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Tributes to Althea Hayton

Althea Hayton, founder of Womb Twin, passed away peacefully on August 13 (sorry for the delay in posting this news on the blog). We are all ...

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

ADHD - is it a womb twin survivor thing?

I found a nice slide show that simply describes ADHD  (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)  in adults.

(View it here) 

ADHD: It's Not Just for Children
 
ADHD really came to the attention of the media in the 1980s, when it was first linked to food intolerance. At that time it was thought (oh no, not again!) that these restless children who could not concentrate were the products of "poor parental upbringing."  The parents in question made sure the world knew that it was the children, not the parents, who were driving this.
But the symptoms persist into adulthood, far beyond the reach of parents.  For ADHD adults,  the symptoms are now simply regarded as to do with a "lack of self control".   But no one knows why this is. What is ADHD, anyway?

By the 1990s, attempts were being made to construct a theory of what ADHD may be.

It was found that deficits in behavioral inhibitions, working memory, regulation of motivation, and motor control  were common among people with ADHD.  This is also correlated to other mental health problems such as substance abuse.  The same study found an incidence of these symptoms in only about 7% of the population. That is not very many, so this can be considered unusual, if not rare.

But is ADHD a common trait of womb twin survivors?  Three of the questions on the questionnaire give us a clue:

1. I get bored easily.  ( 49%  gave strongest agreement)
2. I feel restless and unsettled ( 55%  gave strongest agreement)
3. I have difficulty finishing things ( 50% gave strongest agreement)

From these results (from the first 500 questionnaires in 2009) it certainly looks like womb twin survivors are many times more likely to have these symptoms than the general population.

So if ADHD were to be a womb twin survivor thing, would the womb twin work help? We have not carried out a proper study, but we could make a small start.

If you are a womb twin survivor and  you have been diagnosed with ADHD at any point in your life, or if you have the symptoms above but no such diagnosis, then do get in touch. I work by email, skype and telephone, and email contact is free of charge.  Or if you prefer, you can simply leave a comment for this post.

I look forward to receiving your comments.

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