Metacognitive Therapy : Here is a Therapy that Just Might Help

There are a number of treatments for ADHD that can help people to focus, increase awareness, and improve performance in day to day living. These include medications, certain natural alternatives like Attend, EEG Biofeedback training, and particular eating programs. But absent from this list has been any form of clinical therapy, such as psychotherapy, as these forms of talking therapies tend to focus on improving people’s feelings or insight, rather than teaching particular skills that would improve performance or focus. Read more of the article...

Parents please be advised that the rate of peanut allergies as tripled since 1997, according to a recent study. The study reported that about 1.5% of children have peanut allergies, and about 2% have allergies to either peanuts or other kinds of nuts. So that’s one out of fifty kids are allergic to some kind of nut (walnuts, cashews, or peanuts, etc.), and about one child in every seventy-five has a specific peanut allergy. Read more of the article...

DrugWatch.com is a comprehensive Web site containing information about many medications, including common prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs available worldwide. The Web site features an A-Z index of the medications, making it easy for patients to find information about specific drugs, such as Adderall, Ritalin, Vyvanse, and Concerta, which are commonly used to treat ADD and ADHD. Read more of the article...

I Think Everybody is Really Good at Something

Summary: As I was reading an economics blog I came across a link to this article that I would highly recommend to all of you who are parents or teachers of ADHD students, Aspergers students, or others with “learning differences.” Even though the article is about an investment strategist, I really think this article offers a more valuable commodity: HOPE.

http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2010/04/wall-street-excerpt-...

I have written a lot in the past about those with ADHD being easily distracted or bored with tasks or subjects that just do not interest them, but that if they find something that is interesting to them “the house could burn down around them and they wouldn’t notice” because they can get so focused on the task or subject. Then, typically I have focused on ways to help the ADHD student or adult get the boring or uninteresting task done: classroom interventions, organizational skills, motivation, our eating program, Attend and Memorin, medications, and so on.

But today it occurred to me that I don’t often write about the potential gift of being able to focus on the tasks that one finds interesting “even if the house is burning down around you.” Read more of the article...

The Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI) released the first-ever biomonitoring report identifying toxic chemical pollution in people from the learning and developmental disability community. Mind, Disrupted: How toxic chemicals may affect how we think and who we are examines 61 toxic chemicals present in project participants in the context of rising rates of autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other learning and developmental disabilities. Read more of the article...

Early Reports on Intuniv for ADHD

Intuniv is a new medication for the treatment of ADHD in children and teens that just recently gained its approval from the FDA and was available to pharmacies in early November, 2009.

Intuniv is not a stimulant medication, and may be helpful to the estimated 25-30% of children with ADHD who do not benefit from stimulant medications. Instead, Intuniv is a form of Guanfacine (Tenex) which has been used for years as a blood pressure medication in adults, and has also been used as an adjunct medication in the treatment of ADHD individuals with temper or anger problems, or oppositional defiant disorder. Now in the form of Intuniv, this medication seems to have a wider range of symptoms that benefit from its use than just anger or oppositional behavior.

It appears that Intuniv (guanfacine) works in the pre-frontal cortex Read more of the article...

What is INTUNIV for ADHD?

The active ingredient in INTUNIV is Guanfacine, normally thought of as the blood pressure medicine Tenex. INTUNIV is not a blood pressure medication, however. It is approved for the treatment of ADHD.

INTUNIV is not a stimulant, and its action on the brain is different than stimulants. INTUNIV is another ADHD medication from Shire Pharmaceuticals, where they seem to insist that all of their medications are spelled in all capital letters. Shire also makes and distributes ADDERALL XL, DAYTRANA, and VYVANSE. And since the sales of Adderall XR have been undercut by Teva's generic Adderall, and the sales of Vyvanse have been disappointing, Shire is hopeful that Intuniv will bolster its place in the ADHD marketplace. Read more of the article...

What is INTUNIV for ADHD?

The active ingredient in INTUNIV is Guanfacine, normally thought of as the blood pressure medicine Tenex. INTUNIV is not a blood pressure medication, however. It is approved for the treatment of ADHD.

INTUNIV is not a stimulant, and its action on the brain is different than stimulants. INTUNIV is another ADHD medication from Shire Pharmaceuticals, where they seem to insist that all of their medications are spelled in all capital letters. Shire also makes and distributes ADDERALL XL, DAYTRANA, and VYVANSE. And since the sales of Adderall XR have been undercut by Teva's generic Adderall, and the sales of Vyvanse have been disappointing, Shire is hopeful that Intuniv will bolster its place in the ADHD marketplace. Read more of the article...