Teaching students with ADHD was always challenging for me. My usual methods of managing behavior, explaining assignments, and reviewing routines weren’t very effective for many of these kids. I’ve been lucky enough to know a handful of teachers who were knowledgeable about techniques that helped their ADHD students achieve. And although I often picked their brains in an attempt to beef up my arsenal of teaching wonders, the techniques weren’t always easy to execute amid a classroom of children needing various modifications. Read more →

These days, sleep is often seen as an expendable resource. With so much work to do and limited time to accomplish tasks, going to sleep later and waking up earlier seems so natural. For some people, lack of sleep was used to prove toughness and stamina. It was common for physician trainees to boast (in some cases complain) about getting little sleep. However, studies showing suboptimal patient care when residents are sleep-deprived have resulted in shorter working hours and mandatory time off after a number of hours at work. Read more →

I have many memories of being sick as a child. I remember lying on the couch watching movies with our rented VCR and putting sympathy stickers given to me by my older sisters in my sticker book. I remember stopping by the meat market to buy a BBQ burger and bag of Cheetos before heading home to my sickbed, a spot on the living room couch. I have some vivid memories of being cooped up for days at a time. Once my teacher even called to invite me to the movies since I missed the last few weeks of school because of one of my latest spells. Read more →

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that affects up to 2% of the population. Different neurologists have different criteria for diagnosing someone with epilepsy; some diagnose with as few as two seizures and others wait until there seems to be a clear pattern of seizures. There is also considerable heterogeneity in seizure activity, which makes diagnosis difficult. Once diagnosed, a person will never completely be free from or cured of the diagnosis of epilepsy. People are not free from epilepsy, they are called in partial or full remission if their seizures are well-controlled. Medications and surgery are effective at controlling seizures but they do not always work. If epilepsy is uncontrolled or uncontrollable then people with the disorder are prohibited by law from operating motor vehicles. Read more →

I almost laughed when I saw the title of the Evidence-Based Mental Health journal article, “Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is associated with poorer academic performance.” Not a “ha, ha, that’s funny” type of laugh. More of a, “well yes, of course,” type laugh.

Now I’m not implying that this is actually any laughing matter. School is a huge part of most children’s life and having problems there means that these problems are now a huge part of their life. And it’s important to do this research along these lines. But as a former teacher and someone who has worked with children who have ADHD, I can tell you that this isn’t a surprise. Read more →

This is an era where lawsuits are filed for the absence of warnings — the McDonald’s lawsuit of 1994 (81-year-old woman awarded 2.9 million dollars for being scalded by a beverage that she ordered) and of 2003 (the plaintiff complaint stated that eating at McDonald’s contributed to his obesity; was dismissed and later modified to state that the fast food giant did not disclose it’s ingredient list).

Can we expect a lawsuit against professionals in the healthcare field for not aggressively educating the community about the consequences of prolonged inactivity?

The answer may well be in the affirmative. Read more →