Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

BALTIMORE, Md. -- In a study of the co-occurrence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in early school-age children (four to eight years old), researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute found that nearly one-third of children with ASD also have clinically significant ADHD symptoms.

Children diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have significantly lower concentrations of the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain compared with typically developing children.

Young children often have problems paying attention or concentrating, but when are these problems serious enough for parents and teachers to be concerned? According to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control, 1 in 11 school-aged children are diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), but research suggests that the warning signs often appear even before the demands of school begin. As many as 40 percent of children have significant problems with attention by age four, and ADHD is now the most common mental health disorder diagnosed in the preschool years.

When I started at Kennedy Krieger Middle School, I was very frustrated and angry because I did not think I needed to be here. Slowly, though, I began to see that Kennedy Krieger was the right school for me. But it took time. Today I realize that I needed to be here to get the education I needed, because I might not have done as well anywhere else.

For children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), diagnosis can be a tricky -- and not always tangible -- thing.

Like so many psychological and developmental disorders, there is no one test to detect ADHD, at least not with any certainty. Not only must a child demonstrate a certain number of symptoms, but the responsibility for picking up on those symptoms -- and for putting two and two together to make a diagnosis -- often falls to the child's parents or teachers.

(Baltimore, MD) -- A study published today in AJP in Advance, the online advance edition of The American Journal of Psychiatry, the official journal of the American Psychiatric Association, reveals for the first time shape differences in the brains of children with ADHD, which could help pinpoint the specific neural circuits involved in the disorder. Researchers from the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Md.

(Baltimore, MD) – In a study published today in the Clinical Neuropsychologist (e-publication ahead of print), researchers from the Kennedy Kennedy Krieger Institute found differences in the brain development of preschool children with symptoms of Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Results showed the region of the brain important for cognitive and motor control was smaller in these children than in typically developing children.

Kennedy Krieger Research Update: Dr. Stewart Mostofsky

Dr. Stewart Mostofsky and his colleagues recently published a paper in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience examining differences in brain activity in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and typically developing (TD) children. Dr. Mostofsky and his research team at the Kennedy Krieger Institute used a classic "Go/No-go" task to study response inhibition, or the ability to stop oneself from engaging in unwanted or unnecessary actions.