
Boy, 10, on an adventure from 'The Shire to Mordor'
Wilf, of Chesterfield in Derbyshire, started the challenge in September and is doing many walks to make up the total number of miles.He set a target of £220, as £22 allows one of the charity's nurses to answer a call on the helpline, and Wilf aimed to help 10 people, but has so far raised £310.Wilf - who is autistic and has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) - goes for strolls after school, and goes for walks at the weekend with his family. He said he had been "enjoying the walking a lot". "I mainly do two miles or so, and some bigger walks like five-mile walks," he added.
His mother Kate said: "It is really important for young people with asthma to get exercise but often it is something that creates anxiety. "Exercise is one of Wilf's triggers for his asthma - although it improves his asthma, it does make him nervous - so it is a big deal for him to decide to do a walk like this."The 42-year-old added: "I am just so proud of him - he has it in his nature to help other people. "His determination to do it is really impressive."

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Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Study finds medication lowers risk of dangerous behaviors in people with ADHD
ADHD affects around five per cent of children and 2.5 per cent of adults globally and is linked increased risks of suicidal behaviors, substance abuse, transport accidents, and criminality if people do not seek treatment. An international team of researchers wanted to fin out if taking medication would mitigate these risks. Researchers from the University Of Southampton, UK and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found that during two years of treatment with ADHD medication, people who took the drugs were less likely to experience these harmful incidents than those weren't medicated. Around 22 million Americans are estimated to have ADHD and just over half of these are prescribed medication to manage their symptoms. Medications are classified into two main categories: stimulants and non-stimulants. Stimulants, the most common type, include methylphenidate and amphetamine-based medications that improve the transmission of the brain chemical dopamine which affects mood, motivation and movement. Non-stimulant options like atomoxetine, clonidine, and guanfacine can also be used, if stimulants are not effective or well tolerated. These help improve the transmission of norepinephrine, a hormone that helps with alertness and focus. Exactly why the condition occurs is not completely understood, but ADHD tends to run in families, suggesting genes may play a part. In the new study, researchers examined multiple population and health records in Sweden. The team used a novel study design called a 'trial emulation' to simulate a trial using existing real-world data from 148,581 people with ADHD. Comparing those who had started any type of ADHD medication within three months of diagnosis with those who hadn't, they looked at the records over the following two years. They found any form of medication reduced the first occurrence of four of the five incidents (with accidental injury being the exception) and all five outcomes when considering recurring incidents. Those taking stimulant medication were associated with the lowest incident rates, compared to non-stimulant medications. Methylphenidate was the most commonly prescribed drug, the researchers found. The likelihood was most reduced amongst people exhibiting a recurring pattern of behavior, such as multiple suicide attempts, numerous drug relapses or repeat offending. Medication didn't reduce the risk of a first-time accidental injury, but did reduce the risk of recurring ones. The study is the first of its kind to show the beneficial effect of ADHD medication on these broader clinical outcomes using a novel statistical method and data representative of all patients in routine clinical care from a whole country. Dr Zheng Chang, senior author of the study from the Karolinska Institute said: 'This finding is consistent with most guidelines that generally recommend stimulants as the first-line treatment, followed by non-stimulants. 'There is an ongoing discussion regarding whether methylphenidate should be included in the World Health Organization model list of essential medications, and we hope this research will help to inform this debate.' Co-senior author on the paper Samuele Cortese, a National Institute For Health And Care Research (NIHR) Research Professor at the University of Southampton added: 'The failure form clinical services to provide timely treatments that reduce these important outcomes represents a major ethical issue that needs to be addressed with urgency, with the crucial input of people with lived experience.'


BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Facing past trauma and ADHD after becoming homeless
Stephanie and Rob have never met but have several things in common - both have lived through trauma, are neurodivergent and have experienced suggests 94% of people facing homelessness have experienced one or more traits are over-represented in homeless people, according to separate Williams, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and is being tested for autism, became homeless in December following a suicide attempt and the breakdown of her marriage. "It can happen to just anybody, a lot of us are actually only three pay checks away from being homeless ourselves... especially if you haven't got savings behind you," she said. Experts have said neurodivergent people appear to have a higher risk of becoming homeless as they may have fewer friends and family they can turn to for support and find it hard to stay on top of the things they need to to keep their housing, such as bill-paying and said through her life she had struggled to maintain relationships. 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Initially after moving out of the home she had rented with her wife she was able to stay on a friend's a few weeks she contacted Citizen's Advice and was moved into a hotel that was being used to house others experiencing now has a permanent home in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, is a Scout leader, volunteers with homelessness charity The Wallich and plans to start her training to become a support worker next was only recently diagnosed with ADHD and is on medication for that, she still sees a psychiatrist and is about to start psychodynamic therapy, to explore traumas she has faced in her life, including being "outed" as gay when she was growing up. Rob Thomas is a private practice clinical psychotherapist and counsellor in Swansea, who works with people experiencing homelessness. He experienced homelessness himself in his 20s, which he believes was in part down to living with childhood trauma and undiagnosed ADHD. Rob was born with a heart condition and spent long periods of time away from his family while being treated in hospital."What I realise now is that I was taken away from my family and what that embedded in me was a sense of it's just me, I'm on my own with this, so then asking for help became impossible," he began unravelling after he finished his degree in biomedical science in Preston - and he found he could not ask for help. "My landlord wasn't happy with me because I wasn't maintaining the property to his satisfaction... I hadn't paid council tax, I hadn't been paying my electricity," he said. Missed appointments at the Job Centre meant his benefits were stopped. "Someone who is neurotypical would encounter a problem and they'd go 'all right I'll make that phone call to the electricity company and sort that out' but the level of anxiety that I would experience would be overwhelming, the idea of making that phone call I'd be getting sweats, I'd go into panic, I'd have problems sleeping," he said. "I would not respond to letters. I wouldn't answer the phone."Rob said he found himself with nowhere to go and was forced to sleep rough, often in bus stops. "You're sleeping for like an hour, two hours, and then you're awake again. You're constantly on guard - who's going to come asking for money? Who's going to try taking shoes?," he said. After being on the streets for a few weeks his friend's mother took him in."She basically dragged me by the scruff of the neck, kicking and screaming to her house," recalled Rob. He stayed for several months before moving back to his parents' in took many years but he eventually returned to education and became a support worker for The Wallich before becoming a psychotherapist. But even 30 years on from losing a grip on his bills he gets a rush of panic when his phone rings."Everybody's expected to be the same but neurodiverse people are just people who think differently," he added systems were only set up with neurotypical people in mind. "If you don't fill out the form the system doesn't ask you 'why didn't you fill out the form? Is there anything we can help with?' It's 'you didn't fill out the form, you have your money stopped' or 'you didn't fill out the form so we're not giving you any more appointments'." 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"You might think someone has ended up sleeping rough or they're homeless because they've got an addiction but then if you ask the question why you discover there's so many layers, there might be broken relationships, issues of abuse, you might find that they've fallen out of the care system but once you get caught in a destructive pattern which involves sleeping rough, your health and mental health can quickly deteriorate, and all of a sudden you end up being somebody quite different."Anthony Vaughan is a trauma-informed specialist at The Wallich, which runs an in-house counselling service, the Reflections said the people they work with who have not dealt with their trauma found it harder to move out of homelessness. "We know that people don't have 'something' wrong with them - they are people who've had 'something happen to them'," he said."They are survivors of trauma."


Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
The shocking side effect of ADHD drugs that could impact 22million Americans
People with ADHD who take medication may have a lower risk of dangerous behaviors, such as criminality, addiction and suicidal ideations, according to a new study. ADHD affects around five percent of children and 2.5 percent of adults globally, roughly 200 million people. It is linked to increased risks of suicidal behaviors, substance abuse, accidental injuries, transport accidents and criminality if people do not seek treatment. An international team of researchers wanted to establish if medication reduces these risks. Researchers from the University of Southampton and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found that for two years of treatment with ADHD medication, people who took the drugs were less likely to experience these harmful incidents than those who didn't take medication. Around 22 million Americans are estimated to have ADHD and just over half of these are prescribed medication to manage their symptoms, which can include impulsiveness, disorganization and difficulty focusing. Medications are broadly classified into two main categories: stimulants and non-stimulants. Stimulants, the most common type, include methylphenidate and amphetamine-based medications that improve the transmission of the brain chemical dopamine which affects mood, motivation and movement. Non-stimulant options like atomoxetine, clonidine, and guanfacine can also be used, if stimulants are not effective or well tolerated. These help improve the transmission of norepinephrine, a hormone that helps with alertness and focus. Some of the best known brand names for ADHD medications include Adderall, Ritalin, Vyvanse, Focalin, Concerta, and Daytrana. Exactly why the condition occurs is not completely understood, but ADHD tends to run in families, suggesting genes may play a part. It is surprisingly common and as diagnosis has risen, so too have prescriptions for ADHD medication. From 2012 to 2022, the number of annual stimulant prescriptions increased by 57.9 percent, reaching 79.6 million, according to the DEA. In the new study, researchers examined multiple population and health records in Sweden linked by unique personal identification numbers assigned to every resident in the country. The team used a novel study design called a 'trial emulation' to simulate a trial using existing real-world data from 148,581 people with ADHD. Comparing those who had started any type of ADHD medication within three months of diagnosis with those who hadn't, they examined the records over the following two years. They found any form of medication reduced the first occurrence of four of the five incidents (with accidental injury being the exception) and all five outcomes when considering recurring incidents. Those taking stimulant medication were associated with the lowest incident rates, compared to non-stimulant medications. Methylphenidate was the most commonly prescribed drug, the researchers found. The likelihood was most reduced amongst people exhibiting a recurring pattern of behavior, such as multiple suicide attempts, numerous drug relapses or repeat offending. Medication didn't reduce the risk of a first-time accidental injury, but did reduce the risk of recurring ones. The study is the first of its kind to show the beneficial effect of ADHD medication on these broader clinical outcomes using a novel statistical method and data representative of all patients in routine clinical care from a whole country. 'This finding is consistent with most guidelines that generally recommend stimulants as the first-line treatment, followed by non-stimulants,' explains Dr Zheng Chang, senior author of the study from the Karolinska Institute. 'There is an ongoing discussion regarding whether methylphenidate [a stimulant medication for ADHD] should be included in the World Health Organization model list of essential medications, and we hope this research will help to inform this debate.' Co-senior author on the paper Samuele Cortese, a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Professor at the University of Southampton added: 'The failure form clinical services to provide timely treatments that reduce these important outcomes represents a major ethical issue that needs to be addressed with urgency, with the crucial input of people with lived experience.'