ADHD Roller Coaster: "Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.?"

Ten years ago, I chanced upon a new book at our local library: Neuropsychiatrist Daniel Amen’s Change Your Brain, Change Your Life: The Breakthrough Program for Conquering Anxiety, Depression, Obsessiveness, Anger, and Impulsiveness. It did change my life, my husband’s life, and our marriage. And it set me on a path to help others change their lives by creating more awareness of Adult ADHD.

When my book, Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.? Stopping the Roller Coaster When Someone You Love Has Attention Deficit Disorder, was published, one of my top priorities was making the book available in public libraries. (I don’t know about your library system, but ours seems to go out of its way to stock books by the ADHD dissenters and deniers.) I’m grateful that fans of the book share this goal, as explained in this recent note from Jack in Canada, and hope you will join us:

Dear Gina

I had put in a suggestion in the library’s on-line system for your book, but I thought I would do it personally. So I went to the main branch downtown and spoke to one of the librarians. Read the rest of this entry »

High intelligence does not protect you from the effects of ADHD, a recent study indicates. Unfortunately, too many people mistakenly assume that high IQ rules out ADHD entirely.

Psychologist Thomas E. Brown, a prominent ADHD expert and assistant professor at the Yale School of Medicine, has previously conducted several studies to learn more about high IQ individuals with ADHD. The latest effort is now available from the online edition of the Journal of Attention Disorders (for a fee to non-subscribers) and will be published in the September print edition.

The scoop, according to the press release from the Yale University Office of Public Affairs: Read the rest of this entry »

While I was enjoying the tremendously fun crowds at CADDAC’s ADHD conference in Toronto, my book was whooping it up in New York City….winning four national awards!

Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.?, by Gina Pera (that’s me), was twice-named a top finalist in both the Independent Book Publishers Association’s (IPBA) Benjamin Franklin Awards and ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Awards.

IPBA Benjamin Franklin Awards:

1. Silver for best psychology book
2. Silver Bill Fisher Award for Best First book (non-fiction)

ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards:

1. Gold for best psychology book
2. Silver for best book on family and relationship

What’s most exciting about these honors is the potential Read the rest of this entry »

“If there is one mental health disorder that has captured the attention of the American public over the last few decades, it is attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Some people joke about it; others take it seriously. But one thing is certain: People know about ADHD, and increasingly educators, parents and adults are learning effective ways to manage the disorder. But this hasn’t always been the case.”

So begins an opinion piece in Roll Call, one of two newspapers written for and distributed to every U.S. Congressional office. The authors are two college students: Courtney Gifford, the reigning Miss Wyoming, and Blake Taylor, author of ADHD & Me: What I Learned from Lighting Fires at the Dinner Table.

The piece continues: Read the rest of this entry »

This week, I’m preparing a presentation for the CADDAC conference on ADHD in Toronto May 30-31. Here’s the description from the program:

“When The Acorn Falls Close to the Tree: Parenting when Both Parent and Child Have ADHD”

Your child has been diagnosed with ADHD, you’ve learned that this condition is highly genetic, and now you wonder: Could ADHD also be an issue for you and/or your partner? Even well into adulthood, ADHD can present challenges in staying organized, managing time (and mood), and maintaining the routines that stabilize and nourish a family. Learn how unrecognized ADHD symptoms in a parent can affect parenting skills and focus on strategies for success.

My desk is awash in copies of studies and articles on how ADHD in a parent affects the child. It doesn’t take a brain scientist to know that when a parent has difficult ADHD challenges in organization, initiation, motivation, and mood regulation, it doesn’t bode well for the child — especially if the child has ADHD and similar challenges. But here I am at my desk, trying to parse the studies in this area. Along with anecdotes and years of observations, it’s good to have data. Read the rest of this entry »

For years, ADHD experts have recognized the link between untreated ADHD and obesity. As for many weight-control experts and gastric-bypass surgeons, well, they must have missed the memo. Is it territorial jealousy? Willful ignorance? “ADHD Denial”?

Let’s be charitable and call it one more casualty of our highly specialized medical system. That is, most GI docs aren’t connected to most brain docs aren’t connected to most hormone docs, and down the line. (As for some sleep docs’ determination to ignore ADHD’s role in sleep challenges, that’s for another post.)

In February, a new study came from two Toronto-based clinicians and researchers seeking to bridge this cross-disciplinary knowledge. Physician Lance Levy and psychologist John Fleming set out to determine whether attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) pharmacological treatment of severely obese subjects with newly diagnosed ADHD would result in sustained weight loss. (In short, yes it did.) Read the rest of this entry »

I am eagerly anticipating CADDAC’s first-ever Two-Day ADHD Conference & Comedy Night — ADHD: ALL IN THE FAMILY. (That’s right, a comedy night fund-raiser…what a great idea!)

Featured Speaker: Dr. Russell Barkley
This is a great opportunity to learn from Dr. Russell Barkley, an internationally recognized authority on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in children and adults. Read the rest of this entry »

These days, I feel like Gilda Ratner’s character Emily Litella. No, it’s not because I’m mishearing “Youth in Asia” for “euthanasia” or “presidential erections” instead of “presidential elections.” Instead, I’m listening to news and analysis about the federal “stimulus package” but in my mind I keep hearing “stimulants package.”

Now that’s an odd thing, you might say. But consider this: Only one in 10 adults with ADHD in the U.S. are thought to be diagnosed, and only one-tenth of those adults are pursuing treatment. We also know that adults with unaddressed ADHD symptoms earn less, are more likely to be underemployed and unemployed, and are more likely to file bankruptcy and for divorce. In other words, many of these adults — 10-30 million Americans in all — stand at the very edge of our widening financial abyss. And their partners and children stand with them. Read the rest of this entry »

If you live in the United Kingdom, and you or someone you love have ADHD, you know that the non-profit organization ADDISS is a peerless source of education and support. The name stands for The National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service.

ADDISS’ Ninth International Conference on ADHD: The Spirit of ADHD:
Resilience, Hope, Opportunity, Success takes place in London March 31-April 1, 2009.

I am looking forward to speaking about “You and Me and Adult ADHD: Success Strategies for Couples” at the conference as well as at a free public lecture on March 31. Read the rest of this entry »

Physician and neuro-imaging specialist Douglas Bremner explains on his blog why driving down your cholesterol score with statins might not be such a bright idea (Do Statins Make You Stupid?) or a sexy one (Statins Interfere with Orgasm, Live Update from the American Psychosomatic Society Annual Meeting, March 5, 2009). He writes regularly about medical issues at his blog, an offshoot of his book Before You Take that Pill: Why the Drug Industry May Be Bad for Your Health.

What does this have to do with ADHD? Maybe nothing. But I can’t help but suspect that adults with untreated ADHD have a higher risk of being prescribed statins. Here’s why. Read the rest of this entry »