The message is clear. Treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), along with the related health risks it poses, has the possibility of adding an average of nine to 13 years to the lifespan of children and adults diagnosed with ADHD. This is the implication of a cutting-edge research study conducted by Russell A. Barkley, Ph.D., who evaluated the connection between ADHD and 14 critical health factors including nutrition, exercise, and tobacco and alcohol use.

Women who used valproate for seizure control during pregnancy had an increased risk of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in their children, a population-based study in Denmark found. Prenatal exposure to valproate was tied to a 48% increased risk of ADHD after adjusting for maternal psychiatric disease, maternal epilepsy, and other potential confounders, according to Jakob Christensen, MD, PhD, of Aarhus University Hospital, and colleagues.

Community-based pediatricians often struggle to treat children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) based on AAP guidelines. Recent studies suggest that quality improvement (QI) strategies could improve adherence to the guidelines. Five organizations were awarded independent grants from Pfizer Inc. and formed a learning network to test innovative strategies for improving the quality of ADHD care.

The U.S. accounts for five percent of the world population but more than 92 percent of the world’s spending on pharmacotherapies for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). According to the 2011 National Survey of Children’s Health, ADHD increased to 11.0 percent of U.S. children, seven percent of girls and 15 percent of boys. Interestingly, ADHD rates were much lower among Hispanic children.

Games and puzzles are a natural fit for the ADHD brain. I’d guess games and puzzles are especially likely to lure out the ADHD brain’s ability to hyperfocus. To start with, these activities are associated with an imminent, well-defined reward: winning the game or solving the puzzle. Everything you do is a step toward getting that reward.

So you’re caring for a kid who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. What are you doing to also take care of you? When her son was young,Vanessa Armstrong sometimes felt like going out caused more hassle than it was worth...But she stresses that it’s important for parents of children with ADHD to find time for themselves and to get the support they need.

Children who are repeatedly excluded from school should be automatically screened for learning difficulties including ADHD, it has been claimed.