Comment: Learning the lessons
Nikos Myttas
pp 2-2
The readership of, and contributions to, the journal continue to expand, an affirmation that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects and troubles patients and their families worldwide and irrespective of ethnicity.
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Neuroimaging of ADHD and clinical applications
Katya Rubia
pp 3-5
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterised by age-inappropriate symptoms of inattention, impulsiveness and hyperactivity; it affects 5% of school-aged children worldwide. ADHD is associated with significant psychiatric co-morbidities and mental health problems – both in childhood and adult life, where it persists in 65% of cases, affecting 4% of the adult population.
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The implications of the Green Paper for SEN
Andy Bloor
pp 6-7
In May 2010, after 13 years of a Labour government, a coalition government was formed between the Conservative party (right-wing) and the Liberal Democrat party (centre left-wing). In March 2011, the UK government issued a Green Paper entitled Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability.
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ADHD and its recognition across Europe as a disability
Stephanie Clark and Kate Carr-Fanning
pp 8-10
Concerned professional organisations and the overwhelming majority of scientists in the field agree that ADHD is a disorder in the medical sense of a ‘harmful dysfunction’. This assertion is confirmed not only by our own experience, but by abundant scientific evidence. Nonetheless, provision for diagnosis and treatment of ADHD in Europe is erratic and inadequate; this is exacerbated by poor professional education about ADHD.
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ADHD, teenage pregnancy and substance misuse: a review of two case studies
Deborah Judge and Shirley Gracias
pp 11-13
Published in 1999, the UK government ten-year strategy document on teenage pregnancy aimed to reduce the rate of teenage conceptions and to increase the participation of teenage parents in education, training and employment, thereby reducing the risk of long-term social exclusion. However, studies of large cohorts of adolescent pregnancies continue to demonstrate adverse birth outcomes. There is a tendency to focus on negative outcomes, so that the public perception in Britain holds up teenage motherhood as an example of society’s failure.
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The importance of involving parents in dose titration – a Dutch perspective
Rob Rodrigues Pereira
pp 14-17
In my experience, parents do not like to give their children drugs for difficult behaviour – especially not a drug that is frequently given negative publicity in the media. Parents often ask the same questions during their first visit to my office: ‘What are the long-term implications – could these drugs be harmful?’, ‘How long should treatment continue?’, ‘Will the character of my child be the same, or will he become a zombie?’, ‘Will my child mature normally?’ and ‘Are these drugs addictive?’
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Tourette’s syndrome and ADHD
Jeremy S Stern
pp 18-20
A quick search of ADHD in practice turns up no previous references to Tourette’s syndrome or tics, and yet, services for people with Tourette’s syndrome are very much concerned with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Tourette’s syndrome is defined by a combination of chronic motor and vocal tics – that is, it is a movement disorder. The abnormal movements and vocalisations associated with the condition have a very wide range of severity. However, even mild cases are of importance, as Tourette’s syndrome is characterised by the presence of co-morbidities – the most common being obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and ADHD.
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Managing ADHD in adolescence: the challenges
Jenny Brown
pp 21-23
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects 3–5% of school-aged children, with a ratio of boys to girls of around 3:1. Both families and school staff are increasingly aware of the condition, and it is now recognised and diagnosed in primary-school-aged children more and more. ADHD is a chronic and pervasive disorder that continues into the teenage years and beyond, with some reduction in symptom severity, but still with a significant effect on functioning.
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