This article considers what people can do to improve their marriage if they or their spouse have ADHD. It offers seven pointers based on clinical experiences treating couples with ADHD, including keeping the lines of communication open, cultivating romance and intimacy, and dealing with the “ADHD moment.”

This article discusses the role of grandparents in families with children who have ADHD. It considers five key areas that help grandparents of children with ADHD move forward and empower them to be positive role models for their own children and grandchildren.

This article explains what an adult should do after the doctor has told him that he does not have ADHD. The authors discuss how to tell if the clinician has done a thorough evaluation, what else could be causing the symptoms, when to seek a second opinion, and what to do if it really isn’t ADHD.

This article presents an overview of the role families play when participating in clinical research trials. This is the first article in a multi-part series. It is reprinted with permission from the National Institute of Mental Health publication “A Participant’s Guide to Mental Health and Clinical Research.” Part two appears in the August 2001 issue of Attention!

This article, originally presented at the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill conference in 2000, discusses the genetic and nongenetic factors that may be involved in ADHD. It also describes the Multi-Modal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD being carried out by the National Institute of Mental Health.

Leisure and recreation can be used as tools to help children with the struggles of everyday life. This article suggests leisure activities for preschool-aged and older children. It also explains how to blend school lessons with leisure activities and how to help children stay focused when they play individual or team sports.

This article explains the role of managed behavioral health care carve-outs and what it means to families dealing with ADHD. It provides data from a study in a large national managed behavioral health care database. The study examined the treatment offered to children, most of whom had been diagnosed recently with ADHD. The study found that the average number of sessions per year was 9.5, and that a full 20 percent of the children being treated for ADHD had not received any medication.

This article addresses the seven stages of development that the author experienced on the road to becoming an effective advocate. It explains how to be an advocate for your own child and how to make the shift from individualized advocacy to systems advocacy and finally, to coalition advocacy.