Tag Archives: anxiety

Social Anxiety Traits Overlap Between Fragile X Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Published by: Fragile X News Today
Written by: Vijaya Iyer

Social anxiety and autistic traits are prevalent in males with fragile X syndrome and these behaviors overlap with those observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without a known genetic syndrome, a study reports.

The overlap of traits between the two clinical subgroups makes their measurement extremely challenging, researchers said.

The study, “Biobehavioral composite of social aspects of anxiety in young adults with fragile X syndrome contrasted to autism spectrum disorder,” was published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics. Click here to read the rest of the story

Halloween Tips to Avoid Meltdowns!

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Source: Lori Lite’s Stress Free Kids

Halloween Tips to Avoid Meltdowns with Kids! Enjoy these TRICKS to make sure your child’s Halloween experience is a TREAT! You and your children will benefit from these tips and most of them can be applied to children with special needs. Children with Aspergers, Autism, SPD, and general anxiety orders can enjoy Halloween with a few adjustments.

  1. Be flexible! Do not make your definitions of a fun Halloween define your child’s expectation of fun.  It is not necessary for children to have the full blown experience in order for them to have a good time.  If your child wants to answer the door and hand out candy, then let them do that without guilt. If your child wants to sit on the porch and costume watch, then let them. If they just want to go to bed……  Trust me it will not matter when they go to college!
  2. Decide and let children know ahead of time how many pieces of candy they are allowed to eat while trick-or-treating and after. Let them keep the wrapper to keep count. When they ask for more…ask them to count how many wrappers they have and let them answer their own question. Click here to read the rest of the story.

ADHD- Facts and Statistics

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Click here to download PDF version
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)  is a neurological disorder characterized by a pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that disrupts functioning in both children and adults
Facts and Statistics
  • ADHD is a condition characterized by inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsivity
  • It is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood
  • It is usually diagnosed in childhood and last into adulthood
  • People diagnosed with ADHD may have difficulty paying attention and or controlling impulsive behavior
  • 70% of people with ADHD in childhood will continue to have it in adolescence
  • 50% will continue into adulthood
  • ADHD is not caused by watching too much, parenting or having too much sugar
  • ADHD may be caused by genetics, brain injury or low birth weights
  • Is a highly genetic, brain-based syndrome that has to do with the brain regulation in executive functioning skills
Prevalence

UNITED STATES

Children & Adolescents

The 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) interviewed parents and reports the following ADHD prevalence data among children ages 2–17 (Danielson et al. 2018):

  • 6.1 million children (9.4 percent) have ever been diagnosed with ADHD. This includes:
    • About 388,000 young children ages 2-5 (or 2.4 percent in this age group)
    • 2.4 million school-age children ages 6-11 (or 9.6 percent in this age group)
    • 3.3 million adolescents ages 12-17 (or 13.6 percent in this age group)
  • 5.4 million children (8.4 percent) have a current diagnosis of ADHD. This includes:
    • About 335,000 young children ages 2-5 (or 2.1 percent in this age group)
    • 2.2 million school-age children ages 6-11 (or 8.9 percent in this age group)
    • 2.9 million adolescents ages 12-17 (or 11.9 percent in this age group)
  • Treatment used by children ages 2-7 with a current diagnosis of ADHD:
    • Two out three were taking medication (62 percent).
    • Less than half received behavioral treatment in the past year (46.7 percent).
    • Nearly one out of three received a combination of medication and behavioral treatment in the past year (31.7 percent).
    • Nearly one out of four had not received any treatment (23 percent).
  • Severity of ADHD among children ages 2-17:
    • 14.5 percent had severe ADHD
    • 43.7 percent had moderate ADHD
    • 41.8 percent had mild ADHD
  • Co-occuring conditions (children ages 2-17):
    • Two out of three children (63.8 percent) had at least one co-occuring condition.
    • Half of all children (51.5 percent) had behavioral or conduct problems.
    • One out of three children (32.7 percent) had anxiety problems.
    • One out of six children (16.8 percent) had depression.
    • About one out of seven children (13.7 percent) had autism spectrum disorder.
    • About one out of 80 children (1.2 percent) had Tourette syndrome.
    • One in a hundred adolescents (1 percent) had a substance abuse disorder.
  • By race or ethnicity (children ages 2-17):
    • 8.4 percent White
    • 10.7 percent Black
    • 6.6 percent Other
    • 6.0 percent Hispanic/Latino
    • 9.1 percent Non-Hispanic/Latino

Adults with ADHD

  • 4.4 percent of the adult US population has ADHD, but less than 20 percent of these individuals seek help for it.
  • 41.3% of adult ADHD cases are considered severe.
  • During their lifetimes, 12.9 percent of men will be diagnosed with ADHD, compared to 4.9 percent of women.
  • About 30 to 60 percent of patients diagnosed with ADHD in childhood continue to be affected into adulthood.
  • Adults with ADHD are 5 times more likely to speed
  • Adults with ADHD are nearly 50 percent more likely to be in a serious car crash.
  • Having ADHD makes you 3 times more likely to be dead by the age of 45
  • Anxiety disorders occur in 50 percent of adults with ADHD.
Reference

Additude Magazine

CHADD- National Resource Center on ADHD

 

 

Going to College With Autism

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Source: Child Mind Institute

Vassar junior Zoe Gross knows her strengths and weaknesses all too well. So while she gets good grades, the 21-year-old is aware that she does things more slowly than most people, including getting dressed in the morning, transitioning between activities, and writing papers. It makes college an even greater challenge. “When you take into account that when I’m living on my own it is difficult for me just to keep myself washed, fed and in clean clothes,” she says, “it means that I can’t do the schoolwork as fast as the professors can assign it.”

Gross is on the autism spectrum, and her struggles with life skills and executive function—the mental processes that involve things like planning, time management and multitasking—leave her feeling depressed and anxious. “I get sick a lot because my immune system is shot,” she says. “I got strep and mono in one semester.” Of course, this adds to her anxiety and trouble getting things done. “Every semester I am absolutely miserable by finals.” After finally hitting a serious “rocky patch,” as she puts it, Gross decided to take a break this semester. Click here to read the rest of the story

Why Children With ‘Severe Autism’ Are Overlooked by Science

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Published by: Spectrum
Writtten by: Alisa Opar

 

It should have been a perfect day. Lauren Primmer was hosting an annual party at her home in New Hampshire for families that, like hers, have adopted children from Ethiopia. On the warm, sunny July afternoon, about 40 people gathered for a feast of hot dogs, hamburgers and homemade Ethiopian dishes. The adults sipped drinks and caught up while the children swam in the pool and played basketball. It was entirely pleasant — at least, until the cake was served. When Primmer told her 11-year-old son Asaminew that he couldn’t have a second piece, he threw a tantrum so violent it took three adults to hold him down on the grass.
The Primmers adopted Asaminew from an orphanage in Ethiopia in 2008, when he was 26 months old. They had already adopted another child from the same orphanage in Ethiopia, and they have four older biological children. From the beginning, Primmer says, “He would only go to me, not anyone else.” That tendency, she later learned, may have been a symptom of reactive detachment disorder, a condition seen in some children who didn’t establish healthy emotional attachments with their caregivers as infants.
About a year and a half later, the family adopted three more Ethiopian children — siblings about Asaminew’s age — and he became aggressive. “When they first came, Asaminew was very abusive,” Primmer recalls. “He’d bite and scratch them.” The Primmers had to install gates on all of the children’s bedroom doors for their safety. Soon after he entered preschool, Asaminew began lashing out at his classmates, too. His teachers suggested that he be evaluated for autism. Doctors at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinic in Manchester, New Hampshire, diagnosed him with the condition. In addition to his violent episodes, they took note of his obsession with lining up toy cars and flushing toilets, his habit of taking his clothes off in public and his tendency to not follow rules at home or school. Asaminew is intellectually disabled and speaks in short, simple sentences. Click here to read the rest of the story