Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

• Although 2SLGBTQ+ people are becoming more accepted, those living with disabilities still struggle to be seen and heard.
• For instance, in one study from the United States, LGBTQ+ autistic people reported:
  feeling “othered,” discredited [and] tolerated rather than accepted.
• As a consequence, some disabled people choose to avoid disclosing their disability in queer spaces to avoid negative responses and rejection.

Feeling like outsiders in their own communities

• Some disabled people reported feeling like outsiders in queer spaces and communities.
• As a participant noted: “I didn’t really want to participate in queer spaces because I felt like an interloper.
• In another study with autistic adults, participants talked about how both the disabled and queer communities can sometimes ostracize autistic people rather than being “open-minded” and “accepting” spaces.
• For those who are disabled and queer, being left out of 2SLGBTQ+ spaces means they do not receive the benefits of feeling like they belong.

Making queer spaces more accessible

• Participants from various studies have shared suggestions for making queer spaces more accessible.
• They do not wish to have to fight for the right to exist in queer spaces safely.
• 2SLGBTQ+ spaces should inherently be where people can learn more about different identities and build communities, not spaces of exclusion.
• Disabled people should be meaningfully invited into queer spaces.

• TORONTO, June 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, TELUS Health issued its annual 2023 Drug Data Trends and National Benchmarks Report , revealing that diabetes has replaced inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, as the top drug category for claims in Canada.
• “It is our hope that the findings in our 2023 Drug Trends Report will continue to offer private payors and benefits advisors valuable insights to help adjust and improve benefits plans,” said Martin Bélanger, Managing Director, Payor Solutions, TELUS Health.
• “The fact that growth in spend has been observed in a specific diabetes class of drugs suggests that existing claimants are switching to more costly therapies,” noted Lavina Viegas, Pharmacist, TELUS Health.
• Published annually since 2015, the TELUS Health Drug Data Trends and National Benchmarks Report is based on the claims data of the 2022 TELUS Health portfolio, and provides a contextual view of adoption rates of plan management trends to help insurers and employers alike understand major trends in prescription drug utilization.

• ADHD is diagnosed using criteria from a document called DSM-5, which include symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.
• But it is becoming increasingly clear to researchers that the condition also comes with self-control problems, affecting the ability to regulate emotions.
• For example, 2.1% of children with a diagnosis of ADHD also have a mood disorder, such as depression, while 27.4% have an anxiety disorder.
• Children with anxiety and depression symptoms only exhibited those deficits if they also had problems with attention.
• So it seems that one possible route to helping children with ADHD or mood disorders with cognitive development is to focus on improving their attention.

Treatments

• Methylphenidate roughly works by increasing three chemicals in the brain: dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline.
• Dopamine can improve attention, learning, working memory and motivation, while noradrenaline reduces impulsivity and boosts attention.
• This research suggests that cognitive control, which is associated with frontal areas, can be improved by methylphenidate.
• This should be offered to children with ADHD, in conjunction with pharmacological treatments.

ADHD on the rise

• The number of ADHD diagnoses are rising across the world, and so are prescriptions of methylphenidate.
• In the UK, a study estimated that the use of ADHD medications has increased by almost 800% from 2000 to 2015.
• It may be that the prevalence of ADHD will increase even more in the future as coping strategies become less effective and people seek help and ultimately receive a diagnosis.
• The more we learn about brain basis of ADHD, the easier it will get to treat.

• Qbtech , Inc., a leading advocate on a mission to improve mental health outcomes, shares its full support for the extension of the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) temporary rule through November 11, 2023.
• “The adoption of measurement-based care in behavioral health, already the standard in England, is gaining traction in the U.S., including through telehealth models.
• “We maintain a hopeful outlook as the extension of the temporary rule potentially signifies a meaningful step toward addressing these concerns,” adds Letterle.
• To show your support, you can add your signature to the ADHD Expert Consortium’s Consensus Statement , which calls for the standardization of care.