ADHD Test: Vanderbilt ADHD Rating Scale

By Dr. Yannick Pauli

ADHD is a tricky disorder to diagnose. While it's easy to assume that a hyperactive little boy or an inattentive student might be suffering from ADHD, these symptoms can also point to a number of unrelated disorders - autism, sensory integration problems, learning disorders, and even hearing problems. When these disorders occur with ADHD, they are called "co-morbid" disorders and should be addressed by a child's treatment plan.

One way specialists screen co-morbid learning disorders is through a reliable tool called the Vanderbilt ADHD Rating Scale (VARS). This scale was specifically designed to identify if a child diagnosed with ADHD might also be suffering from learning disorders, particularly in spelling or reading.

VARS is not actually used on the child per se; rather, the scale is answered by parents and teachers. After all, they are the ones who see how the child behaves on a regular basis. Items on the scale include behavioral descriptions, such as "Leaves seat when he is supposed to stay in seat" or "Is afraid to try new things for fear of making mistakes." The test-taker has to rate the following behaviors on a scale of 0 to 3 where 0 stands for "never" and 3 stands for "very often."

It's important to note that this rating scale is not designed to identify or diagnose the specific co-morbid disorder a child might have. Rather, it will help you find out if your child has any learning difficulties that need to be addressed by the right specialist. Then your child can undergo certain treatments to overcome these problems along with the symptoms of ADHD.

Additionally, VARS cannot identify math learning disorders. Despite these limitations, however, researchers have found the VARS to be a reliable screening tool for children with ADHD. A recent study on the reliability of the VARS involved the participation of 128 unmedicated children with ADHD between the ages 7 to 11 years. After the parents and teachers took the test, it was discovered that 38% of the children met the criteria for spelling and reading learning disorders.

So when you have your child evaluated for ADHD, make sure that the doctor uses of the VARS or similar assessment tools designed to rule out co-morbid disorders. Aside from treating the core symptoms of ADHD, it's important that you uncover all the problems your child may be experiencing so that he or she can recover completely.

Dr. Yannick Pauli is an expert on natural approaches to ADHD and the author of the popular self-help home-program The Unritalin Solution. He is Director of the Centre Neurofit in Lausanne, Switzerland and has a passion taking care of children with ADHD. Click on the link for more great information about what is adhd.

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Adult ADHD - Just for Laughs

Got this email from my cousin....who emails me everything!

This time, I think she got it right. Recognize anybody here?

AAADD.- KNOW THE SYMPTOMS!

Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder.

Age-Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.

As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table, Put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, And notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back On the table and take out the garbage first...

But then I think...Since I'm going to be near the mailbox When I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table, And see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks, But first I need to push the Pepsi aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Pepsi is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Pepsi on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:

The car isn't washed,
The bills aren't paid,
There is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter,
The flowers don't have enough water,
There is still only 1 check in my check book,
I can't find the remote,
I can't find my glasses,
And I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail....

Do me a favor. Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don't remember who I've sent it to.

Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!

P.S. I don't remember who sent it to me, so if it was you, I'm sorry
....................

Hope you got a laugh out of thie. Now, to get back to what I was doing before I decided to check my email.

Adult ADHD: Natural Treatments Vs Prescription Drugs

By Mark Rosenberg, M.D.

Several of my patients have attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). It can be a frustrating condition to live with and, usually, prescription medications seem like the only recourse. However, as I share with my ADHD patients, there are some things you should know about the pros and cons of ADHD medications and alternative methods of treating the condition and I'd like to share those with you here today on this informative natural health news publication.

ADHD - WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

If you've been diagnosed with adult ADHD, or are wondering if you might have it, take heart, you're not alone. Approximately 9 million American adults have the disorder and you'd share it with some well-known people including actress Marilyn Monroe, painter Vincent VanGogh, writers Emily Dickinson and Virginia Woolf as well as TV game show celebrity Howie Mandel, and U.S. Olympic hockey winner Cammie Granato.

The most common symptoms of adult ADHD are the following:

• Inability to concentrate and focus attention for any length of time. Can be highly disorganized and have difficulty adhering to any structure. Can cause work, educational, and personal relationship strains.
• Characterized by high "manic" energy levels at times, hardly sleeping, over-productivity, followed by extreme lows of energy and depression. Attracted to high activity situations, environments, stress, chaotic lifestyles. Low tolerance for frustration cannot control temper, frequent verbal and physical fights with people, destructive tantrums.
• Symptoms in women may be much less obvious than in males and may be mistaken for monthly hormonal shift symptoms.

Medication Options - Pros and Cons

Once ADHD is diagnosed, it is generally most easily controlled with once-a-day stimulant-type prescription medication like Ritalin, Adderall, Dexedrine, Concerta and non-stimulant type Strattera, even though the FDA has not approved use of Ritalin in ADHD adults. In fact, the use of ADHD drugs rose 90%, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, between the years 2002 and 2005. ADHD gained a lot of attention and many adults were diagnosed with it - likely because the condition was overlooked, or misdiagnosed, as a child. Many were finally able to gain control over their symptoms and success in their lives.

Pros

Most ADHD medications are successful in about 70% of patient symptoms with these results:

• Calmer, happier mood, ability to concentrate, "stay on task", organize their life.
• Improved social relationships in school, work, interpersonal, more compliant with "going with the flow" instead of oppositional or combative behaviors.
• Improved impulsive and risky behavior - money spending, drugs and alcohol addictions, unsafe driving, irresponsible sexual behavior.

Cons

As ADHD drugs contain stimulants, many side effects can occur in adults taking the drugs:

• Can aggravate high blood pressure or heart rates especially in African-American males.
• Can interact with antidepressants; headache, stomachache, insomnia, loss of appetite.

Ritalin and Concerta are generally the preferred ADHD medications because they have fewer side effects and are successful at treating behavioral symptoms of ADHD.

Alternative Treatments - Pros and Cons

Because ADHD medications are not 100% effective in controlling all patients' symptoms, ADHD sufferers have turned more and more to alternative methods to help deal with their symptoms. Here are some of the more common ones and their effectiveness/drawbacks:

• Exercise: Always a good idea for ADHD patients. Helps relieve stress and burn off excess energy. Works best in tandem with medications, though.
• Biofeedback: Uses repeated exercises to help the ADHD patient gain focus and control and improve listening and following instructions - what ADHD patients lack.
• Homeopathy: Medications like Stramonium, cina, and hyoscyamus niger, central nervous system calmants, are used in ADHD patients with success in some patients.
• Herbal medications: St. John's Wort, Valerian, gingko biloba and lemon balm may help some mild symptoms of ADHD but likely cannot control stronger symptoms.
• Food allergies/sensitivities: Food allergens or sensitivities may aggravate ADHD symptoms, particularly sugar and food dyes. Indeed, many people with ADHD do show improvement on sugar-restricted diets. If there is an allergy to specific foods, like coloring dyes, or gluten, ADHD symptoms can also be aggravated.

As I tell my patients, ADHD can be a frustrating condition to live with. However, a combination of treatments including medications, exercise, even biofeedback can help you gain control over your symptoms and lead a happier, healthier life!

Stay well,

Dr. Mark

I am one of the few doctors in this country who is board certified in anti-aging and am currently the Director of South Florida's Institute For Healthy Aging. With more than two decades of experience in treating thousands of patients, you could say I've seen it all. I treat a wide range of medical conditions- from cancer to obesity- and believe that natural, practical alternatives carry the day.

I believe that education is fundamental to prevention and wellness. I've partnered with other medical experts and developed an online health education site,

http://www.HealthyAnswers.com, which offers a wealth of natural health information, written by top physicians and medical experts.

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Getting a Life Coach to Find Your Way Out of Adult ADHD

By Eshean Butler

ADHD can be troublesome enough when you are a child if you can't seem to get all your homework done in time with your mother watching over you.

What must it feel like to be all grown up with a job, a marriage, a child of your own to take care of, and to still not be able to get a handle on anything?

Adult ADHD, surprisingly, is a problem that still hasn't received the kind of attention it deserves. Two out of three children with ADHD grow up to have that disease as adults. Adults who have ADHD today often don't realize that they do. About the first time that they ever realize that they might have a mental illness is when their own child gets diagnosed, and they begin to put two and two together.

Adult ADHD is often something that people have been fighting their entire adult lives and their childhoods as well. These are the people who as children had a great deal of trouble setting themselves up for a task at school and completing it - getting distracted, disorganized and losing concentration along the way.

Some adults with ADHD, even if they've never actually found out that they have the disease, have managed to figure out some kind of a system for themselves to get by on. They might be very bright and they might manage to somehow get by through life. But they just aren't achieving their potential. If they didn't have ADHD, they would be so much better off.

One way that people with adult ADHD deal with their problem is that they hire a life coach at about $100 an hour to help them figure out what they are doing wrong and how to correct things. While it does sound kind of expensive, most people don't need to see their life coach more than four or five times. But the biggest problem that an adult with ADHD has is that he can't usually figure out a system that will work for him keep to it. Most of his time is spent worrying excessively about how his day is slipping through his hands with nothing to show for it.

Is a life coach an alternative to taking medication?

Not really so.

A life coach is totally different and hiring one is something you do to just help yourself. The first thing a life coach will do for you is to help you not start any new projects. The more a person with organizational problems has to do, the more difficult it becomes for him to organize things. Whatever new ideas one gets for projects to start, one certainly needs to write them down for a future date. But one can't get started on them and overburden oneself.

With help from the life coach, the person with ADHD chooses just a couple of goals to achieve, and then gets on the job. With enough discipline and with the consultant looking in to check one's progress, one learns the skills one needs to become a proper functioning adult. The life coach isn't a therapist. He doesn't give you advice on what is going on in your head and how you can control your thoughts. He just tells you what exactly you are doing wrong on a practical level, and tells you that you need to stop doing that.

How you stop doing it is entirely up to you.

It works very well with people who have accepted that they have a problem and just wish to do whatever it takes. With people who might be in a certain amount of denial, or who just want to throw money at the problem and have the life coach set everything right for them, such a system may not really work.

Basically, if you have adult ADHD, you do need the coaching, of course. But you also need medication and therapy. Pretty soon, you should be able to set up a few healthy habits and become an adult who is in control of his life.

About Adult ADHD - Overview and Resource

By Donovan Baldwin"

When asked to imagine a person with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), many people come up with the image of a hyperactive child in a store, an apparently undisciplined and disruptive kid in the classroom, or a kid who takes longer than necessary to finish a homework assignment...if it gets finished at all.

What many do not realize, however, is that while it is true that ADHD afflicts millions of children, it is also a disorder that affects upwards of 8 million adults.

How Can Adult ADHD Be Recognized?

Many people tend to think of ADHD as a childhood disorder, but do not realize that as many as 80 percent of children with ADHD will continue to exhibit symptoms into adolescence. Some will eventually reach a more normal state, but up to 65 percent of children will continue to exhibit symptoms of ADHD into adulthood.

NAMES CAN HURT

Adults with untreated ADHD may be perceived as "scatterbrained", "disorganized" or "lazy", word which I often heard as a child and continued to use to define myself as I became an adult. What many people are unaware of is that ADHD is not just "sloppy thinking" but is actually an impairing neurological disorder, rather than just an organizational or behavioral problem.

In a book titled "Scattered Minds: Hope and Help for Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder" the author, Dr. Lenard Adler, who is director of the Adult ADHD Program at New York University, presents recent information for the growing number of adults who suspect that they, or a loved one, have ADHD. The easy-to-read book reviews previously unrecognized signals of ADHD, misconceptions about this poorly understood disorder and information about how to get an accurate diagnosis....and treatment options.

How Can Adult ADHD Diagnosed?

Unfortunately, there is no single objective test to determine if someone has ADHD. In his book, however, Dr. Adler has included a simple self-screening list which allows an individual to get an idea of their status. This screener has been adopted by WHO, the World Health Organization, and helps the reader assess whether they, or someone they know, have symptoms of ADHD.

Dr. Adler urges his readers to fill out the screening device and bring it to their physician for a more formal evaluation.

How Can Adult ADHD Be Treated?

Although there is no real "cure" for ADHD, there are accepted treatments that specifically help patients control its symptoms. In "Scattered Minds", Dr. Adler explains that the most common treatments include educational approaches, psychological or behavioral modification, and prescription medications, such as Adderall. Some people experience some help with high doses of Vitamin B-12.

Adults with unrecognized and untreated ADHD often experience a higher risk of lower educational and occupational achievement, difficulties in their relationships with family and friends, and a greater risk for driving accidents, work-related accidents, and traffic tickets. Adults who have not been treated for ADHD are 50 percent more likely to be unemployed as well as twice as likely to smoke cigarettes, and often use alcohol to excess.

Many tend to be "speed demons", thrill seekers, and "adrenaline junkies".

"Scattered Minds: Hope and Help for Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
" illuminates previously unrecognized signals or symptoms for adults who suspect they may have ADHD. It emphasizes that ADHD is not some imaginary difficulty experienced by wierd people, but is very real and is an accepted medical condition.

Adults who have ADHD often have greater difficulty dealing with everyday problems than their peers and generally face challenges in their personal lives and careers that their peers do not encounter. If you suspect you or somebody you know may have adult ADHD, pick up a copy of "Scattered Minds
" and take the simple screening test you will find there.