ADHD information & resources

Here are a list of resources you may find useful in learning more about ADHD.

ADHD websites

What is ADHD and info about ADHD medication

http://www.kidshealth.org.nz/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd

http://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/ADHD_an_overview/

ADHD information and resources –child and adult ADHD

https://www.additudemag.com/  – broad range of info all ages, webinars

https://caddra.ca/pdfs/Psychosocial_October2016.pdf – summary of strategies and approach

Information and list of NZ professionals

https://www.adhd.org.nz/

Information for school teachers – also useful strategies for families

https://www.inclusive.tki.org.nz/guides/adhd-and-learning/

Evidence Based Positive Parenting programmes

These help parents and carers to work together to help their children to develop organisational skills, emotional regulation skills, friendship skills etc, ie to build on the good things already happening and help family life run smoothly. These programmes are the proven approach for children and teenagers with oppositional behaviour.

Incredible Years

A parenting program available from:

Triple P Parenting

Which is available face to face or online https://www.triplep-parenting.net.nz/.

Other courses

These have been reported to be helpful – not sure of any evidence base

The Parenting Place in Greenlane offers Toolbox short courses around helping children of different ages.

The ADHD Association offers a tailored course that parents have found helpful. https://www.adhd.org.nz

Exercise and ADHD

There is no doubt that physical activity has a lot of benefits for people of all ages, so there is nothing to be lost and much to be gained by adding exercise into an overall plan for living well with ADHD. 

A review from 2019 notes that: 

“Evidence for the potential utility of exercise in the development of new interventions for ADHD comes from several distinct lines of research: (1) experimental evidence, primarily in animals, demonstrating the impact of exercise on neural functioning, growth, and development; (2) experimental data indicating that exercise has positive impacts on cognitive/executive control in typically developing children, and most notably on inhibitory control; and (3) preliminary evidence that exercise improves behaviour in children with ADHD symptoms. Taken together, this body of evidence suggests that exercise impacts structural brain growth and functional neurocognitive development, which in turn could have lasting effects on the trajectory of ADHD.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3724411/

Children

2014 study in Pediatrics that showed that 30 minutes a day of vigorous physical exercise benefited behaviour and cognitive functioning in primary school children.

https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/134/4/e1063.full#sec-8

A summary of published data published in 2019 concluded that exercise has many benefits for children with ADHD, though effects on core symptoms of ADDH were not statistically significant.  This current meta-analysis showed with evidence, that physical exercise has a major contribution owing to significant improvement in anxiety and depression, aggressive behaviours, thought and social problems among children suffering from ADHD. Therefore, physical exercise should be incorporated in the daily life of children with ADHD. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6867774/

Adults

CHADD have a nice summary relevant to both children and adults, though could do with being updated, for example with the study linked above.      

More anecdotal coverage is found here in an article entitled The ADHD Exercise Solution.       

Books on ADHD

All Dogs have ADHD by Kathy Hoopman

ADHD Go-to Guide: Facts and strategies for parents and teachers by Prof Desiree Silva and Michele Toner

Late, Lost and Unprepared: A Parents’ Guide to Helping Children with Executive Functioning by Joyce Cooper-Kahn and Laurie C. Dietzel

Please do share any resources you have found very helpful with me.