Research on ADD
2013 Research Published on ADD 
The year 2013 has been a good one for Attention Deficit Disorder research. Here are snapshots of a few studies about Attention Deficit Disorder that I found fascinating. I have included the citation for the original ScienceDaily story in the resources section at the end of the article.
ADD and a Diagnostic DNA Chip Research
Research in Spain is homing in on a DNA chip to help diagnose ADD based on genetic markers called polymorphisms. It could be a powerful diagnostic tool. Presently, there is no single test for Attention Deficit Disorder; some doctors and members of the general public deny the existence of ADD/ADHD.
ADD and Acetaminophen Use in Pregnancy
It's probable that Attention Deficit Disorder in children involves both nature and nurture. There is both a strong genetic component and the environment also plays a role. A research team from UCLA and Denmark reported in JAMA Pediatrics that there could be a link between acetaminophen and ADD.
ADD and Squirming to Learn
Teachers and schools may try to stem the movements of kids with Attention Deficit Disorder in order to let them "concentrate and learn" what is being taught. A new study shows that this method could be counter-productive. It seems that kids with ADD/ADHD learn best when they are moving.
ADD Can Persist Into Adulthood
All over the world, children are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, which affects about 7 percent of all children. Do children "grow out of it," or does ADD persist into adulthood? See what a recent study says about the effects of Attention Deficit Disorder.
ADD Diagnosis in Young Children
In 2011, the American Academy of Pediatrics announced the expansion of the time frame to diagnose Attention Deficit Disorder. These guidelines allow kids to be diagnosed between the ages of four to eighteen. What implications does this new diagnostic standard have for children, parents, and doctors?
ADD Executive Function and Intense Exercise
A recent study posted in the British Journal of Sports Medicine examined the effects of short bursts of exercise on higher-level thinking that takes place in the pre-frontal cortex. The brain’s executive function is affected by the intense exercise; learning for students with ADD may be improved.
ADD Genetics and Smoking
What in the world is epigenetics, and why is it important in the study of Attention Deficit Disorder? Genetic changes can affect whether a family's tendency toward ADD shows up in later generations. So, ADD might be caused, in part, by whether a person's grandmother smoked when she was pregnant.
ADD is a Biological Disorder
Is Attention Deficit Disorder an actual disorder? Recent British research shows that ADD is a biologically based brain disorder that is linked to copy number variants (CNVs) in our genetic code.
ADD Medication and Risks of Criminal Behavior
What does ADD have to do with criminal behavior? Most people with Attention Deficit Disorder live decent and trustworthy lives. Would it surprise you to know that 25-40% of incarcerated criminals are believed to have ADD/ADHD? A study by the Karolinska Institute reveals the role of medication.
ADD Medication Research
Which factors should you look at when considering medication for ADD/ADHD? What does research say about medication for Attention Deficit Disorder? How is science taking the trial-and-error out of prescribing the correct medication and dosage?
ADD Meds and Long Term Effects Research
Parents with a child who has Attention Deficit Disorder often agonize over the question of giving the child medication. What are the long term effects going to be? Recent research studies may shed light on this question.
Adult Recovery from ADD
What causes adults, who were diagnosed as children with Attention Deficit Disorder, to "recover" from the disorder? Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology studied 35 adults to discover why 13 of them still had ADD. What did they find out?
Attention Deficit Disorder and Rewards
Many people are reluctant to provide rewards for children, since they feel that kids who are rewarded don't understand how the real world works. See what recent research from the University of Nottingham suggests about rewards and ADD.
Attention Deficit Disorder Diagnostic Tools
Some people believe that Attention Deficit Disorder is a fictitious disorder, since diagnosis is based on several somewhat subjective tests. What is being done by researchers to develop more objective, scientifically based, testing for the diagnosis of ADD?
Brain Development Delays Cause ADD
A large new brain imaging study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, builds on earlier, studies to remove the stigma from ADD. These MRI brain imaging studies show visible differences in the brains of people with ADD. ADD is not caused by poor parenting or kids who don't care about their behavior!
Brain Imaging Research and ADD
What does current research show about Attention Deficit Disorder? Two recent studies, using brain imaging technology, might bring us closer to having a single test to diagnose ADD and better criteria to know when to do early interventions.
Brain Wave Research and ADD Subtypes
Recent research completed at UC Davis has implications for diagnosing and treating the subtypes of Attention Deficit Disorder. What did the researchers find out about the alpha and beta waves of adolescents with ADD?
CDC´s Childhood Lead Poisoning [offsite link]
Usually, I will only provide links to my associated writing. However, I feel strongly that you should have more information about preventing lead exposure in children. Here is an off-site link from the Centers for Disease Control that you can use for research.
Classroom Strategies That Work for ADD
Children with Attention Deficit Disorder are often given medication to help with focus and behavior in the classroom. Researchers concluded that non-pharmaceutical interventions in a school setting can help kids with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder be supported in the classroom.
Computer Brain Training and ADD
Computer brain training for Attention Deficit Disorder often costs thousands of dollars. Does it work? Recent research from the University of Central Florida evaluates the studies on brain training. What story does the research tell?
Diagnosing Attention Deficit Disorder with MRI
The fact that there is not a single test for Attention Deficit Disorder is an issue in the minds of many doctors and members of the public who think that it is an imaginary disorder. How can using MRI to look at brain iron levels change that perception?
Effects of Smoking and Attention Deficit Disorder
Does smoking have anything to do with Attention Deficit Disorder? From fetal brain development affected by prenatal smoking or environmental smoke, to helping a person to focus, nicotine can impact a person with ADD! Learn what genetic research says about the effects of nicotine on people with ADD.
Effects of Stimulants on Growth for Kids with ADD
When parents are weighing the impacts of using stimulant medication to subdue the negative symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder, one consideration is also the effects that the meds could have on a child's growth. A study released in the journal Pediatrics during 2014 examines this question.
Emotional Control and Attention Deficit Disorder
Have you ever watched an adult fly into a towering rage over something that seemed trivial to you? Why did they react that way? The person might have ADD/ADHD and deficient emotional self-regulation. A recent study suggests that this problem may be inherited. Whole families can struggle with this.
Entrepreneurs Use ADD Symptoms Creatively
The negative symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder often cause young students problems in the classroom. A new study examined how those problematic traits are used creatively by entrepreneurs to solve tough problems, process information, and start innovative businesses.
Environmental Toxins and Developing ADD
Attention Deficit Disorder seems to be more prevalent in certain families. Why do some members develop ADD/ADHD, while others don't? Researchers suspect that environmental toxins, widely available in our lives and homes, might provide at least part of the answer.
Exercise and Students with ADD
Does your child's school offer recess or another way for the students to exercise? Would you like your child to have more recess and exercise? You have research on your side! Find out what the latest research says about exercise and ADD.
Exercise Helps ADD Symptoms
Two recent studies examined the effect of exercise on the symptoms of ADD. They offer hope for children who need to improve the negative symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder.
Fish Oil and Attention Deficit Disorder
A study reported in Science Daily was conducted by researchers at the University of Oslo. Their purpose was to see if the symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder in specially bred rats were reduced by adding omega-3 fatty acids to the rats' diets. What implications are there for people with ADD?
Food Sensitivity and ADD
Is diet related to the development and severity of Attention Deficit Disorder? Before you dismiss the idea as an "old wives" story, read what recent research has to say!
Genetic Overlap in ADD and Other Disorders
What do Attention Deficit Disorder, Bi-Polar Disorder, Autism, Major Depressive Disorder, and Schizophrenia have in common? Scientists are starting to find out!
Growing Out of Attention Deficit Disorder
A recent study from Florida International University, that was published in The Journal of Abnormal Psychology, found an association between children who are raised by overly critical parents and a lack of resolution of the negative symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder during adolescence.
Gut Flora the Pre-frontal Cortex and ADD
Have you ever been stressed out and found yourself with an upset stomach? Your brain communicates with your gut. Now, researchers have found that it is a two-way street. The gut communicates with the brain and what it says depends on the flora in the gut! Are there implications for ADD? Read on!
How Brains Focus Our Concentration
What does it take for us to concentrate on a task? How do our brains help us to focus? Which is more important, efficient selection or sensitivity enhancement? What types of environmental factors cause us to lose focus? A study by the RIKEN Brain Science Institute worked to find these answers.
Is ADD Over or Under Diagnosed?
A ten-year study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked whether Attention Deficit Disorder was over-diagnosed or under-diagnosed. What do you think? Here's what the study found!
Kids with ADD Need Positive Reinforcement
Research published in the journal Behavioral and Brain Functions in 2015 suggests that positive reinforcement actually works better than criticism to provide motivation for the child with ADD/ADHD. It seems that children with ADD are more influenced by external reinforcers than kids without ADD.
Kids' Vision Problems and ADD
A new study from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham was published in Optometry and Vision Science. This study showed a link between Attention Deficit Disorder and vision problems that are not corrected by glasses or contact lenses, which included lazy eye and color blindness.
Lead and ADD Development
Biological research has shown that most Attention Deficit Disorder may have its roots in heredity. What happens when ADD/ADHD can’t be attributed to genetics? Could its cause be environmental? Recent research suggests that lead could play a part in developing ADD.
Mercury in the Environment and ADD
What causes Attention Deficit Disorder? Biology? Genetics? Environmental insults to a developing fetus? Tuna? What does tuna have to do with it? Read what a new study has to say about pregnant women who eat fish. You might be surprised at the conclusion!
Napping Helps Your Body with ADD
Recently, researchers looked at the effects of naps on men who had only two hours of sleep the night before. The results were surprising and could have implications for folks with ADD.
Nurture Can Improve Cortical Thickness in ADD
A child could inherit a thinner than normal cortex, due to the genetics of Attention Deficit Disorder. It is possible to somewhat mitigate the effects of genetics by enhancing the environmental circumstances of the young child. Be creative to set the conditions to increase cortical development.
Pesticide Exposure and Boys with ADD
Recent research shows a link between the use of a common type of pesticide, pyrethroids, and boys with Attention Deficit Disorder. Here is information about these pesticides, what the research shows, and how to limit your family's exposure to these chemicals.
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and ADD
Researchers at Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health at the Mailman School of Public Health. recently studied the effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a by-product of burning fossil fuels, and their relationship to the development of Attention Deficit Disorder in children.
Sleep Helps Teen ADHD Executive Function
A recent study conducted at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center said "More sleep may help teens with ADHD focus and organize." Typically developing teens had been studied to see how sleep affected their executive functioning; teens with ADHD hadn't been research subjects on this topic.
Sleep Improves Functioning and ADD
Building established routines, to help your child to get adequate sleep, is more than a way to end the day’s activities. These routines are essential to your child’s daily functioning. They assist him in getting enough sleep to deal with what comes his way during the day and help him build success.
Sleep Problems and ADD
Parents of teens with ADD often worry that their teens are not getting enough rest. It turns out that they are right. Recent research tells how teens with ADD struggle to get quality sleep. Up to half of teens with Attention Deficit Disorder have various sleep disorders. Find out how you can help!
Sluggish Cognitive Tempo and ADD
Have you heard of the Sluggish Type of ADD? What is Sluggish Cognitive Tempo, and is it really a subset of Attention Deficit Disorder?
Squirming and Fidgets with ADD
Some teachers think that a squirming child is a lazy, bored, and unfocused child. NOT true! Those teachers need to be educated about this ADD research from UCF! These children are moving with a purpose; they are doing what they need to do to facilitate their learning. Let them move!
Stimulant Meds and Lower Smoking Rates with ADD
Does taking stimulants to improve focus for kids with Attention Deficit Disorder cause a child to abuse substances? A study found the opposite appears to be true. There is a strong association between lower smoking rates and effective treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder with stimulant drugs.
Stimulants Help Delay Rewards with ADD
Parents and teachers know that a potent reward can help a child with Attention Deficit Disorder to have better focus. Adults with ADD often learn to reward themselves to help focus. A study suggests that methylphenidate might help people with ADD to delay small, immediate rewards for larger ones.
Sugar Intake Impacts Attention and Hyperactivity
A recent study highlighted the importance of limiting sugar intake to improve children's attention and reduce hyperactive behaviors. Focus was on students' consumption of energy drinks which contain sugar and often caffeine. There are implications for children with Attention Deficit Disorder.
Tangible Rewards to Intrinsic Rewards and ADD
Children with Attention Deficit Disorder need rewards to be able to attend to task at their optimum level. You can help them along the road to success by being smart about how you reward them. Find things that they want and help to guide them by using rewards wisely.
Treating Mothers for ADD
Women with undiagnosed ADD may have trouble with organization, impulsivity, distraction, and inattention. Often their symptoms are diagnosed as depression and treated with antidepressants. Getting ADD treatment for women who are mothers of children with ADD may improve the outcomes for the family.
Why Some People Outgrow ADD
A widely held belief was that children grow out of their ADD. Some physicians still believe this. Is this speculation really true? New research is showing that not everybody grows out of Attention Deficit Disorder. Whether a person does or not might depend on the thickness of their brain's cortex.
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