| Today is National ADHD Awareness Day, and a | | | | times the dollar value per accident.? |
| new study focuses--no pun intended--on teen | | | | Certainly taking her medicine would have helped. |
| drivers with the condition. | | | | But now, a new, small study finds the long acting |
| The study finds how well they performs behind | | | | medicine, concerta, significantly improves a teen?s |
| the wheel of a car may be directly influenced by | | | | ability to operate a vehicle on driving skills tests |
| optimizing dosing of medication, especially in the | | | | compared with short acting three-times-a-day |
| afternoon and evening. | | | | dosing of medication such as ritalin. |
| The authors of the study say for all teenagers, | | | | ?The study was interesting it looked at only |
| motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of | | | | nineteen kids so it is a great start. It is not |
| death. | | | | necessarily that we would have them change |
| For adolescents with ADHD, you multiply that by | | | | from medicine A to medicine B or short acting |
| a factor of four, and it becomes a huge problem. | | | | medicine to long acting medicine but we would |
| So these kids need to be armed with the right | | | | take a look at their treatment plan and say |
| medicine and other tools to be a safe driver. | | | | where as you were in fifth grade you needed to |
| Alison O?Brien now is vigilant when she drives, but | | | | concentrate from 9-3pm and I will help you get |
| that wasn?t always the case. | | | | through homework, now you are in twelve grade |
| She has been on medication for attention deficit | | | | and not only so I need to concentrate in school |
| hyperactivity disorder since she was six years old. | | | | but I need to be super focused on the road |
| But when she was younger, she didn?t always | | | | because a car is a potentially dangerous thing,? |
| remember to take it--a problem when getting | | | | says Dr. Kurtz. |
| behind the wheel. | | | | Alison states, ?I definitely knew it was due to the |
| Alison says, ?That day I actually forgot my | | | | fact that I hadn?t taken my Concerta that day, |
| medicine so I was really unfocused and I couldn?t | | | | so had I taken it I would have been probably fine. |
| really drive very well. As I was coming down I | | | | It has taught me to never forget my medication |
| saw another car coming at me and he tried to | | | | and if I do forget it to go back home and do |
| move into my lane because I was in his lane and | | | | anything I can to try and get it.? |
| we both went head on into each other.? | | | | Dr. Kurtz says most teen drivers actually do well |
| Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt but the car | | | | at the start, perhaps what you might consider a |
| was totaled. | | | | honeymoon period, and then the accidents start |
| Dr. Steven Kurtz, a Clinical Director for ADHD | | | | to happen, more so with the kids who have |
| Services at NYU Child Study Center, says, | | | | ADHD. |
| ?Those who have ADHD after the first year of | | | | So don?t be fooled by an early record of |
| driving seem to not to drive as well as their non- | | | | success; you need to watch the kids more closely |
| add peers, in the order of about three times as | | | | after the first few months, and reinforce the |
| many moving violations, about three times as | | | | safe driving behaviors. |
| many motor vehicle accidents and about three | | | | |