. He loves with all his heart, hes an outstanding musician, hes smart, hes creative, he can not tell a joke to save his life, but he tries! He loves video games and watching the SiFy channel. I have watched my child grow into an amazing young man. A young man still struggling with who he is, and dealing with mental illness.
I wish I had been as strong as he is at 18. I wish I could tell him it would get better but I can't lie to him. Hes smarter than that.
My heart breaks for him, and all the other kids that are growing up being made fun of or teased for being different.
I'll keep fighting for him and the others......for as long as it takes!
Are you fighting the same fight?
If so, don't give up! Its a fight worth fighting .......Its a fight worth winning!
Please leave me a comment and tell me about your fight, or visit my community and start a post there.
If you have not already taken the short survey it can be found here
Remember back to when you were in school. For some of you that was not so long ago, for others, its been a while. For me its both. I have been out of high school for 20 years, but I recently started college and all the memories come back with a vengence.
Alot has changed since I was in high school, I have changed alot since high school. 20 years ago I wouldn't dare do anything to draw attention to myself in fear of the being singled out, made fun of, talked about.
And yes, for those of you wondering, my hair is pink. I'm not afraid to stand out, to be unique. I have learned alot about myself in the past 10 years, since my sons diagnosis. I can be myself and its ok to be different. We should embrace our differences not hide them.
I watched him struggle at school to make friends, to fit in, to be accepted. It breaks a mothers heart to see her child struggle with anything. It broke my heart to watch him and not be able to fix it. When I look at him I see an amazing kid. He loves with all his heart, hes an outstanding musician, hes smart, hes creative, he can not tell a joke to save his life, but he tries! He loves video games and watching the SiFy channel. I have watched my child grow into an amazing young man. A young man still struggling with who he is, and dealing with mental illness.
I wish I had been as strong as he is at 18. I wish I could tell him it would get better but I can't lie to him. Hes smarter than that.
My heart breaks for him, and all the other kids that are growing up being made fun of or teased for being different.
I'll keep fighting for him and the others......for as long as it takes!
Are you fighting the same fight?
If so, don't give up! Its a fight worth fighting .......Its a fight worth winning!
Please leave me a comment and tell me about your fight, or visit my community and start a post there.
If you have not already taken the short survey it can be found here
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Will You Help Me?
My name is Denise and my son is mentally ill. I have spent the biggest part of my adult life and most of his life fighting for him. Fighting to get him the treatment he needs, fighting to get him the help at school he needs, fighting to find doctors and therapists who CARE about him and his well being and don't see him as just another patient, or even worse a paycheck. I have found that they are few and far between. My son in the past 8 years has had one great therapist before her there was a long list of therapists that just didn't make the cut.
As my children have grown up and started to move on I wondered what I would do with my life. I had always wanted to go to college but never knew what I wanted to study. I prayed about it for months and realized God had been preparing me for my career for many years. He has blessed me with my son and the ability to love, care and fight for not only my son but other children as well.
This fall I enrolled at the University Of Arkansas Fort Smith and I am officially a full time student as a Psychology major. This is where the help comes in. I am working on a research paper about Mental Illness and Alternative Treatments . If you yourself suffer from a mental illness, or have a child with mental illness would you please consider taking the short survey? No names will be asked for, you will remain compleatly annonamous in every way. If you have any questions regarding who I am or the paper I am writing please email me or leave me a comment and I'll give you the contact information for my teacher and my school.
Please feel free to leave comments, if you don't want them posted let me know and I won't publish them.
Adult Survey
Child Survey
As my children have grown up and started to move on I wondered what I would do with my life. I had always wanted to go to college but never knew what I wanted to study. I prayed about it for months and realized God had been preparing me for my career for many years. He has blessed me with my son and the ability to love, care and fight for not only my son but other children as well.
This fall I enrolled at the University Of Arkansas Fort Smith and I am officially a full time student as a Psychology major. This is where the help comes in. I am working on a research paper about Mental Illness and Alternative Treatments . If you yourself suffer from a mental illness, or have a child with mental illness would you please consider taking the short survey? No names will be asked for, you will remain compleatly annonamous in every way. If you have any questions regarding who I am or the paper I am writing please email me or leave me a comment and I'll give you the contact information for my teacher and my school.
Please feel free to leave comments, if you don't want them posted let me know and I won't publish them.
Adult Survey
Child Survey
Raising a Child With A mental Illness...
I knew from the begining I was going to have my hands full with this child. Although he wasn't diagnosed until much later, I knew from the time he was very young that he was going to be special.
He was diagnosed when he was ten, and by this time it was almost a relief. ADHD*. I put off having him diagnossed until things got so bad I didn't have a choice. At that time everyone had ADD/ADHD*, that seemed to be the catch all "diagnossis" for kids that had behavior problems, or were doing poorly in school. I did not want my child, my baby, labled as a "problem child". As it turns out that was the least of my worries.
* ADD/ADHD Attention deficit desorder/ Attention Deficit Hypreactivity Disorder
* ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
After the ADHD diagnosis I decided putting him on meds was the easy way out. We tried behavior modification at home and at school with very minimal results. When he was about 13 things really started getting out of control. On top of his usual hyperness and not sleeping he became increasingly agitated and violent. Starting arguments with me and fights with his brother that I would have to break up daily. I did not think much about the fights with his brother, boys will be boys right? Wrong. He became increasingly violent at school and at home to the point he was even swinging at me. Something had to be done and soon.He started seeing a therapist. The first in a long string of them, I think there were four or five before we found one that he "clicked with".
He was started on Focalin (extended release) and WOW! It was like I had my baby back. The sweet, loving, caring little boy I remembered from years ago. He was able to watch a tv show without talking through the whole thing, play a game without throwing something, and the biggest shock was watching him sit in the floor of a busy emergency room reading a book. I have not been able to get this kid to sit still for more than a few minites in his whole life. Now he was sitting here reading a book.
After a few months of being on the Focalin and continuing with his therapist I started to notice some of his old behavior starting to creap back up, so his Focalin was increased. This started the medication roller coaster. As most of you know once the ride has started you can not get off. Since this time hes been on many different meds, dealing with the many different side effects the meds bring on. Headachs, nausea, shaky hands, sweating, sleeplessness.
Several years later he finally found a mecication that worked for him. In fact it was working so well at controlling his ADHD other symptoms started to show up. I didn't know it at the time, thinking it was his usual ADHD symptoms I schedualed an appointment with his psyciatrist thinking his meds we no longer working, boy was I wrong. Thats when the other diagnosis started. Anxioty was the first, he was started on an anti-depressant and we had another WOW moment. The difference was night and day, the mood swings that had been so prevalent were now less, his paranoia was less, but slowly more and more things were being noticed. The depression, the manic episodes, the obsessions had also started by this time as well.
By the time he was fifteen or sixteen his official diagnosis was ADHD with OCD* tendencies, an anxioty disorder, sleep disorder, and the one every parent loves to hear Bi-Polar.
I feel like I have spent most of my life fighting for my son. I have spent all of his life fighting for him. In the process of fighting to help him I realized that I could make a difference not only in his life but in the lives of so many others suffering with mental illness.
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