There has been a rapid growth in "telepsychiatry" services in Missouri. Health care providers see the technology as a powerful solution to the severe shortage of specialists able to diagnose and prescribe medications for mental disorders - a dangerous scenario that has contributed to higher rates of hospitalization, emergency room visits, drug addiction and suicide in rural areas.

A trio of studies make the strongest case to date that autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) share similar genetic causes. The findings could help explain why up to 80 percent of children with autism also meet the criteria for ADHD. Several studies have shown that autism and ADHD co-occur in families, but researchers have yet to identify overlapping genes...One of the new studies explores the genetic basis of autism and ADHD traits in the general population, another examines how autism and ADHD co-occur in families, and the third reveals how features of autism relate to those of ADHD. Together, they show that the two conditions are closely related.

Adolescents who have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are much more likely than peers without the condition to become teenaged parents, according to a large Danish study. In the 12-15 age group in particular, girls with ADHD were three and a half times more likely and boys were almost two and a half times more likely to become parents in their teen years. “We were expecting to find an increased risk, but not of this magnitude,” said lead study author Dr. Soren Dinesen Ostergaard, of Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark.

"A first line of treatment involves medication and behavioral intervention," says Dr. Pilar Trelles, child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. However, she adds that "there could be a place" for additional treatment methods...She stresses that while these approaches may help in some instances, they should not be used as the only means of intervention. Instead, she says they should be considered as a way to supplement treatment methods that are already in place.

Using volunteers to train parents concerned about attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in their children can improve capacity to meet increasing ADHD treatment needs, finds a new study by NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. The study, published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, highlights an innovative approach to embracing community resources - tapping volunteers to act as therapists.

The National Institute of Mental Health notes that scientists aren’t entirely sure what causes attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Anything from genes and brain injuries to low birth weight and exposure to environmental toxins at a young age may play a role. However, of these variables, experts tend to agree that genetics is the most likely link. But this isn’t to say the other factors go entirely by the wayside. For example, one study, published in Human Genetics, mentions that although ADHD is “highly heritable,” it’s a “multifactorial disorder, in which many genes, all with a small effect, are thought to cause the disorder in the presence of unfavorable environmental conditions.”

In a recently released issue of Pediatrics ( 10.1542/peds.2016-2444), Dr. Janet Cummings and colleagues examine racial and ethnic differences in ADHD treatment among 172,322 children ages 6-12 years in 9 states who initiated medication for ADHD. Their thought-provoking analyses give food for thought for primary care physicians, psychiatrists and researchers...The main study findings that impressed me, though, were related to sample characteristics and medication discontinuation rates across the sample.

According to a recent study published in Pediatrics, the answer is yes. Researchers found that African-American youth with ADHD are more likely to go off of their medication and less likely to have adequate follow-up than their white counterparts. But, while the study focused mainly on the medication aspect of treatment, some parents are simply managing their children's ADHD in other ways.

I always like hearing from readers on management issues, as they can provide details and personal insights you often don't gain from textbooks and business journals...Kyle was now writing an article about his longtime experience with ADHD at work...I thought it was excellent - candid and insightful. In particular, I felt there were two key takeaways for management in the areas of time preparation and accountability that had broad applicability and were worth sharing.