News

Do you have a child aged 8 – 12? Are you interested in your child’s sleep habits? Would you be willing to participate in important research about children’s sleep related problems and their thoughts about sleep?

Psychology Study: Sleep-related problems and beliefs, attitudes and concerns about sleep in children with and without autism spectrum conditions (ASC).

I am currently completing an MSc in Psychology at Oxford Brookes University and am looking to recruit parents/carers with children aged 8 – 12 (both with and without autism spectrum conditions) (ASC) as participants for my research project. My project is about sleep related problems and beliefs, attitudes and concerns about sleep in  children. Many children experience sleep related problems but this number is even greater amongst children with autism spectrum conditions.  To participate, you (the parent) would need to complete an online questionnaire including some general details about you and your child and your child’s sleep habits, behaviours and thoughts about sleep.  I am interested in hearing from you whether or not your child has difficulties with sleep. Click on the link to find out more and/or to participate: https://brookeshls.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bxVtXUiN2MY6jVX

If you would like further details, please contact Julie Bennett (MSc Researcher, Oxford Brookes University)

Email: 18039339@brookes.ac.uk

Many thanks,

Julie Bennett

BMC Medicine have published a paper on “Guidance for identification and treatment of individuals with attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder based upon expert consensus”.

Authors of the paper include Dr Polly Branney – Clinical Director of Oxford ADHD & Autism Centre, Professor Peter Hill – Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Jack Hollingdale – Clinical Psychologist, and Emma Woodhouse – Neurodevelopmental Specialist.

You can read the publication using the link below.

ADHD+ASD consensus, 2020

In view of the recent advice regarding Covid-19 (Coronavirus), we are taking measures to ensure the health and wellbeing of our staff and patients. Please note that the clinic will be operating as usual and we are not cancelling appointments, but are trying to take reasonable and measured steps to prevent the spread of the virus. In accordance with UK guidance, please can you let us know as soon as possible if you are due to visit the clinic and:

– You/your child have any symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 (fever, cough, muscle pain, difficulty breathing) Please note that the latest guidance says that anyone who has a persistent cough or high temperature must stay at home for seven days
– You/your child or a close member of your family have any serious underlying health conditions
– You/your child have travelled to any of the category 1 or category 2 level countries. For more information please visit:

https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response

If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We are delighted to be hosting a seminar on understanding ADHD through interdisciplinary practice, which is taking place on Friday 2 November 2018, at Holiday Inn, Oxford.  Our guest speakers include:

Professor Peter Hill, Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist

Fintan O’Regan, Behaviour Management Consultant

Chantal Karatas, Specialist Teacher/Assessor & University SEN, Teacher Training Lecturer

Dr Jack Hollingdale, Clinical Psychologist

Dr Tanya McGregor, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Oxford ADHD & Autism Centre

Understanding ADHD Through Interdisciplinary Practice Seminar

We would like to share a very interesting documentary on ADHD by Jeanette Mostert

Shine A Light
Understanding ADHD
by Jeanette Mostert

On the last day of the international ADHD Awareness Month, we are releasing a mini-documentary about ADHD. The hope is that this video will help young people and adults diagnosed with ADHD, or who suspect they have ADHD, as well as their family and friends, to understand the condition better.

“I feel like a universe, stuffed within a shoebox” – this is how Bryn Travers describes what it’s like to have Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In this short film we have asked people with ADHD and their relatives about living with ADHD: what are the challenges and what are the things they like about ADHD? We have also asked clinicians and researchers working with ADHD to explain more about the origins of the disorder, what they have learnt from their experience working with patients, but also what are the main questions that research is trying to answer about ADHD.

Many children, adolescents and adults suffer from ADHD. ADHD is a complex disorder that affects people differently. Generally people experience problems in daily life, especially with respect to controlling attention, impulses and emotions. At the same time, people with ADHD enjoy their creativity and positive energy. Medication is effective for many people with ADHD, but not for all. That is why many people are interested in other types of (additional) treatment, such as meditation or diets. These types of treatment should therefore be better investigated. Knowing more about ADHD and spreading awareness will help people to understand what causes their behaviour. This will reduce stigma and (self)blame.

The video features four of the most well-known researchers in the field of ADHD: dr. Eric Taylor is emeritus professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at King’s College London, dr. Philip Asherson is professor of Molecular Psychiatry at King’s College London, dr. Barbara Franke is professor of Molecular Psychiatry at Radboud university medical center Nijmegen (The Netherlands), and dr. Corina Greven is psychologist and behavioural geneticist at Radboud university medical center Nijmegen. Next to these scientists and psychiatrists, we see three people with ADHD (Bryn Travers, Evie Travers and Aziz), Andrea Bilbow, president of patient organisation ‘ADHD Europe’ and mother of two children with ADHD, and dr. Kai Syng Tan, researcher and artist at King’s College London, who also has an ADHD diagnosis.

This film was created through the MiND research consortium, in collaboration with the consortia Aggressotype, CoCA and Eat2beNICE. These consortia are all funded by the European Commission through the FP-7 and horizon2020 programs. Young researchers dr. Nicoletta Adamo and Laura Ghirardi are the brains behind this film, with the help of the MiND training program and 4QuarterFilms.

Do you want to help us spreading awareness about ADHD? Then share this video with everyone you know! The video also contains subtitles in English, Dutch, German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish and Hungarian (and more languages may follow).

You can watch the video here:

The Oxford ADHD Centre is now trading as Oxford ADHD & Autism Centre, which reflects the key services offered at the centre, for adults and children.

We are delighted to announce that our next ADHD Parenting Programme takes place on Saturday 14th April 2018.

Our ADHD Parenting Programme is led by Sarah Hamilton, a Registered Mental Health Nurse who holds a Masters degree in Advanced Nurse Practice. Her specialist area is in Child and Adolescent Mental Health and she has worked extensively with families and young people diagnosed with ASD and ADHD. Sarah has worked in CAMHS for over 15 years, before working independently as an Advanced Nurse Practitioner and ADHD nurse specialist. Her experience includes working as a lead nurse in ADHD and ASD diagnostic clinic, family therapy clinics and ADHD medication clinics. Her therapeutic work includes working on an individual basis, with families and group work utilising cognitive behavioural therapy, solution focused therapy and mindfulness techniques to help and support young people and their families pre and post diagnosis.

This course will take place over 6 hours and topics covered include:

• ADHD – common themes
• A clinical view: classification, assessment and diagnosis
• ADHD core symptoms
• ADHD co-morbidities
• Gender differences
• Advantages of ADHD
• Managing desirable and undesirable behaviours
• Parenting jobs
• Communication and strengthening relationships
• Self-care and well being
• Building resilience
• Managing stress
• Solution focused examples
• Mindfulness techniques

For further information, please click on the link below:

ADHD Parental Programme April 2018

The cost of the programme is £240 per person (with discounts available for couples).

For all bookings and enquiries, please get in touch with Susan via email at Oxford ADHD Centre.

We are delighted to announce that our next ADHD Parenting Programme takes place in September-October 2017, over three consecutive Thursdays, commencing 28 September 2017.

The ADHD Parenting Programme is led by Lyn Oualah, a qualified teacher with almost 30 years of classroom experience.  She is accredited in 6 Positive Parenting Programmes (PPP) and has been the lead facilitator for the Level 4 programme in her current role for the past 6 years.  As a Solution Focused “Champion” (2010), Lyn is keen to promote ways of finding and creating solutions that keep all parties engaged and commited to achieving the agreed targets on the intervention plan.

This course will consist of three x 2 hour weekly sessions and topics covered include:

• Preconceived Ideas
• A Clinical Perspective of ADHD
• The 3 Core Symptoms according to the DSM V
• Executive Functions & Associated Difficulties
• Co‐morbidities
• Developmental Course
• Gender
• Advantages of ADHD!
• Managing Challenging Behviours
• Basic Parenting Philosophy
• Structure/Boundaries vs Nuture
• Parenting Jobs
• Managing undesirable behaviours (STOP x 3)
• Encouraging desirable behaviours (START x 7)
• Strengthening you relationship with child
• Self‐care and Wellbeing
• Building Resilience & achieving greater Wellbeing
• Stress ‐ What is it and the body’s response?
• Stress ‐ responses in children/the stress of parenting stressed children
• Stress ‐ when “time‐out” is needed / using
• Solution Focused responses
• Stress ‐ tackling it in stages!
• Perspective ‐ how it can define our outlook
• Resilience ‐ definition, domains and building blocks of resilience
• Resilience ‐ developing a practical toolkit
• Mindfulness ‐ definition, relaxation imagery and “Sparkly Moments”!
• For further information, please click on the link below:

ADHD 3 Week Programme September 2017

The cost of the three week programme is £240 per person (with discounts available for couples).

For all bookings and enquiries, please get in touch with Susan via email at Oxford ADHD Centre.

We are very excited to announce that we have QBCheck at the Centre. This is a computerised assessment lasting 15-20 minutes and can be carried out on children as well as adults. The patient is asked to respond as quickly and accurately as possible to certain shapes appearing on a computer screen by pressing the spacebar on the computer keyboard. A webcam tracks the patient’s movement during the assessment.

The assessment is able to record movement, rating levels of hyperactivity, as well as readings which give an indication of the degree of inattention and impulsivity. It has been shown to be a very accurate assessment for ADHD when used in addition to the clinical interview and can also be used to assess response to treatment.

We are the first Centre/clinic in Oxfordshire to have the QBCheck and have already started using it as part of our assessments.