Q: I've read that the divorce rates for people with ADHD are almost twice as high as for those without ADHD. We are a two-ADD couple. Does this mean that we are almost 100% likely to get divorced?!

A: No, the divorce numbers don't work like that. The percentage of today's marriages that will come to an end is close to 50%. That includes the people who get divorced and have ADD as well as those who get divorced and don't. It also includes marriages that are second, third and fourth marriages (i.e. not all of those 50% of marriages translate into a new individual who then gets divorced.) If you look at the percentage of people with ADD who are divorced then you get to the divorce rate for those with ADD being almost twice that of people without. The actual numbers are this:
likelihood of being divorced if you don't have ADD - 15%
likelihood of being divorced if you do have ADD - 28%

These numbers come from a research study of adults done in 2003.

In answer to your question about couples where both parties have ADD - the key to any marriage, and particularly one in which one or both have ADD - is open communication, patience, forgiveness and full acceptance of your spouse. Some dual-ADD couples are wildly successful (they "get" each other), others are not - just like non-ADD couples.

Q: I am a worried Mom of a 7 y/o boy who is having some difficulties in school with hyperactive behavior. My husband and I are so anxious about this. How do we find information to learn more about what it might be?

A: You will want to get a full evaluation for your son - ask your doctor who specializes in diagnosing pediatric learning disabilities. It also makes sense to learn as much as you can about any learning issues that he may have. Good resources can be found at the resource page at www.drhallowell.com as well as ADDresources, CHADD and ADDitude, should he turn out to have ADHD.

Q: I am a nursing mother. Can I be taking Adderall while nursing?

A: According to the PDR, the prescribing handbook, nursing mothers should not take Adderall. The reason for this is that Adderall (or amphetamine) is excreted in the breast milk in significant amounts. If you nurse while taking Adderall then your baby will be ingesting a significant amount of amphetamine. This could, potentially, adversely affect brain development. It could cause cardiovascular problems. If your baby has an undiagnosed cardiac problem, it could result in sudden death for your baby. So, the prudent course of action is to not take Adderall while nursing. If you must have Adderall for your health, then it will be necessary to stop nursing. (Answered by Paul Sorgi, M.D.)

An interesting new study has just been published in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing (Feb, 2008) that explores what it feels like to be a teen with ADHD (see the end of this article for a few caveats about how this study was done). Researchers interviewed college students and asked them to reflect on their recent teen years. The results of the study are qualitative in nature (not projectable to the full population) but informative, none the less. Among other things, the study reinforces both how hard it is to be a teen with ADD and, also, how valuable patience and unconditional love from parents can be in supporting teens with learning differences.

So, what does it feel like to be a teen with ADHD? The basic experience of these teens was that of "loneliness and isolation". As noted by one participant, "Can't anyone see I'm struggling?" Against this overarching theme, the research also suggests that teens with ADD feel that they "miss a lot of stuff", are "different" and that they have more difficulty than other kids figuring out how to get along with their parents.

Issues with parents were frequently the result of failing to do chores at an expected time due to the child's distractibility and hyperactivity. This led to frequent fights and parental nagging (with the corresponding teenage desire to retreat or lash out in response).

On the other hand, these young adults already recognized the value of the positive support their parents were able to give them when they struggled with things such as poor academic performance and low self-esteem. The teens recognized and appreciated indications of unconditional love as well as the hard work and support that many parents put in helping them organize homework and their lives. One girl put it this way:

"One day I told my mother how hard it was to have ADD and she (cried and held me and) said she had no idea. It didn't take away the problem, but it affirmed me, that she cared. No matter how much I went to school and felt like nobody liked me or nobody this or that, when I went home I knew it wasn't fake. And it was a good place. There, I was loved; I fit in and I was fine."

Other issues that this study explored include:

• Children with ADHD feel different at school, a place which "taxed their fragile self-esteem by providing numerous situations that proved to them they were different". Other students were often cruel about ADHD diagnoses, while teachers who took the time to help them out were much appreciated.
• These teens felt isolated and had fewer friendships, in part due to communication difficulties. They often felt misunderstood. As one participant said "I don't think they understand. Getting things is hard for me." One common response was to avoid social situations.

As part of the conclusions of the study, the researchers wrote: "A strong theme throughout these interviews was the value of being understood and supported. Helping persons who have ADHD to access needed support is an important intervention for these children." We couldn't agree more. To read the entire study, go to the resources page at the drhallowell website and look under "teens".

A note about how this study was done. The researchers in this study acknowledge the limitations of their research based on their sample, which was heavily weighted towards females, and is certainly affected by the fact that these adults were in college (thus representing successful students). Nonetheless, the results of the study are useful for parents and teachers.

Stress is the wear and tear the body experiences in reaction to everyday challenges, tensions and pressures. The American Institute of Stress claims that up to 90% of all health problems are related to stress. Too much stress wears down the immune system, and contributes to heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, depression and sleep disorders.

In coordination with cognitive therapy and/or the Low Energy Neurofeedback System the Sudbury Hallowell Center has started to use the Heartmath emWaveŽ PC technology to help their patients learn internal awareness, self-regulation, and emotional management skills. One can learn to prevent stress by becoming aware of when the stress response starts and stopping it in the moment.

The Heartmath emWaveŽ PC technology is an innovative, non-invasive, biofeedback approach to stress relief based on learning to change the heart rhythm pattern and create physiological coherence in the body. With Heartmath one can see how thoughts and emotions affect the heart and nervous system. When stressed, our heart rhythm has an irregular, jagged, incoherent pattern. When there is a shift to a more positive emotional state the heart rhythm pattern changes to a smoother, wave-like coherent pattern. By seeing the visual changes on the screen and associating it with a more peaceful, calm internal state, one can learn how to manage stress and maintain a state of physiological coherence and balance. With practice one can learn how to shift into coherence at will, even in difficult situations.

Who can be helped with Heartmath? The Hallowell Center uses the training for adults and children with ADD/ADHD, anxiety disorders (phobias, test anxiety,OCD, hypertension) sleep disorders or headaches secondary to anxiety.

The emWave Personal Stress Reliever was the first recipient of the American Institute of Stress Award for Distinction and Innovation. The President of that group, Dr. Paul Rosch, noted that Heartmath has "years of solid scientific research and in-depth understanding of stress and the physiology of emotions." HeartMath's successes have been featured in media stories on CNN, ABC World News Tonight, NBC's Today Show, Good Morning America, the Lifetime Network, New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

For more information on how the Hallowell Center in Sudbury integrates Heartmath biofeedback in patient treatment - or about how it might fit into your own treatment (even if you are not currently a Hallowell patient), please contact Rebecca Shafir at (978) 287- 0810 x117 or Jarrod Goldstein at ext 116. Those who are not within range of a Hallowell Center may wish to visit the Heartmath web site for further information.

Taking Play Seriously - The New York Times recently published a (long) article about how researchers are trying to understand the role of play in the development of children. One theory is that play helps the development of the pre-frontal cortex, and area of the brain that is slower to develop in children who have ADHD than those who do not.

The article does not make any conclusions about the role of play for children with learning disabilities, but does reinforce just how important unstructured play is for kids - particularly those in the 3-7 year old range. Click on this link to go to the full article online.

For another take on play, NPR recently did a very interesting piece on the importance of play. To read or listen to that report, go to this link at NPR.

2008 Camps and Schools - ADDitude Magazine has published is 2008 Camps and Schools Guide for summer camps and schools for those with ADHD and other learning issues. (Included in that is a camp session given by Dr. Hallowell at the Leelanau School). For more information, go to this link.

Intensive Interventions Work for Kids with Auditory Processing Issues - The NIH released a study that suggests that for children who struggle to learn language skills it is the intensity of the interventions chosen that matters more than the specific method of intervention. The study compared four intensive intervention strategies in children who had unusual difficulty with languages. Help was provided to the children for almost 2 hours a day, five days a week for six weeks. These interventions - 500 minutes a week, were signicantly more intense than typical public school interventions of about 60 minutes per week. Children in all of the intensive interventions experienced significant improvement. For more information, go to this link.

Kids Lie Because Parents Inadvertently Teach Them To - A very interesting article in New York Magazine reviews the latest research about how children learn to lie. If the fact that 98% of teens lie doesn't startle you, the fact that research suggests that they learn this behavior with the unknowing encouragement of their parents should. A must read for parents with kids! Go to the link below.

Is It ADHD or BiPolar Disorder? - for a good article on this topic, go to the this link at ADDitude.com.

New Book with Tips for Helping Kids with ADHD Manage School - Author Maureen McKay has joined with parents and teachers to create an award- winning book of tips about how parents can help elementary school students develop the skills that can get them through school more successfully. Though some of these short tips seem pretty basic ("before you have your child jump into homework, take some time to connect with him" and "don't have your child work on an empty stomach. Hungry kids tend to be more emotional" are two that come to mind) many provide very useful ideas for parents with elementary school children.

Here are three examples: to help young children prepare to write something, have them tell you verbally what they want to write. Write key words for your child's ideas onto individual note cards, then give her the note cards so she can spread them out and move them around to organize them before she starts to put pencil to paper. For math, McKay suggests teaching your child to find the main facts in a long story problem and highlight them as a visual cue for what the child should focus on when solving the problem. A third suggestion? To improve test scores, teach your child to identify overly-inclusive or exclusive words frequently used in tests to "trip them up". These "absolute words" include "only, never, none, always, all, and ever." Then, help your child understand what to do with these words when she encounters them.

The book is arranged in short, easy to read flip pages with a stand, which makes it fun to use and easy to navigate.

If you have a child in elementary school and these tips sound helpful, you may wish to invest in "Optimistic Outcomes: What Every Parent Wants and Every Child Needs". You'll find tips on study strategies, language arts and math, memorization techniques and test taking, among other things. The book can be purchased at www.optimi sticoutcomes.com for $34.95 with free shipping; and at Amazon.com for $47.50.

"A Support Group for Parents of Children with ADD and Other Related Disorders" runs on Mondays from 6:30-8 pm for 8 weeks beginning March 17th. The leaders of this group will be Theresa Garvin LICSW and Jarrod Goldstein M.A. Call for information or to register - 978- 287-0810 x116. The cost for this group is $65 per session.

"Female Spouses of ADDers" - an 8-week educational support group will meet Wednesday mornings from 9:30 - 11:00 starting March 19th. Leader will be Theresa Garvin LICSW. To register, call 978-287-0810 x105. She will do a free "intake interview" for the group, and then individual sessions are $65 each.

For information about other groups offered by the Hallowell Center in Sudbury, go to the link below.

email: morlov@hallowellconnections.com

phone: 508-545-2250 Hallowell Connections or 978-287-0810 Hallowell Center (medical)

web: http://www.drhallowell.com