ADHD symptoms worsen quality of life for individuals with autism
September 19, 2011 in Attention deficit disorders
Research supported by the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network (ATN), demonstrating that symptoms of attention deficit and hyperactivity worsen quality of life for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), was presented today at the Society for Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. Researchers Parul Vora, M.D., developmental-behavioral pediatric fellow at Nationwide Children's and Darryn Sikora, Ph.D., Director of the Autism Program at Oregon Health Sciences University, used data exclusively from the ATN Registry to examine whether the presence of symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) might have additional impact on the adaptive functioning and quality of life of children and adolescents with ASD. After reviewing measures of attention and hyperactivity, and measures of quality of life, for over 2,000 children and adolescents with ASD, they found that over half of this group had symptoms of either attention or hyperactivity problems. More than a third had significant symptoms of both.
Children with ASD frequently have other symptoms that may compound difficulties with communication, socialization and restricted interests. More than one in three children evaluated had symptoms suggesting that they might have ADHD. Approximately one in ten of the children studied were receiving stimulant medications typically used to treat ADHD. This suggests that most of these children and adolescents with ASD and ADHD symptoms are not being treated with medications for these inattentive and hyperactive symptoms.
Children with ASD have lower adaptive functioning the ability to get along in daily situations than typically developing children. Not only does the presence of ADHD symptoms compromise their adaptive abilities, quality of life is further reduced.
"Identification of ADHD symptoms in children with ASD is important so that health care providers can work to treat these issues. Further research is needed to determine whether stimulant medication improves ADHD symptoms in children with ASD," explained ATN Medical Director Daniel Coury, M.D.
Dr. Coury explained why this research is important to the ATN. "Because it's very common for children with ASD to present other medical symptoms and diagnoses, a primary goal of the ATN is to create a model of comprehensive medical care for children and adolescents with autism, and best practices to be shared with medical practitioners throughout North America and around the world."
More information: For those families considering medication to address their child's ADHD symptoms, the ATN offers the Medication Decision Aid Tool Kit to help families create an appropriate treatment plan in collaboration with their child's doctor or medical practitioner. The Medication Decision Aid Tool Kit is free of charge and available to download from www.autismspeaks.o… -you-can-use
Provided by Autism Speaks
-
Children with autism frequently receive psychotropic medications
May 02, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
GI problems common in children with autism
May 02, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Research Finds Ritalin's Benefits in Treating Children with Autism
Nov 19, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Sleep disturbances associated with behavior problems in children with autism
May 02, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Synergy between behavioral and pharmacologic interventions for ADHD
Apr 06, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions
Apr 23, 2013 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
-
Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update)
Apr 02, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
5
-
The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation
Mar 30, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
9
-
Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled
Mar 27, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
-
Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance
Feb 28, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
14
-
Sphygmomonometers energy...storage?
1 hour ago
-
How does momentum, inertia and drag affect the motion of an object?
4 hours ago
-
What is Time-Varying Voltage?
5 hours ago
-
Contextual Relationships Between Momentum, Energy, and Force.
7 hours ago
-
Barometric pressure and the math behind it. Very interesting, I think.
8 hours ago
-
Doubts in electrostatics
14 hours ago
- More from Physics Forums - Classical Physics
More news stories
Expert explores how sunlight may affect ADHD patients
Researchers are interested in exploring how sunlight, sleep and screens (like those on computers and TVs) may affect those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), says Dr. L. Eugene Arnold, a child psychiatrist ...
Attention deficit disorders
19 hours ago |
5 / 5 (3) |
0
Long-term ADHD treatment increases brain dopamine transporter levels, may affect drug efficacy
Long-term treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with certain stimulant medications may alter the density of the dopamine transporter, according to research published May 15 in the open access journal ...
Attention deficit disorders
May 15, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Can breastfeeding protect against ADHD?
Breastfeeding has a positive impact on the physical and mental development of infants. A new study suggests that breastfeeding may protect against the development of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ...
Attention deficit disorders
May 14, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Methylphenidate 'normalizes' activation in key brain areas in kids with ADHD
The stimulant drug methylphenidate "normalizes" activation of several brain areas in young patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a review published in the May Harvard Review of Psychiatry. ...
Attention deficit disorders
May 09, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
90 percent of pediatric specialists not following clinical guidelines when treating preschoolers with ADHD
A recent study by pediatricians from the Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York examined to what extent pediatric physicians adhere to American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) clinical guidelines regarding pharmacotherapy ...
Attention deficit disorders
May 04, 2013 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
AIDS science at 30: 'Cure' now part of lexicon
Big names in medicine are set to give an upbeat assessment of the war on AIDS on Tuesday, 30 years after French researchers identified the virus that causes the disease.
For combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, 'fear circuitry' in the brain never rests
Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, have shown that these brain regions can over-or ...
Temporal processing in the olfactory system
The neural machinery underlying our olfactory sense continues to be an enigma for neuroscience. A recent review in Neuron seeks to expand traditional ideas about how neurons in the olfactory bulb might encode information about ...
Melon focus headband turns to Kickstarter for rollout plans
(Medical Xpress)—What if the quality of your work depends more on your focus on the piano keys or canvas or laptop than your musical or painting or computing skills? If target users can be convinced, they ...
Now we know why old scizophrenia medicine works on antibiotics-resistant bacteria
In 2008 researchers from the University of Southern Denmark showed that the drug thioridazine, which has previously been used to treat schizophrenia, is also a powerful weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as ...
Study identifies new approach to improving treatment for MS and other conditions
(Medical Xpress)—Working with lab mice models of multiple sclerosis (MS), UC Davis scientists have detected a novel molecular target for the design of drugs that could be safer and more effective than current FDA-approved ...