Adult ADHD Tip: Where Did the Day Go?

Time management is a sticky widget for adult ADHDers.

One of the best things you can do to keep you on task is to make a "To Do" list the night before or first thing in the morning. Write down everything you want to get done during the day, even if the list is longer than you know you can realistic accomplish.

Once you have your list, highlight the top six priorities of the day and do those before anything else. Make sure you check each project off as you move through the day to help you keep track of what was done and what still needs to be done.

Another popular technique is to have a dry-marker erase board on hand. These can be purchased for just about nothing at any of the popular mass-merchandise stores. When you have something that needs to be done, just write it on the board!

Sticky notes are great too….

Lawsuit Alleges Drug Manufacturers Targeting Methods Too General

Richard Scruggs, an Oxford attorney, is most popularly recognized for his paving the way for a settlement between the tobacco industry and the U.S. States in 1998. More recently, he has set his eyes on another tragic situation reaching epidemic proportions: ADHD medication and our children.

Stating a conspiracy grouping psychiatrists and the drug manufacturer of Ritalin, Scruggs contends that over 4 million children are taking Ritalin when it is not even necessary. Filed in the state court in San Diego, CA and the federal court in Hackensack, NJ, the lawsuits claim that the American Psychiatric Association, Novartis AG, and a popular non-profit “support” group called Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder have inappropriately and unnecessarily expanded upon the definition of this disorder to include children that would otherwise not be diagnosed with ADHD.

But why expand on the definition of ADHD to include many “normal” children? For profit of course.

By playing on the basic nurturing nature of a caregiver, the defendants of the lawsuits are playing on the fears of the caregiver wanting a healthy child. But by the expanded standards, virtually every child within the United States would be diagnosed with ADHD.

With over 90 percent of Ritalin sales found in the United States, professionals are finding it hard to explain why Europe and other countries are not experiencing this enormous influx of ADHD diagnosed children.

This spring, the White House launched an important initiative to reduce the number of children using this popular treatment.

Scruggs hopes to alter the method by which Ritalin is prescribed.

UK Doctors Looking at US Model for Treating ADHD -- And Doing the Opposite

Recent UK clinical studies have led professionals to compose new guidelines and regulations concerning the use of stimulants such as Concerta and Ritalin to counter the symptoms of ADHD. Often used as a first-line of defense against ADHD within the US, these often harsh stimulants are being replaced by behavioral therapy for the child and family.

In the US, approximately one in ten children are being or have been treated with stimulants with over 420,000 prescriptions handed out in 2004 alone nearly doubling since 1998. The UK has gone to great lengths to avoid this popular rising trend of giving stimulants to children as is commonplace in the US.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) offers new guidelines involving the parents of children diagnosed with ADHD. Involving parents in an intense behavioral therapy to manage the behavior of the ADHD child coupled with teacher training for managing the students diagnosed with ADHD is just one part of the diversion from the ever-growing popularity of stimulants.

While stimulants may be utilized for treating severe ADHD in children, pre-school aged children are never allowed treatment with stimulants. In addition, stimulant use is always a small part of the much more intense treatment plan.

Educational instruction, behavioral guidance, and psychological interventions are all part of ensuring that children within the UK diagnosed with ADHD and those children’s care takers are taught to manage the behavior rather than mask the symptoms.

By taking a look at how the US has “handled” the rise in children diagnosed with ADHD, the UK has developed a positive step forward recognizing the need for intensive behavioral therapy rather than harsh stimulants.