Early ADHD diagnoses could help cut crime and drastically improve lives, but a cash-starved NHS is struggling to keep up

As a child, Casey*, 38, always found it hard to concentrate. Her old school reports said the same thing. “Casey manages to talk through the entire class. She somehow gets her work done, but she distracts everybody else,” read one primary school report she recently dug out the back of her cupboard.

These behaviours continued into adulthood. She was impulsive and bought expensive items on a whim: clothes she barely wore or a – £5000 camper van she drove three times. Colleagues wondered whether she had dyslexia because of misspelled words in the odd email. She looked into the possibility, but it didn’t seem to fit. At age 36, Casey began to question whether she had undiagnosed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

This AI Could Help Diagnose ADHD Sooner full article

Posted by Claudia M Gold January 10, 2012 10:49 AM

Tears ran down Elena’s cheeks as she described being so overwhelmed and full of rage that she forcefully held her fully clothed 4-year-old son, James, under the shower when he wouldn’t go to bed. Later in the same 50-minute visit she revealed that she had suffered years of physical and emotional abuse as a child. As is typical of visits to my behavioral pediatrics practice, she had brought James because he was “defiant.” “Something must be wrong with him,” was followed by, “Tell me what to do to make him listen.” James’ preschool teachers, who were having trouble managing his behavior, had suggested that he might have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD.) They recommended to Elena that medication be considered. They knew nothing of this history. My wish in listening to this story is not to judge, but rather to understand the experience of both mother and child.

Is Our Society Prejudiced Against Children? full article

David Rabiner, Ph.D.
Associate Research Professor, Duke University
Saturday, March 27, 2010

Because many children with ADHD/ADD experience significant academic difficulties, it is very important for parents to be aware of the special educational services that public schools are required to provide. Unfortunately, many children with ADHD/ADD do not receive the services they are entitled to, and parents are often unaware of the assistance their child should be receiving.

Educational Rights for Children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD) full article