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ADD/ADHD News

May 7th 2004

ADDISS 6th International Conference

Third Day

Wednesday 16th March 2004

Another packed day was in store so up and down to breakfast by 7.30a.m.

The morning started in an unusual style:-

Loud music and 2 ladies dancing up the aisles between the rows of delegates throwing sweets out and being chased by 2 police officers (who were speaking later on that morning) as they were using the police officers hats to hold the sweets!!!!

All was made clear by Alice Dalton and Sandra Adams, both mums who have set up HAVOC - Hyperactive Adolescents Very Own Club. The title of their presentation was - You've Experienced Chaos, Now Here's HAVOC.

Alice and Sandra showed that you can also have fun working with children with ADHD. The name HAVOC was chosen by the young people involved in the club which was born after the founders realised that although part of a Support Group which did things with the younger children the older children needed more challenging activities. So from this HAVOC was born. The project was all created with the involvement of the young people who were encouraged to voice their own ideas as to what sort of activities they wanted and how HAVOC was to be run. From this consultation the young people themselves came up with a Code of Good Behaviour - The children thought up the Pink / Blue Card System like the football yellow and red card system - they devised that petty behaviour is not acceptable and the issue of a Pink Card is given when a behaviour is getting out of hand and the issue of a Blue Card if the behaviour persists - 3 Strikes and you are out - The children thought the system up and also the unacceptable behaviours they enforce the system.

Alice and Sandra went on to explain some of the events which had already been carried out by HAVOC, Bowling, Ice Skating, Human Bowling, Base Ball, Argo Cat Exp, Zip Wire, Horse Riding, Swimming and Football training.

There was a Presentation Evening in July where awards were given out. The young people themselves awarded each other credits for various things throughout the programme of events so Everyone's a winner. Most of them nominated others to gain session stars for football and activities and some get nominated for particular behaviours, which have been noticed by others as exceptional in the circumstances and deserve acknowledgement.

At the presentation evening the Football Star received a letter from Gary Linniker.

All those who took part in the HAVOC project had their own folder which included various items - Details of Events, What they need, Evaluation Sheets to evaluate each event and each other, Flyers and Leaflets. They were then able to add photos taken at various events and anything else related to the project as it went along.

HAVOC is open exclusively to the young people affected by ADHD and their adolescent siblings whose families are members of the Bay ADDLink support group. Although it is open to both boys and girls it has been found that more boys have wanted to become involved, this is probably because the events have been of more interest to them so it is hoped that the next HAVOC will be able to encourage more girls to input their views on what sort of events they would like to see take place.

It is hoped that over the next few years other support groups will be willing to get involved and that the HAVOC project will be introduced in other parts of the country.

The Second Keynote Session was The Relevance of ADHD to the Youth Justice System - Dr Geoffrey Kewley MB, BS, FRCP, FRCPCH, FRACP, DCH, a consultant paediatrician specialising in the management of children with neurodevelopment difficulties, especially AD/HD and related problems. In 1993 he set up the Learning Assessment and Neurocare Centre in West Sussex and is the author of the best selling book ADHD: Recognition, Reality and Resolution. Dr Kewley spoke about how the early onset of behavioural disorders and learning difficulties are relevant to the Youth Justice System where he has been instrumental in getting changes to help these young people who end up having dealings with the YJS and getting screening for ADHD into youth offending teams and encouraging more cooperation between mental health services, education and YJ Teams.

The Third Keynote Session was A Psychological Approach to Crime Prevention by Dealing With ADHD - Inspector Phillip Anderton PhD and Sergeant Steve Brown of Lancashire Constabulary, Community Safety Department. Phil and Steve gave a great presentation about the scheme they set up in November 2003 in the areas of Burnley and Pendle. Lancashire Constabulary is taking the lead by linking agencies with a goal of providing focused and allied services for sufferers of ADHD. There are strong links between ADHD, poor educational achievement and crime and disorder. The strategic goals of the project include increasing educational achievement, increasing attendance at school and reducing offending. Using facts and figures they showed more about the ration of ADHD and criminal behaviours and they showed how the project they were involved in was working to address this by closer cooperation of the many statutory and voluntary agencies who work with these young people.

This really is a model for things to come in all areas of the Criminal Justice System and I am sure many other police forces throughout the UK will be encouraged to adopt the type of systems which are now being employed in Lancashire Constabulary.

All of the Keynote Sessions were great and focused on the issues of ADHD and crime which is an area of great interest to all involved with those with ADHD and a fear for many parents as they bring up their ADHD Child. All these sessions plus those during the rest of the conference helped enormously to raise understanding and offer a lot of practical help and advice on this topic.

Coffee Break came round again which gave delegates an almost final chance to check round the exhibition stands and speak to others, exchange contact details and of course check the most important Book Stall.

After coffee there were a further 5 Parallel Breakout Sessions:

1. The Offender with ADHD - Dr. Suzy Young. Suzy holds a BSc honours degree in Applied Psychology and Sociology, a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from University College London and a PhD from King's College London, a registered psychologist with the BPS and also a chartered clinical psychologist. At present she is working in the field of forensic psychology at the South London and Maudsley Hospital. She is also the author of many research papers on ADHD, adults and criminality which we are hoping will soon appear in abstract form on our Research Page - just waiting for Caroline to get it all done!!!

2. Bipolar Disorder and ADHD - Dr Robert Doyle MA, DDS, MD from Harvard Medical School.

3. Managing ADHD and Challenging Behaviour - Lorrine Marer who runs behaviour management courses, parenting workshops and lectures nationally as well as working with the Youth Offending Teams.

4. This was split into 2 sessions

a) ADHD in the Workplace - Zara Harris PhD an Anglo/American Occupational Therapist who has worked for the past 29 years in 8 countries and 4 continents, trained in the UK she was Head OT at the Maudsley Hospital in London before working with children and families with ADHD in International Schools in Buenos Aires, Prague, Johannesburg and Düsseldorf. She has worked on research on Adults with ADHD in the Workplace.

b) Audit Management of Adults with ADHD - Nigel Humphrey a Clinical Psychologist from the Learning Assessment and Neurocare Centre in West Sussex, he has worked in South Africa and Zimbabwe before coming to the UK in 2002 where he has worked at the LANC where he has a particular interest in expanding the adult range of services. This presentation was about the services and audit of this work.

5. Again split into 2 sessions.

a) The Awesome Daring Handsome Dudes Club - Val Stout and David Swain, Val is a Registered Nurse and former School Health Advisor and Primary Mental Health Worker with Norfolk Children's Fund. David is a Registered Mental Health Nurse and a CAMHS Practitioner with West Norfolk Primary Care Trust. This session focused on the Parents and Children Empowered Project (PACE) which was established 18 months ago with the aims to provide a rolling programme of support for families of children with ADHD.

b) The Process of Joint Working Around ADHD Between Health and Educational Professionals on the Wirral Peninsular - Julie Lowe, Joan Stott and Andy Evans. Looking at the development of specialist roles in education and health, where interventions end and productive joint working looks like. A model of joint working that should provide a useful comparison for service users and providers in other areas.

These Sessions were followed by Lunch by which time those delegate who were staying at the Adelphi Hotel and were booked to leave today needed to be out of their rooms and booked out so not much spare time although still able to browse and socialise.

After Lunch there were another 6 Parallel Breakout Sessions:

1. Differential Profiles of Psychopathy and Aggression in Children and Adolescents Diagnosed with ADHD & Conduct Disorder - Stephen Houghton PhD. Study into levels of psychopathy and aggression were compared for adolescents with ADHD or CD alone or CD comorbid with ADHD to establish differential profiles and to investigate whether they presence of ADHD increased levels of psychopathy and aggression beyond the levels associated with CD alone.

2. ADHD & Bullying - Marlene Snyder PhD Children with ADHD are often targets of bullying. Learn what you can do to stop the bullying.

3. Learning Behaviour: Myth and Magic - Professor Loretta Giorcelli. A practical session where some useful frameworks and strategies for dealing with issues of compliance and attention in classrooms for teachers working on improving student "time on task".

4. Social Ineptness and Emotional Intelligence in ADHD - Thomas E Brown PhD. Identifying various ways ADHD impairments can interfere with social relationships. Clarifying similarities and distinctions between Asperger's Disorder and ADHD. Explaining "emotional intelligence" and suggesting strategies for assessing and enhancing "emotional intelligence" in persons with ADHD.

5. I Can't Even Read My Own Writing - Zara Harris PhD. 40-50% of children with ADHD also have problems with motor coordination. Exploring identification, evaluation and remediation of handwriting and other developmental co-ordination (DCD / Dyspraxia) problems.

6. This session was split into 2 parts:

a) Treatment Perceptions of Children with ADHD in the School Setting - Dr Marius Pothieter, Clinical Fellow in the Department of Paediatrics at Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals with special assignment clinics for children suffering from ADHD and related conditions. Also having a joint clinic with the local CAMHS. Information obtained from an audit regarding the teacher's perception of their involvement and the support they received from hospital based specialist clinics for children suffering from ADHD in their schools.

b) The Development of Classroom Level Support for Children with ADHD within the Wirral LEA -Andy Evans. The development of support in the most practical sense and ranging form the development of good "attention friendly" practice in a real classroom situation. A Video showing case studies describing the process of providing for ADHD children with high levels of need.

Following the final tea break there was a final 6 Parallel Breakout Sessions

1. ADHD and Substance Abuse: Practical Consequences in Treatment - Eva Karin Lovaas Specialist in Clinical Psychology, Head of the Hjellestad Clinic, part of the Bergen Clinics Foundation in Norway. Different aspects about a person's AD/HD are necessary to know if we shall succeed in the treatment of these disorders together.

2. ADHD and the 16+ Learner - Steve Kelly teacher and Youth and Community Worker, trainer and Life Coach. For the past 15 years Steve has been a director of a summer camp in the USA for young people with specific learning difficulties and ADHD. He is also working on setting up a summer camp over here in the UK. The characteristics of and ADD/ADHD Learner and the impact on a young person's performance and behaviours in FE College, as well as successful intervention strategies for both teacher and learner.

3. Practical Issues in School - ADHD Clinic Liaison - Ian Graham MA B.Ed (Hons) 10 years as a housemaster at Rugby School and now the Headmaster of Slindon College and Pauline Latham manager of the LANC. "The Staff - We can only see with open eyes; We can only listen with open ears; We can only think with open minds. The Pupils - Imagine being unique and still fitting in"

4. Prescribers Masterclass - Dr David Coghill, Dr Paramala Santosh, Dr Robert Doyle and Dr Nikos Myttas.

5. Effects of Modafinil on Neurocognitive Performance in Adults with ADHD - Dr Jonathan Dowson Honarary Consultant Psychiatrist, University of Cambridge, Department of Psychiatry. Where he runs a clinic for the assessment of ADHD in adults since 2001 and is carrying out more research on ADHD in adults. Modafinil may have potential as an alternative treatment for ADHD in improving stop-signal response inhibition.

6. Sport and ADHD - Dr Paul Hutchins. Knowledge of ADHD and associated difficulties for sports coaches, and Australian view of appropriate management for elite sports and the context of medication control.

The final session was the closing of the conference where Andrea thanked all the speakers for their wonderful sessions, all the helpers for their support and help to make the conference a success. She also gave thanks to the security guards who had been in attendance for the whole time day and night for keeping everything safe and secure and for their help to the delegates.

On a personal note I would also like to express my thanks to these guards for their helping me lug stuff around and looking after stuff on the stand so that I was able to attend some of the sessions and go off and talk to others in the secure knowledge that the laptop and all other items on the adders.org stand would be safe.

Andrea also expressed her thanks to Nick for his work as conference organiser for making sure everything ran smoothly - Again my thanks also to Nick for his help in setting up the adders.org exhibition stand and all his help and support throughout the conference.

Thanks were also expressed to the staff and management of the Adelphi Hotel for the food and drinks and services provided.

Andrea went on to thank the Professional Board of ADDISS for all their hard work and support not only for the Conference but throughout the past years. The same thanks were also given to the Trustees of ADDISS for their constant support, work and encouragement throughout the years.

There was a final vote of thanks to Andrea for the huge amount of work she puts into organising such a wonderful and successful Conference and for the tremendous amount of work she puts into making ADDISS the successful organisation it is.

I really enjoyed the 6th International ADDISS Conference - it was wonderful to be able to meet up with old friends and meet and make new ones all of whom are working hard in their own countries and areas to raise awareness and acceptance, support and understanding of ADHD throughout the Globe.

My special thanks go to Andrea, without her these events would not happen and for her continued unstinting work on behalf of those with ADHD, their parents, families and all the professionals who work with them. For her dedication and energy and persistence to keep going and making ADDISS what it is today, a highly respected organisation. Also for her support to all the other support groups, individuals and professionals and in particularly to me on a person level. She is always there to listen, help, support and advise when things are tuff!!

Copies of the notes from speakers at this conference are available from ADDISS, I am not sure of the cost of these at the present time but more information can be found at ADDISS

During the Conference delegates were given the chance to view all the wonderful art work which had been entered into the "Celebrating the Talent Within" Art Competition. This competition was launched earlier this year to capture the creativity of young people with ADHD and these got an outstanding response.

There were about 20 - 30 entries from Children of various ages up to 16 years.

All of these were wonderful and showed the extent of the creative talent children with ADHD have got.

Delegates were asked to vote for their favourite entry and fill in a form and post it in a ballot box provided.

The winner should be notified shortly by ADDISS - Good Luck to everyone who entered.

It was such a difficult task to be able to pick a favourite I must admit and be honest I almost didn't vote! In the end I voted just as the ballot box was being packed away so Good Luck to the one I voted for.

We will post more news about this as soon as they become available. Watch the Front Page.

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