Archive for July, 2010
Is ADHD caused by a chemical imbalance; is it hereditary?
ADHD is a strongly inherited neurodevelopmental condition. Other causes of ADHD include maternal smoking and obstetrical difficulties.
Is ADHD related to intelligence?
No, it is not an intellectual deficit. It refers only to a state of impulsivity and inattention.
Are there typical ADHD traits?
ADHD is contextual in that it effects the mundane activities of every day life, such as paying bills, household chores, etc.
Can anxiety and depression overlap with ADHD?
Some conditions commonly occur with ADHD. Conditions such as anxiety and depression, substance abuse disorder and learning disabilities are examples.
How did Dr. Bilkey train to treat Adult ADHD?
Dr. Bilkey is an adult psychiatrist and medical doctor. He regularly attends clinical seminars with scientific researchers who lead the world in the study of ADHD at Harvard University
The first clinical description of ADHD was reported in the British journal, Lancet, by Dr. George Still in 1902. He was a British physician treating children who noticed some of his patients were disinhibited and impulsive.
In the 1930s in the United States, Dr. Charles Bradley made further observations on the effect of stimulant medication on children.
Since that time, the descriptive terms that have been used to identify ADHD people have reflected the current scientific understanding of the day as to what this condition represented biologically.
In the 1960s, the emphasis was primarily on hyperactivity and at that time a caricature of an ADHD child would have been “Dennis the Menace” – that is, a child with tremendous energy who could be seen, perhaps, as intrusive.
In spite of this impulsiveness, Dennis was always seen as a good child.
An important development occurred in the early 1970s when Canadian researcher Dr. Virginia Douglas began to focus on cognitive impulsivity, or the daydreaminess and lack of focus in addition to the outward manifestations of motor impulsivity, such as being fidgety.
There are five DSM-IV Criteria required for the diagnosis.
- Symptom criteria must be met for 6 months.
- Some symptoms must be present before the age of 7 years.
- Some impairment from symptoms must be present in 2 or more settings .
- Symptoms lead to significant impairment in the context of social, academic or occupational functioning.
- Symptoms are not exclusively due to other medical, neurological or psychiatric disorder.
ADHD DSM-IV-TR CRITERIA HYPERACTIVITY/IMPULSIVITY SYMPTOMS
6 or more of the following manifested often:
HYPERACTIVITY SYMPTOMS
- Unable to stay seated.
- Inappropriate running, climbing. (adults have internal restlessness)
- Difficulty engaging in leisure activities quietly.
- On the go.
- Talks excessively.
- Fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seats.
IMPULSIVITY SYMPTOMS
- Blurts out answers before questions finished.
- Difficulty awaiting turn.
- Interrupts or intrudes on others.
ADHD DSMIV-TR CRITERIA INATTENTIVE SYMPTOMS
6 or more of the following manifested often:
- Inattention to details, makes careless mistakes.
- Difficulty sustaining attention.
- Seems not to listen, fails to finish tasks.
- Does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish school work, chores or duties in the workplace.
- Difficulty organizing.
- Avoids tasks requiring sustained attention.
- Loses things.
- Easily distracted.
- Forgetful.
Reference: APA, DSM-IV-TR, 2000
Adult Scale:
A scale has been created to assist with the diagnosis of ADHD in the adult population. The Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) Symptom Checklist was developed in conjunction with the World Health Organization and the Workgroup on Adult ADHD.
Information on this rating scale and a copy of the ASRS can be found at this web address:www.med.nyu.edu/psych/assets/ adhdscreen18.pdf
ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is the commonest reason that a child would see a child psychiatrist. It affects 6-9% of school-aged children, and there is 70% persistence into adolescence. It is estimated that ADHD affects 4.4% of the adult population. At the Ontario Bilkey ADHD Clinics, Dr. Timothy Bilkey, a psychiatrist specializing in ADHD, has assessed over 2000 adolescents and adults for this condition.
Contact us today to setup your assessment.
In this powerful two-disc educational documentary, Dr. Timothy Bilkey, a leading Canadian authority on Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), will help demystify and destigmatize ADHD, a condition which affects 6-9% of all school age children and persists in approximately 60% of children into adulthood.
Through interviews with a psychologist, a family physician, an ADHD coach and an elementary school teacher, this documentary looks at how ADHD changes from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, along with the biopsychosocial treatments available for each age group.
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