This is kinda cool – Ty Pennington, host of Extreme Makeover is going to host ADHD Experts On Call, a one-day event sponsored by Shire. Pennington will host the live one-hour webcast from 12:00-1:00 pm next Wednesday, September 19. The rest of the day (8 am to midnight) a toll-free number is available for talking with “ADHD Experts”.

Keep in mind that Shire is a pharmaceutical company, hence the ADHD “solutions” will likely include medications. Shire manufactures Adderall and Daytrana, including “the patch” – the first transdermal ADHD medication.

The event is co-sponsored by ADDitude Magazine. And the goal is to answer questions about ADHD, which affects about 4.4 million children in the United States.

Want to learn more about Ty Pennington and his life with ADHD? Check out this article in Ability Magazine.


The “not so new” information is that I recently read some articles by an ADHD expert, Dr. Russell Barkley. Dr. Barkley has been doing research in ADHD for at least two decades. He is the author of several books on the disorder and has many good things to say. His basic theory is that ADHD is not lack of attention, but lack of impulse control and how they control their “internal functions”. I agree. Some people will quickly dismiss ADHD as either not being real or not applying to a child because he can pay attention to something he’s highly interested in. “My son can play video games for hours or read books about racing.” ADHD is much more about issues in executive functioning.

Dr. Barkley makes interesting comments about ADHD not being solely genetic, but having possible environmental factors as well – strep infections and pre-natal exposure to cigarettes and alcohol are the three he mentions. I agree that ADHD (and autism, as well as possibly other developmental and mental disorders) is likely “caused” by some combination of genetics/heredity and environment. My personal bet is on weakened immune systems, allergies and such.

But, Dr. Barkley’ s interview with Schwab Learning sent off a red flag in my mind when he “warned” parents about unproven treatments like Sensory Integration Therapy, Biofeedback and Chiropractic Skull Manipulation. I’m always bothered when “experts” “warn” me about something they may not know about. To me, a “warning” should be reserved for a dangerous situation. (And I’m still trying to figure out what’s dangerous about sensory integration therapy?)

Anyway, what happens is that parents who might otherwise explore and find help in some of these interventions are now scared, because they’ve been warned (with no explanation of what the dangers are.) In the case of Sensory Integration Therapy, it actually works quite well for children with Sensory Integration Dysfunction, which may or may not be present with ADHD. And Biofeedback, sometimes called Neurofeedback, has a growing body of research showing it does in fact help reduce symptoms of ADD and ADHD. The interesting thing about both of these interventions is that while there may not be mounds of scientific research saying they work; there’s nothing out there saying they hurt children with ADHD. So, in my book…if there are parents reporting anecdotally that it works, and it can’t hurt the child, it’s information worth considering.

I have no idea what Chiropractic Skull Manipulation refers to, but do know there are several interventions, such as Cranial Sacral Therapy, that some parents have truly found to be helpful.

So, I guess my “warning” to parents is to look carefully at all “warnings” you receive and what they truly mean. If it’s just a warning that you might be wasting time or money on an intervention that doesn’t have double-blind research studies to support it, that’s one thing. If something can truly cause harm to your child…well that’s the time for a true warning.

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