National Center for Gender Issues in AD/HD

There is widespread agreement that the rates of depression and anxiety in females with ADHD is higher than that in males, and that such patterns tend to increase with age, throughout adolescence and into adulthood. Dr. Biederman has written that many women with ADHD experience what he calls “demoralization,” related to years of struggle with the challenges of ADHD, rather than having true clinical depression, characterized by vegetative signs of appetite loss and changes in sleep patterns.

Feelings of depression are so commonplace among females with ADHD that there has even been speculation that depression is one of the features of ADHD. There is much overlap between the features of depression and those of ADHD, especially in women with predominantly inattentive type ADHD. Women with Inattentive Type ADHD may be characterized as withdrawn, easily overwhelmed by daily events and demands, forgetful, disorganized, with low energy levels that make it difficult …

AD/HD women are experts at multi-tasking and caring for everyone else around them, but they often sacrifice their own needs for the needs of those they love. You know the scenario: you have a movie date with your girlfriend or sister, and your son or daughter comes home from school and announces a desperate need for your help (“Please, Mom!!”) with a big school project due tomorrow. What do you do? My experience, both personally and professionally, leads me to believe that the majority of us would call and cancel our anticipated girls’ night out.

Let’s face it, there’s no doubt about it — it’s difficult for most women with AD/HD to attend (no pun intended) to their own needs first and foremost. Stimuli from external sources do often have a stronger cognitive “voice” than the ones coming from internal sources. However, experience tells me we can acquire both a …

New stimulant medication option on the horizon – a once-daily transdermal patch

Noven Pharmaceuticals has announced positive Phase III clinical study results for its once-daily transdermal methylphenidate system – a “patch” that is replaced on a daily basis – to be called MethyPatch®.

In a 4-week study involving children (ages 6 to 12 years) who met DSM-IV criteria for ADHD, children received either MethyPatch or a placebo transdermal patch once-daily to the hip area, worn for 12 hours per day. (Six MethyPatch dosages were available for titration.) Efficacy of the patch was measured by teacher report using the “Inattention/Overactivity with Aggression” (IOWA) Conners. Parent and clinician report of improved behavior was considered as a secondary measure.

Compared with placebo, MethyPatch resulted in significantly improved scores in teacher, parent and clinician ratings of patient behavior and attention. Reported side effects included reduced appetite, insomnia, abdominal pain and headache. Parents reported positive …

 

In the context of ADD, impulsivity is almost always portrayed as a bad thing, a “symptom” that needs to be eliminated, a sign of the disorder. While it’s certainly true that some impulses can cause enormous harm, both to ourselves and others, it’s also true that some of our ADD impulses are right on target – those good impulses that result from a flash of creativity, humanity, or enthusiasm. The trick is to give yourself enough time between impulse and action to evaluate and engage in creative problem-solving.

Impulse

Evaluation

Action

Angry Impulses

“Take this job and shove it” is an impulse that many people have experienced. But most people, upon evaluation, don’t take immediate action on it. The impulse to leave the job may be a very healthy one, but the evaluation process should involve a plan of action that doesn’t hurt you or others in the process. …

Yes, I know, but you’re thinking, “Wait, I have too much to do!” Hogwash!

Okay, so you ask, “How can I accomplish this impossible feat?” My advice? Don’t ask how, or think of how: just put your feet up, watch your favorite soap opera, read a good book (no work related materials allowed here), immerse yourself in a soothing tub of warm, scented water, or just sit in your garden and meditate. The less you contemplate (which is code for “ruminate” in some people’s brains), the quicker you’ll be there.

Setting time aside for relaxation is, unfortunately, something women with AD/HD do not do well. Therefore, if you repeatedly find you are operating on fast forward and have not slowed down enough lately to smell the flowers, you may need, after all, to schedule an appointment with your very own self.

Another related problem for women with AD/HD is that …

 

By Audrey Spencer;I was diagnosed with ADD after having been in counseling most of my adult life, having completed a master’s degree program and after having my 2nd and 3rd children (twins). In the four years since my diagnosis I have gone through many changes. I credit my growth to educating myself about ADD, to trying different treatments until I found the combination that works best for me.

Most of the literature on women with ADD revolves around diagnosis and treatment. I had not come across ideas or theories of how women with ADD develop socially and emotionally. Recently I learned about a theory of women’s development called Women’s Ways of Knowing (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, Tarule, 1986) that gave me another layer of understanding about myself and the influence of ADD. Although Belenky’s research did not focus on women with disabilities, I see a relationship and benefit to …

 

Success Stories By Melissa Davis

It never fails. The same question comes to mind each time I enter through the gates of NASA Johnson Space Center.

“How in the world did I get here?!”

I’m still amazed by the fact that this small-town Indiana native has worked for nearly two years at the home of human spacefight. I’m even more amazed that I went from being the Center’s newspaper editor to recently being promoted to Senior Communications Specialist, serving as my team’s lead. Sometimes I find myself shocked that the chief of Mission Control’s Flight Directors doesn’t laugh at me when I call for an interview or an astronaut doesn’t stop in the middle of a press conference to point out that I don’t belong there.

Don’t they know that basic algebra terrifies me, or that I never took physics? Can’t they tell by looking at me how pathetic …

(Melissa Davis is a science writer and woman with AD/HD. She has offered to write a monthly diary of her experiences as she makes her journey learning about AD/HD and how to take charge of her life.)

I sit here in pure exhaustion. My body aches unmercifully and my brain is depleted beyond belief. Anxiety tying my stomach into knots and a dull throbbing fills my head.

I just finished another 13-hour workday – my second of the week. Tack on a three-hour roundtrip commute and I’m all but spent right now. Leaving home at 7:30 a.m. and returning at 11:30 p.m. makes for a hellacious day.

If only it were just a fluke. No, I’ve been going like this for about a month now. I just finished a December filled with holiday stress and air travel combined with a bad head cold.

If that weren’t enough, this entire month …

A website visitor writes: My daughter is eight and has recently been diagnosed with ADD. The psychiatrist only wishes to medicate her. We are very concerned about her and want to do what is best for her and her future, but don’t believe that immediately medicating is the answer. Please help.

The concerns of this mother reflect the concerns of many mothers whose daughters are diagnosed with ADHD.

There are many things that can be done to help an elementary school aged girl with ADHD other than medication. Whether or not your daughter takes medication, many other structures and supports need to be put in place to help her function at her best.

• Develop a strong working relationship with her teacher. Communicate and problem-solve with her teacher regularly.
• Make sure that your daughter’s teacher is aware of the very different issues facing girls with ADHD. (Providing her with a copy

…

Transitions

Now, what the heck are those? What does “Transition” mean, exactly? “Transit —” now there’s an interesting word that conjures the notion of travel, or motion. Innocuous-sounding enough, until one considers that setting oneself in motion is what motivation is all about (not desire — go look up the root for “motivation” in a good dictionary — it’s “movere“).

That’s ironic: hyperactivity combined with poor ability to get moving, at least in an organized way, in a directed activity, when one wants to.

There are more such ironies about AD/HD. The same people known to have a poor sense of time can, if notified of a deadline extension of, say, 3 hours, immediately shift speed (requiring the same gears which usually freeze in Neutral when the pressure mounts, or in Overdrive when Time To Leave was 5 minutes ago) and change direction and destinations (interruption? what interruption?).…