VOLUME 8, NO.8 &9 SEPTEMBER 25, 2003
NJ ADD/AD/HD ADULT NEWSLETTER
ADD ADULT SELF HELP SUPPORT GROUP
FOR ADD/ADHD ADULTS
AND THEIR SIGNIFICANT OTHERS
MEETING: The next meeting of
the ADD adult self help support group will be on September 25, 2003 at 7:30 pm
at Monmouth Medical Center, Room 214 Stanley, Long Branch, NJ. Go to the reception desk in the main lobby
and get directions. The topic will be:
LECTURES AND DISCUSSION ON ADHD: On
Monday September 29th at 7PM, Barnes and Noble Booksellers in Freehold
(3981 Highway 9; 732-409-2929) will host
a discussion on EXECUTIVE BRAIN FUNCTION DEFICITS with Dr. E. Goldberg author of “The Executive Brain” and
our own Mary Fowler, author of Maybe You Know My Teen . Dr. Goldberg is a renowned neuropsychologist
and Mary is a child advocate and ADD Coach. Executive function is about planning, organizing, delaying
gratification, and other skills that are often compromised in ADHD.
CHADD NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER: The national children and adults with ADD support group and
the Public Health Service Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has developed a
Website to answer questions about ADHD.
The address is www.help4adhd.org
. Unfortunately it is connected with
disease control. Many of us do not
subscribe to ADHD being a “disease” in the classic sense. ADHD is not progressive; there is no known
single cause; it is not contagious; we know that the brain, thinking, and
behavior of individuals with ADHD seem to be different than “normal”. Nevertheless the website can be
helpful. You might take a look; just
remember the site is designed from the disease model of ADHD.
ADULT ADD SUPPORT GROUPS: Two support groups appear to be active in nearby counties:
Union County (Contact Pam Milazo: 908-403-7673); the other is in Somerset
Medical Center (Contact John Morrow at JK Morrow01@aol.com). I encourage ADDers to attend other support
groups in addition to our own. Let us
know your experiences!
RESEARCH: In a research study by F.Lopez etal., Comparative efficacy
of two once daily methylphenidate formulations (Ritalin
LA and Concerta) and placebo in children with
ADHD across the school day. Pediatric
Drugs, 2003, 5(8):545-555, it was found that in essence Ritalin LA worked
best as a twice a day medication, whereas Concerta worked best as a three times
a day medication. Concerta delivers 22%
of the active medication immediately, and the rest is released between 4-12
hours. Ritalin LA releases 50% of the
total dose immediately, and the long acting release kicks in about 4 hours
after taking the medication.
RESEARCH: In a
research study by Y. Bar-Haim etal., Mismatch negativity in socially withdrawn
children, Biological Psychiatry, 2003,
54: 17-24, it was found that socially withdrawn or shy children had reduced
amplitude of mismatch negativity and a longer response latency than
nonwithdrawn children. Auditory
discrimination was normal in the children.
COMMENT: Many ADDers
have problems with central auditory processing; this technique appears to be
another way to access the problem of processing sound. The interesting aspect of the study is that
the shy child may often be shy because of the difficulty of making sense of
speech sounds. The child or adult
usually does not know they are having difficulty in this area; they only know
that they do not fit in with many groups.
The issue not addressed in this research was whether the children would
have improved their central auditory processing after treating them with
stimulants or other ADHD treatments.
This newsletter is available free as
a monthly email at www.DrLoPresti.com
Peace!!! Bob