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    Confidential report reveals: Big Pharma trying to stop long-term safety studies of ADHD drugs (Ritalin, Concerta) - Trans World News
    A confidential document, now made public by a Swedish court, tells how pharmaceutical companies (calling themselves the “Consortium”) are trying to stop long-term safety studies of ADHD drugs (Ritalin, Concerta)

    The companies producing methylphenidate products (like Ritalin and Concerta) are normally competitors, marketing ADHD as a disease and the narcotic drugs as its solution. But when they are threatened with marketing restrictions they have a common interest.

    If more scientific long-term studies would be done showing the harmful effects of the drugs it could lead to withdrawal from the market of this class of drugs. Therefore Big Pharma has to stop all such studies not written and controlled by themselves. The only studies they support are those conducted by paid researchers like psychiatry professors Joseph Biederman, Timothy Wilens and Thomas Spencer, where the outcome is known already from the beginning.


    Dealing with kids' sensory disorders - Daytona Beach News Journal
    Adults generally have learned how to cope with constant sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touches, but children -- especially those with developmental delays or conditions such as autism or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) -- may be discomforted by the overwhelming stimulus.

    We adults know textures that we may not like to touch, foods that disagree with us and sounds and smells that are unpleasant. Every now and then, we experience sensory input that is disturbing, forcing us to cope with this experience. However, children are just beginning to process the stimuli around them. For some with sensory integration problems, this can be complicated.

    Dorothy Lefford, occupational therapist and clinical director of pediatric therapy at Easter Seals, offers the following about the different groups of sensory disorders and some compensatory techniques that can help children with these issues feel and do better.


    New test boosts accuracy of detecting ADHD - Times of India
    The accuracy and efficiency of identifying Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the young could improve by 30 per cent, thanks to a new testing method.

    Its symptoms are poor attention span, distraction, failure to follow instructions, getting easily bored, difficulty with details, careless mistakes, forgetfulness and hyperactivity among others.

    They found they could pinpoint young people with ADHD with 96 per cent accuracy through the tests, which detected variations in sustained attention, impulsivity, inhibition, intrusions and response variability.


    Food Dyes and Children's Behavior - Center for Science in the Public Interest
    Important new research has shown that commonly used food dyes, such as Yellow 5, Red 40, and six others, are linked to hyperactivity, impulsivity, learning difficulties, and Attention Deficity Hyperactivity Disorder in many children. The Center for Science in the Public Interest has petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to ban the use of these dyes, many of which are already being phased out in Europe.

    These dyes—petrochemicals, mostly—are often used to simulate the presence of healthy, colorful fruits and vegetables. But considering the adverse impact of these chemicals on children, and considering how easily they can be replaced with colorings derived from real food ingredients, it’s time to get rid of them altogether.


    Parents of Bipolar Children Applaud New DSM-V Diagnostic Category, But Call For a More Accurate Name - Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation

    The Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation (CABF), a non-profit organization providing education, support and advocacy for fami
    lies raising children with bipolar disorder and related conditions, commends the DSM V committee for proposing a more accurate diagnostic category for children who do not meet all the criteria for a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

    However, the proposed name, Temper Dysregulation Disorder with Dysphoria (TDD), is the wrong choice. There is a strong negative connotation to the word ‘temper,’ conjuring images of inept mothers who cannot control their bratty kids. Instead of describing a serious brain illness, it implies bad behavior on the part of children and permissiveness on the part of parents.


    Teaching kids to read from the back of a burro - CNN

    To the unaccustomed eye, a man toting 120 books while riding a stubborn donkey would seem nothing short of a circus spectacle. But for hundreds of children in the rural villages of Colombia, Luis Soriano is far from a clown. He is a man with a mission to save rural children from illiteracy.

    "There was a time when many people thought that I was going crazy," said Soriano, a native of La Gloria, Colombia. "They'd yell, 'Carnival season is over.' ... Now I've overcome that."


    The Boys-Will-Be-Boys Defense - Huffington Post

    A recent front page New York Times article about the lack of psychiatric care for adolescent boys at an upstate New York juvenile detention center shouldn't surprise us. The juvenile justice system, in a sense, has become the largest child mental health system, and the child and adolescent psychiatrists there are in short supply. The question we should be asking ourselves is, why are so many teens with psychiatric disorders in jail?

    In fact, 80 percent of incarcerated young people have a psychiatric disorder, and most of them, boys, have Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as well as a conduct disorder. Girls tend to have ADD, not ADHD, and without the hyperactivity component, they are far less likely to develop the conduct disorders that lead to illegal behavior. We know this much, and yet we struggle to identify the children with ADHD and comorbid conduct disorders because of the myths and stigma surrounding psychiatric diagnoses and treatments.

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