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At least 25 percent of clinic-referred children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder have a parent with ADHD. "Parents with ADHD are at increased risk to engage in problematic parenting techniques , including inconsistent disciplinary practices, making ineffectual commands and diminished use of praise," said Dr. James Waxmonsky, associate professor of psychiatry. "Having a parent with ADHD also decreases the chances that children with ADHD will respond to typically effective medication or counseling treatment." The researchers studied 20 parents of children ages 5 to 12, both parents having ADHD. Parents were evaluated to determine their optimal dosage of lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse) and then stabilized on the medicine. In the first phase of the study, parents and children were brought into the laboratory on two separate occasions and observed while completing typical parenting tasks. Each standardized interaction consisted of a homework component and...

Now a new study from Tel Aviv University researchers may provide the objective tool medical professionals need to accurately diagnose ADHD. According to the research, published in  Vision Research , involuntary eye movements accurately reflect the presence of ADHD, as well as the benefits of medical stimulants that are used to treat the disorder. Keeping an eye on the eyes Dr. Moshe Fried, Dr. Anna Sterkin, and Prof. Uri Polat of TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Tamara Wygnanski-Jaffe, Dr. Eteri Tsitsiashvili, Dr. Tamir Epstein of the Goldschleger Eye Research Institute at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, and Dr. Yoram S. Bonneh of the University of Haifa used an eye-tracking system to monitor the involuntary eye movements of two groups of 22 adults taking an ADHD diagnostic computer test called the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA). The exercise, which lasted 22 minutes, was repeated twice by each participant. The first group of participants, diagnosed with ADHD...

"We know that poor people and racial minorities are incarcerated at higher rates than the rest of the population, and incarceration adversely affects the health and development of children who are already experiencing significant challenges," said study author Kristin Turney, an assistant professor of sociology at UC Irvine. When comparing children with similar demographic, socioeconomic, and familial characteristics, the study found that having a parent in prison or jail was linked to a greater incidence of attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD), behavioral or conduct problems, learning disabilities, speech or other language problems, and developmental delays. "The results suggest that children's health disadvantages are an overlooked and unintended consequence of mass incarceration," Turney said. "In addition, given its unequal distribution across the population, incarceration may have implications for racial ...