In a cross-sectional study recently published in Pediatrics, researchers at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts found that adolescents with single-ventricle congenital heart disease (CHD) have a fivefold increase in rates of anxiety disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) compared with healthy control patients.

Recently, some researchers published a study showing some ways the ADHD brain tends to be different than the non-ADHD brain...What set this study apart was that it was, in scientific terms, frickin’ huge. It involved more than 3,000 people – that’s a lot of people as far as brain studies go.

In the late winter, many schools begin to schedule meetings with parents to review Individualized Educational Plans (IEP) and Section 504 plans for the next school year. If your child has a Section 504, schools are not required to hold an annual review meeting, but many choose to do so anyway; if not, you can request one. Because your child’s needs can change from year to year, it is a good idea to review the plan and request changes that could benefit your child.

As more people with autism and ADHD begin to advocate for themselves at work, some employers are changing their workplaces...The key to working with employees with autism, says Briefer, is for managers to listen to their needs. "Let the employee explain their learning style, how they like to work in certain environments, and how they would best cope," says Briefer.

Researchers have successfully adapted a parent-training program for ADHD for use with families in Japan, where ADHD-specific behavioral interventions are limited...The results of the proof-of-concept of the new program, the "New Forest Parenting Programme-Japan," published in Japanese Psychological Research, show reductions in children's ADHD symptoms and improvements in parent-child relationships, suggesting that the parent-training program might prove to be an effective mainstream behavioral treatment for ADHD in Japan.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, “In 2013-14, the number of children and youth ages 3-21 receiving special education services was 6.5 million, or about 13 percent of all public school students. Among students receiving special education services, 35 percent had specific learning disabilities.”

Steve and Michelle were desperate. Their 6-year-old son, Sam, was diagnosed with ADHD soon after entering first grade. Sam’s behavior seemed outright defiant: He ignored adults when his name was called and was in constant motion. Sam let out bloodcurdling screams when forced to stop playing a game on the iPad...But despite the relentless advertising for meds, and the occasional coercion by school personnel, your young ADHD child may not need Ritalin. At least not yet.