Resources

ADDitude
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Find daily schedule advice for ADHD families and beyond. Click the link below to learn tools for how to establish and maintain some level of sanity while homeschooling, working, and finding "me" time all behind the walls of our home.

https://www.additudemag.com/daily-schedule-coronavirus-home-school/

Science Daily
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New ADHD Gene Study Points to Defects in Brain Signaling Pathways

ScienceDaily (Dec. 4, 2011) – Pediatric researchers analyzing genetic influences in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have found alterations in specific genes involved in important brain signaling pathways. The study raises the possibility that drugs acting on those pathways might offer a new treatment option for patients with ADHD who have those gene variants – potentially, half a million U.S. children.
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"At least 10 percent of the ADHD patients in our sample have these particular genetic variants," said study leader Hakon Hakonarson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "The genes involved affect neurotransmitter systems in the brain that have been implicated in ADHD, and we now have a genetic explanation for this link that applies to a subset of children with the disorder."

The study appears online December 4 in Nature Genetics.

ADHD is a common but complex neuropsychiatric disorder, estimated to occur in as many as 7 percent of school-age children and in a smaller percentage of adults. There are different subtypes of ADHD, with symptoms such as short attention span, impulsive behavior and excessive activity. Its causes are unknown, but it tends to run in families and is thought to be influenced by many interacting genes. Drug treatment is not always effective, particularly in severe cases.

The study team did whole-genome analyses of 1,000 children with ADHD recruited at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, compared to 4,100 children without ADHD. The researchers searched for copy number variations (CNVs), which are deletions or duplications of DNA sequences. They then evaluated these initial findings in multiple independent cohorts that included nearly 2,500 cases with ADHD and 9,200 control subjects. All the study subjects were children of European ancestry.

Among those cohorts, the research team identified four genes with a significantly higher number of CNVs in children with ADHD. All the genes were members of the glutamate receptor gene family, with the strongest result in the gene GMR5. Glutamate is a neurotransmitter, a protein that transmits signals between neurons in the brain. "Members of the GMR gene family, along with genes they interact with, affect nerve transmission, the formation of neurons, and interconnections in the brain, so the fact that children with ADHD are more likely to have alterations in these genes reinforces previous evidence that the GRM pathway is important in ADHD," said Hakonarson. "Our findings get to the cause of the ADHD symptoms in a subset of children with the disease."

"ADHD is a highly heterogeneous disorder, and separating out the different subgroups of genetic mutations that these children have is very important," said co-first author Josephine Elia, M.D., a child psychiatrist at Children's Hospital and an ADHD expert. She added that thousands of genes may contribute to the risk of ADHD, but that identifying a gene family responsible for 10 percent of cases is a robust finding in a common neuropsychiatric disorder such as ADHD. Overall, according to the CDC, 5.2 million U.S. children aged 3 to 17 have been diagnosed with ADHD.

Elia said the fact that their study identified gene variants involved in glutamate signaling is consistent with studies in animal models, pharmacology and brain imaging showing that these pathways are crucial in a subset of ADHD cases. She added, "This research will allow new therapies to be developed that are tailored to treating underlying causes of ADHD. This is another step toward individualizing treatment to a child's genetic profile."

Hakonarson expects this study will set the stage for further discoveries of ADHD-related genes along GMR signaling pathways. Moreover, the current research strongly suggests that selective GRM agonists could be tested in clinical trials as a potential therapy for ADHD in patients harboring particular CNVs. He added that further preclinical studies must first be done to evaluate candidate drugs.

Joseph T. Glessner, a Ph.D. trainee at the Center for Applied Genomics, is also a co-first author of the study along with Elia. Other collaborators were from numerous U.S. and European centers. Funding for the study came from an Institutional Development Award to the Center for Applied Genomics from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Funding also came from the National Institutes of Health, the Cotswold Foundation, a University of Pennsylvania National Center for Research Resources Clinical and Translational Science Awards grant, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other sources.

Shelley Seagler - Snider Advisors
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It‘s been estimated that nearly 66 million people in the United States provide care to a family member. Yet many people feel unprepared and unqualified when they are thrust into the role of a caregiver. Luckily, there are experts who can help you with the myriad of responsibilities, decisions, and feelings involved with taking care of a loved one.

1. Geriatric Case Manager

A Geriatric Case Manager can help you and your loved one manage all the moving pieces that are part of the transition from independent living to full-time care. They can thoroughly evaluate the situation, help make important decisions, and offer valuable assistance. The job of a Geriatric Case manger is to be an expert on the resources available to you, especially those in your community. They provide a broad level of assistance, which may include things like arranging Meals-on-Wheels, transportation, and nursing services.

Typically, Geriatric Case Managers charge an hourly fee, which is not covered by Medicare or Medicaid. (Some long-term care insurance policies offer similar services.) However, even if you have to pay for it out of your own pocket, you may find enormous benefit in meeting with a Geriatric Case Manager, who can help you deal with the complexities of providing care. The National Association of Professional Geriatric Case Managers is an excellent starting place to learn more.

2. Financial and Legal Professionals

The financial ramifications of providing care to a family member can be significant. A recent study by Genworth Financial, found that the majority of primary caregivers contribute financially to cover expenses, oftentimes by dipping into retirement funds and savings accounts, reducing their overall savings an average of 63%. If you are considering withdrawing funds from your retirement account, you should contact a CPA to discuss potential penalties and taxes. A CPA can also let you know if you are eligible for any tax deductions as a primary caregiver.

As a caregiver, you may be responsible for ensuring that your loved one’s affairs are in order. This could be limited to making sure bills are paid each month. However, it could include helping to prepare a will or an advanced directive. In some cases, you may also need to establish a medical power of attorney. Admittedly, these topics may not be high on your list of pleasant conversations, but it’s important that certain decisions are legally documented. There are online resources to help you with these matters, but if it’s financially feasible, it is best to consult with an attorney.

3. Respite Care Professional

The purpose of respite care is to provide relief to primary caregivers. Respite care professionals provide temporary care to your loved one, either at home or in a facility, so that you can get a much deserved and needed break. Respite care can last a few hours or several weeks and the price will vary depending on how much care is received and where it is administered. An excellent source for information is the ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center .

Many long-term care insurance policies offer respite care, as does the Department of Veterans Affairs. (You can read more about VA respite care benefits.) Many disability and disease specific organizations, like the Alzheimer’s Association offer assistance and you may also want to check with local churches or service organizations to see if they offer respite care services.

4. Primary Care Physician

When you’re busy and stressed, it’s easy to delay routine check-ups. But more than ever, you must focus on your own health. You will probably find yourself eating on-the-go, skipping workouts, and not getting enough sleep. Additionally, the physical and emotional demands you’re under will make you more susceptible to illness and depression. (Learn more about caregiving and depression.) You should see your doctor regularly and make sure he or she is aware that you are providing care to a loved one. A good primary care physician is the best partner to help you maintain your health.

5. A Mental Health Professional

As a caregiver, you are asked to meet the physical, mental, financial, and emotional needs of someone else – there is no doubt that it can be overwhelming. And when you’re taking care of a family member, there can be an elevated level of emotional complexity. It’s crucial to have a strong system of support. In addition to staying connected to friends and family, you may benefit from online or community support groups. The Family Caregiver Alliance, the Well Spouse Organization, AgingCare.com, and the National Alliance for Caregiving offer online forums, as well as information to connect with people in your community.

You may prefer to meet one-on-one with a mental health profession. Your primary care physician should be able to recommend a psychologist or psychiatrist and many insurance policies offer mental health coverage. .

With approximately 10,000 Baby Boomers reaching the age of 65 each day, we can only expect that more and more of us will be called on to provide care to a family member. It’s important to educate yourself and become familiar with the resources available to you. You should also create a powerful team of experts that you can rely on to help you provide care to your loved one while still taking as much care of yourself as possible.

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Seth Borenstein
Giving Thanks Helps Your Psychological Outlook

Count your blessings this Thanksgiving. It's good for you. While it seems pretty obvious that gratitude is a positive emotion, psychologists for decades rarely delved into the science of giving thanks. But in the last several years they have, learning in many experiments that it is one of humanity's most powerful emotions. It makes you happier and can change your attitude about life, like an emotional reset button. Seth Borenstein, Associated Press, Houston Chronicle 11/22/2011
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WASHINGTON (AP) – Count your blessings this Thanksgiving. It's good for you.

While it seems pretty obvious that gratitude is a positive emotion, psychologists for decades rarely delved into the science of giving thanks. But in the last several years they have, learning in many experiments that it is one of humanity's most powerful emotions. It makes you happier and can change your attitude about life, like an emotional reset button.

Especially in hard times, like these.

Beyond proving that being grateful helps you, psychologists also are trying to figure out the brain chemistry behind gratitude and the best ways of showing it.

"Oprah was right," said University of Miami psychology professor Michael McCullough, who has studied people who are asked to be regularly thankful. "When you are stopping and counting your blessings, you are sort of hijacking your emotional system."

And he means hijacking it from out of a funk into a good place. A very good place. Research by McCullough and others finds that giving thanks is a potent emotion that feeds on itself, almost the equivalent of being victorious. It could be called a vicious circle, but it's anything but vicious.

He said psychologists used to underestimate the strength of simple gratitude: "It does make people happier ... It's that incredible feeling."

One of the reasons why gratitude works so well is that it connects us with others, McCullough said. That's why when you give thanks it should be more heartfelt and personal instead of a terse thank you note for a gift or a hastily run-through grace before dinner, psychologists say.

Chicago area psychologist and self-help book author Maryann Troiani said she starts getting clients on gratitude gradually, sometimes just by limiting their complaints to two whines a session. Then she eventually gets them to log good things that happened to them in gratitude journals: "Gratitude really changes your attitude and your outlook on life."

Gratitude journals or diaries, in which people list weekly or nightly what they are thankful for, are becoming regular therapy tools.

And in those journals, it is important to focus more on the people you are grateful for, said Robert Emmons, a psychology professor at the University of California, Davis. Concentrate on what life would be without the good things – especially people such as spouses – in your life and how you are grateful they are there, he said.

Grateful people "feel more alert, alive, interested, enthusiastic. They also feel more connected to others," said Emmons, who has written two books on the science of gratitude and often studies the effects of those gratitude diaries.

"Gratitude also serves as a stress buffer," Emmons said in an e-mail interview. "Grateful people are less likely to experience envy, anger, resentment, regret and other unpleasant states that produce stress."

Scientists are not just looking at the emotions behind gratitude but the nuts-and-bolts physiology as well.

Preliminary theories look at the brain chemistry and hormones in the blood and neurotransmitters in the brain that are connected to feelings of gratitude, Emmons said. And the left prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is also associated with positive emotions like love and compassion, seems to be a key spot, especially in Buddhist monks, Emmons said.

However it works in the brain, Emmons said there is little doubt that it works.

Emmons, who has conducted several studies on people from ages 12 to 80, including those with neuromuscular disease, asked volunteers to keep daily or weekly gratitude diaries. Another group listed hassles, and others just recorded random events. He noticed a significant and consistent difference. About three-quarters of the people studied who regularly counted their blessings scored higher in happiness tests and some even showed improvements in amounts of sleep and exercise.

This sound-based wellness program offers brief daily listening sessions that aim to support relaxation, stress reduction, and emotional balance through carefully designed audio frequencies. It can be a helpful addition to your self-care routine for grounding and mental clarity.

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