ADHD has been drawing a lot of attention both in the media and in scientific journals. What’s more, the number of stimulants prescribed is on the rise. This raises several questions. What can science teach us about ADHD? What are its clinical presentations and impacts? What can we do to assess and treat ADHD in primary care? What treatment options are available? What can we do when conventional approaches fail? Who does what?
FOCUS on ADHD: Figure out the diagnosis, Optimize daily functioning, Comprehend, Use your full potential, and head for Success. This was the objective shared by the editorial team of this special edition. By pooling our multidisciplinary expertise, we were able to go far beyond writing conventional articles and produced a series of complementary online tools freely available by clicking on the various toolbox icons in the articles. Watch out, though: treating ADHD can be addictive! Helping people with ADHD reach their full potential is a highly rewarding process that will make you want to do it again and again.
We are proud to share this series of Focus on ADHD articles, which were originally published in the August 2013 edition of the journal for family physicians, Le Médecin du Québec. These articles are now available to a wider public as they have been translated into English by Jocelyne Lauzière, Certified Translator (OTTIAQ). We would like to thank the entire Le Médecin du Québec production team for producing and coordinating the work involved in releasing this English issue.
Observant readers may notice that the English and French versions of the article on ADHD assessment differ in the section presenting the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. The English version of the article contains the ADHD criteria as published in the DSM-5 and authorized by the APA, while these were not yet available in French when this special edition was released.
This English version has been produced through the financial support of Clinique Focus, which received educational grants from Purdue, Shire and Janssen-Ortho to improve services for patients with ADHD. The physicians and psychologists at Clinique Focus do not derive any financial benefit from these funding sources.
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Annick Vincent Psychiatrist, Clinique Focus, Centre médical l’Hêtrière, Clinical Professor, Department of Neurosciences and Psychiatry, Université Laval, Québec |