ADHD can start in adulthood
It is well established that childhood ADHD continues into adulthood, however new research suggests that for some people ADHD does not start until after they reach their adult years.
This really important study published last month in the journal JAMA Psychiatry found that nearly 70% of adults with ADHD did not have symptoms of ADHD when they were children. Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London looked at over 2,200 twins and measured symptoms of ADHD at ages 5, 7, 10, 12 and later at 18 years.
As the study investigated twins the researchers were also able to examine the genetic basis of ADHD – they found that adult or late-onset ADHD was less heritable than childhood ADHD, suggesting a different underlying cause.
There is something deeply satisfying about ticking off the last item on the school booklist, and walking through the doors of Officeworks with a trolley full of potential. The moment can be even better if you happen to find yourself an inspiring new diary and slip it in with all the kid’s stuff. There must be something ageless about the power of being prepared and turning a fresh new page.
Earlier this month was OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and Anxiety Awareness week in Victoria. However, with nearly 240,000 people in Western Australia experiencing anxiety this year it seems really important to talk about anxiety disorders here as well.
The best way to learn about someone is to take the time to listen to their story, the best way to understand someone is to step into their shoes. It is important for all of us to feel understood, this way we break down barriers and we find solutions. August brings a time to build our awareness of anxiety disorders, so, first, we went looking for real people’s descriptions of what anxiety feels like:
In one article from The Independent a woman explained the constant feeling of being anxious ‘as if she tripped and the moment where you don't know if you are going to catch yourself or not is how she felt all day long', and someone else describes ‘[It’s like] when you tap your pocket to get your wallet, and it is not there (and like the woman above said), it’s like that all the time.’
For some, particularly those living right now with a chronic pain experience, this may be a painful question to read…it may be one that has been posed by a health professional sitting across a desk in front of you…it may have felt, and still feel, unfathomable that they could have said that to you…they may not have known the truth in their statement, but we are going to explain it to you now. We feel pretty confident you will feel better informed, and hopefully, even a bit better after you have thought about it…
I have just returned from The 2018 International Neurorehabilitation Conference in Boston run by Harvard Medical School. I was one of hundreds of delegates from all over the world attending to get the latest updates on cutting-edge treatments to help people with brain problems. We had experts presenting on a large range of topics ranging from neuroplasticity to proven and state-of-the-art brain therapies.
We are what we eat…But, do we? Can we? Eat enough of the good stuff EVERY day?
It’s time to talk about food, guts, brains and the slippery science of oils…
Deciding what to eat can be an enormously effortful task. Aside from the vast choice available to us, we are also informed (not always necessarily well informed) about the choices we think we should be making…paleo this, low FODMAP that, raw something else, oops now I’m a flexitarian…the pleasure of eating can be spoilt by complexity sometimes. This is not to deride these choices, indeed they work well for some.
