Update: I’ve done a follow up post to this with new information.

The YMCA has done many good things for many people, they’re a large multimillion dollar organization with a big impact on many members of the community in a very wide variety of ways. I can’t think of any negative media mentions about the YMCA I’ve ever come across before this ad. That’s why this highly controversial and stigmatizing ad was so shocking to me and to others with ADHD.

This post and all content on my website, blog and twitter account are solely my opinions.

The YMCA has worked hard to build a great brand reputation and this is very “Off Brand” as marketers would say. The YMCA is not like some shady supplement company trying to pass off their concentrated horsetail extract as a fake “cure” for ADHD that you see far too often on Twitter. People with ADHD were very shocked to see this ad was approved by and paid for by the YMCA.

The YMCA ran this ad in 24 hours Vancouver (link expired but have full PDF)  Thursday April 15th page 10 and in Metro Vancouver (PDF) page 4 the same day. The combined daily circulation of both papers is about 250,000. it seemed to be part of their “Where did community go?” ad and Facebook campaign where technology & the internet was portrayed in a negative light that was damaging “community”, and the solutions seemed to be basically defined as go and pay for programs at the YMCA.

If you were a parent of an ADHD child taking ADHD medication and saw that YMCA ad, how would it make you feel? How would you explain that YMCA ad to your ADHD child taking a YMCA program?

Would the YMCA do a similar ad and substitute Prozac for Ritalin? Or substitute Insulin for Ritalin? Would 24 Hours Vancouver and Vancouver Metro have run those ads?

Ritalin is not just a word for the actual medication itself, it’s also used many, many  times to denigrate, trivialize, stigmatize and demonize the actual neurobiological condition of ADHD which is 80% genetic.  If the child has ADHD the parents should be screened for it. Many people avoid getting assessed for ADHD because the stigma is so strong. Most adults with ADHD don’t know they have it.

I did an interview with a CBC reporter on Friday on the ad and asked people on Twitter what they thought of it. The YMCA ADHD Stigma ad stirred up some strong reaction on Twitter, here’s a few examples.

BC_Iconoclast: @petequily There are times when I value ADHD, and there are days where I wish I did not need ritalin to make my day work. YMCA bugs me today

ADD4Adults: YMCA has really stirred up the ADHD pot of controversy & pissed a lot of people off with this advertising in Vancouver http://bit.ly/c05r00

AureliaCotta: @WDCG_YMCA @petequily YMCA You had better pull the ads and apologize officially, and publicly. Many families with ADHD are watching

AureliaCotta: @petequily @WDCG_YMCA @TBWA I would also like to see the ad agency who created those disgusting ads to publicly apologize.

lizditz: .@petequily great work on rebuking #YMCA for ad that stigmatizes #ADHD #specialed http://bit.ly/bZjbxC

Stigma is one of the worse things about mental health conditions, it prevents or delays many people from seeking diagnosis and treatment. As an adult ADHD coach who has ADHD and runs the Vancouver adult ADD support group, and is on the board of CHADD Vancouver, I hear too many horror stories of adults with ADHD and parents of children with ADHD who didn’t seek a diagnosis and treatment because of the heavy stigma against ADHD.

People without the condition may find it hard to understand why this is so important, might read this for more insight. I hope that people with ADHD will start speaking out about this & educating people about ADHD & stigma. If we don’t do it no one else will.

It’s not just about Ritalin

It’s not just about ADHD medication.

It’s not just about the YMCA.

There are many Common Myths, Misconceptions, and Stigma Surrounding ADHD

If you had a kid with ADHD & saw that ad, would you be more likely to go to the YMCA? Or go to a gym that might be more ADHD friendly like the ones at the 24 Vancouver Park Board - Community Centres? Or one of the many other Vancouver Gyms?

There are parents who will let their ADHD child fail a whole year of school because they’re afraid to use medication because they’ve bought into the stigma that this YMCA ad is perpetuating.

Ritalin is only one of many ADHD medications. Stimulant medications have been around for 70 years, they’ve been studied more than most of the meds you’ve ever taken. How you manage your child’s ADHD or is a decision between yourself, your child and your doctor, period. No one should stigmatize you for choosing to manage your ADHD they way millions of people with ADHD do every day.

I know of people with ADHD who bought into the stigma around ADHD medication that this YMCA perpetuates who didn’t want to use ADHD meds and ended up using illegal drugs to self medicate and became drug addicts. Research has shown that children who are treated with medication are less likely to get addicted to illegal drugs later in life.

@SuperADDMom my blog response to the #YMCA #ADHD Advertisement. ( includes picture of the ad)” So Tired of the Stigma

It struck a chord on Twitter. Here’s a bit from her blog post on the YMCA Stigma ad

The stigma of living with ADHD is pretty negative at times. The negative impact it has on our day to day lives, and the people we live with can get pretty stressful. So stressful in fact that without help from medications to regulate brain chemistry, and being on top of RIGID routines to make life easier, we can end up being sucked down the big black ADHD holes of depression and inability to cope…

So, as a person with ADHD it really pisses me off when people make jokes about my medication, or imply that I must be a “happy mommy” because I take amphetamines to “get through the day”. Or they joke and ask me how I pulled off an ADHD diagnosis just to “score”. They say things like ” nice deal if you can get it” …

You’re stigma, prejudice and “jokes” are offensive. PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

The only way to stop stigma against people with ADHD is to stop being silent about it.

I recently talked to an ADHD adult  who used crystal meth to self medicate his ADHD,  became a meth addict, became homeless,  got clean, used long term ADHD stimulant meds and other methods to manage his ADHD instead of doing it with meth, and has totally changed his life around. Not all come out alive of drug addiction.  In one study  1/3rd of teens using meth in that study had ADHD. Only 8% of kids & 5% of adults have ADHD. I keep hearing people telling me that drug & alcohol treatment centers in BC still don’t screen for and treat ADHD despite 20%+ of addicts in clinical studies have ADHD. The Vancouver drug court is not screening for ADHD despite the higher rates of addiction & crime with ADHD. But ADHD is not all negative, there are billionaires with it, and the blog is called Adult ADD Strengths:) here’s some of the positives of ADHD.

If it’s not acceptable to stigmatize people with Anxiety, Depression or Diabetes to get attention and make money, why is it acceptable to stigmatize people with ADHD to get attention and make money?

If the YMCA can stigmatize ADHD children and claim that  “We don’t see this really as a mistake, we see this as our organization is inclusive and open to everyone.” (YMCA’s Charlene Giovannetti-King VP, Funds Development) And no one really calls them on it, then who will stigmatize ADHD children and adults next? What about other mental health condition will be the next to be stigmatized? People with Anxiety Disorders? Bipolar? Depression? If we’re any easy target now, will your condition be next?

I have some action steps at the end of this post if you want to break the silence.

The Vancouver YMCA’s Ad Agency of Record is TBWA \ Vancouver hired to “revamp their brand” This ad seems to be part of this campaign the YMCA is running. “Vancouver YMCA wants to take community back from technology” Seems a bit like technology & the internet is kind of evil lets go back to the 1950’s. Well one thing about the 1950’s there certainly was a lot of stigma about mental health conditions then.

I asked Stefan Hawes  @hawes who’s the managing director at TBWA\ Vancouver via Twitter if his agency did the ad. He has not replied. UPDATE TBWA\Vancouver has admitted they created the ad but still nothing on their website about it. see my followup post TBWA\ Vancouver has not commented on it anywhere. I was first directed to TBWA\Vancouver by @wswalcott on Twitter

wswalcott: @TBWA /Vancouver, you should be ashamed! YMCA ad: p. 10 http://bit.ly/bGN5Zj and p5 http://bit.ly/94B1wD

wswalcott: @Marketing_Mag: TBWA/Van & YMCA ad propagates ignorant #ADHD stigma (p5 http://bit.ly/94B1wD Will next flight make diabetes into a joke?

wswalcott: @globeandmail ROB reports on success of #ymca campaign, forgot to mention blunders http://bit.ly/d3Noac

wswalcott: @petequily, @Marketing_Mag – TBWA\Van “tasked with building the charitable organization’s community credentials” http://bit.ly/aPZ9Uk #adhd

I asked the Greater Vancouver YMCA on Twitter @WDCG_YMCA how many times the ad had run and if it ran in any other media outlets in Vancouver or elsewhere? They have not answered. update it only ran in those 2 papers & ran only once. After an ADHD parent had the courage to contact them to complain (many adults and children with ADHD don’t go public with it because of stigma around ADHD, the kind the YMCA has just added to) to them they have stopped running the ad. Good move. I’m glad they moved quickly on that.

How the Greater Vancouver YMCA responded to the criticism of the stigma ad also was criticized on Twitter

As an adult ADHD coach I could make more money by demonizing ADHD medication to sell my services since so many people have been exposed to stigma about ADHD meds from people who think like the YMCA, vs actual science and research on ADHD. But I don’t. Because I know for most people with ADHD if they have a doctor that knows enough about ADHD, which is rare in BC (we’re pretty backwards here on ADHD, UBC med schools students only get an hour on ADHD) and they willing to try a few meds and a few doses to get the one that works for them, they’re usually effective. If they can afford most people with ADHD take the long term ADHD meds instead of 3 or so daily dose of short term meds like ritalin or dexedrine.

Even the drug companies are now saying the ADHD medications are useful, but are not a magic bullet for ADHD, that pills don’t teach skills. What they do is put an ADDer in a better position to learn those skills and self awareness. Statistically speaking the best way to manage ADHD is multiple methods.  Here’s 10 ways to manage Adult ADHD. Some professional athletes have ADHD and some of them take ADHD medications.

The Vancouver YMCA could have been more creative & made the point that exercise was useful for ADHD and other mental health conditions without stigmatizing ADHD families for using one well researched method for dealing with ADHD, prescription medication. If ADHD is not treated many ADHD children and adults self medicate with illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco since they all boost dopamine like ADHD meds, exercise, music, sex, meditation etc do.

The Vancouver YMCA did stop running the ad. I got an email from the YMCA’s Charlene Giovannetti-King which I later found out an ADHD parent who complained about the ad got a similar email.

Dear Mr. Quily,

Shortly after the ad first appeared on Thursday we received a call from a parent of a child with ADHD. As a result, we immediately pulled the ad from circulation. The ad was never intended to make light of children with ADHD and we are very sorry if the wording caused hurt or offense to them or their families.

The YMCA has been supporting children, including those with learning, attention deficit and other disorders and disabilities for the last 125 years in Greater Vancouver. Of the 15,000 children who go to our day and residential camps every year, there are many who take medication, including Ritalin, so we know what it is that these kids live with. That’s why we offer residential camp programs with the option of a one of one counsellor to camper ratio–at the same price as regular camp–to ensure that these kids get the extra support and attention they need to have a successful camping experience. We believe that physical activity is an important part of good mental and physical health and are committed to providing equal access to those opportunities for all children.

Sincerely,
Charlene Giovannetti-King
VP, Funds Development
YMCA of Greater Vancouver

It was good the Vancouver YMCA stopped running the ADHD stigma ad. It was good that the YMCA was “very sorry if the wording caused hurt or offense to them or their families.”

But the Vancouver YMCA didn’t say they did anything wrong by running the ad. They didn’t show they understood that the ad stigmatized ADHD families.

But there was no mention of this on the Vancouver YMCA’s website.

There was no media release of this “official apology” to the media after the ad went out to a potential audience of a quarter of a million people.

Here’s a quote from Charlene Giovannetti-King of the YMCA about the ad on CBC Radio’s Early Edition.

“Rick Cluff: So you pulled the ad, did your organization admit to making a mistake here?

Vancouver YMCA VP of Funds Development Charlene Giovannetti-King: We don’t see this really as a mistake, we see this as our organization is inclusive and open to everyone.”

Wow.

Do you think it’s a mistake to stigmatize families with ADHD?

Families where some decide to treat their ADHD children with medically approved prescription medication for ADHD that have a clinical research background of hundreds if not thousands of peer reviews studies?

Is it “inclusive and open to everyone” to stigmatize children who have ADHD? That doesn’t seem inclusive or open. What do you think?

I have some action steps at the end of this post if you want to break the silence.

Transcript of CBC Interview on YMCA ADHD Stigma Ad

CBC Vancouver Early Edition host Rick Cluff Interviews Adult ADHD Pete Quily and Charlene Giovannetti-King the Vice President of Funds Development for the Vancouver YMCA April 21st 2010 approx 8.12am. I was representing CHADD Vancouver (Children and adults with ADD) an international ADHD support group which I’m on the board of and is the parent group of The Vancouver Adult ADD Support Group which I lead. All my comments after the interview on my blog, website and Twitter do not represent CHADD Vancouver, they’re just my personal opinion.

Rick Cluff: The YMCA has pulled a newspaper ad over complaints that it trivialized ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The ad shows kids wearing sports gear lined up in a gym and the caption reads “ Before video games, before Facebook, before Ritalin, there was basketball”. Pete Quily used the chair of a support group for families dealing with ADHD in Vancouver. This was his reaction to the advertisement.

Pete Quily: Video games and Facebook, those are voluntary activities right, you can use them or not use them. Ritalin is a prescription medication that’s, one of the useful treatments for ADHD, they are implying that they are the same and I mean, would you say it to a diabetic, you don’t need insulin, all you need to do is join the YMCA and play basketball. It almost seems that they are sort of trying to stigmatize ADHD to sort of market their programs.

Rick Cluff: Pete Quily, the Chair of the Vancouver ADHD Support group he was reacting to that advertisement for the YMCA.

(PQ Clarification I’m on the board for CHADD Vancouver and the leader of the Vancouver Adult ADD support group in this interview I’m speaking on behalf of CHADD Vancouver. On my website, blog and twitter I’m speaking for myself)

Charlene Giovannetti-King is the Vice President of Funds Development for the YMCA and is on the line with us now, good morning.

Charlene Giovannetti-King: Good morning.

Rick Cluff: The ad has been pulled.

Charlene Giovannetti-King: The ad has been pulled.

Rick Cluff: And why?

Charlene Giovannetti-King: We pulled the ad because we received a telephone call from a parent who expressed concern about the ad and immediately we pulled that ad because we understood the concern. Although that was not our message, our message was really to encourage people to think about living a balanced lifestyle.

Rick Cluff: Where did the concept come from?

Charlene Giovannetti-King: This is a concept that came from a campaign that we are working on and that we are giving out in the community and sharing in the community and it was just one in a series of ads that we’ve been running.

Rick Cluff: You are trying to portray an image of a balanced lifestyle.

Charlene Giovannetti-King: That’s right.

Rick Cluff: But Mr. Quily says your ad trivializes and stigmatizes ADHD. What are your thoughts now on his assessment of the advertisement?

Charlene Giovannetti-King: We certainly didn’t intend that and we are extremely apologetic if we have offended anybody by that ad therefore, that’s why we pulled the ad instantly as soon as we heard from the parent who expressed concern. We certainly understood the concern and wanted to respond to that very quickly and we did so within 24 hours.

Rick Cluff: So you pulled the ad, did your organization admit to making a mistake here?

Charlene Giovannetti-King: We don’t see this really as a mistake, we see this as our organization is inclusive and open to everyone. We see this as us being responsive to the concern.

Rick Cluff: Was there a formal apology made?

Charlene Giovannetti-King: There was. Both a formal apology to the two people that we heard from. From the mom who phoned and expressed her concern and also to Mr, Quily, we formally apologized to him over the weekend.

Rick Cluff: So what are you replacing this ad with now?

Charlene Giovannetti-King: We continue to run a series of ads and one of the other ads for example is, focuses on camp and the caption on that ad is, “A great leader requires patience, a sense of humor and an appetite for marshmallows” So from that you can tell that the series of ads is really to invoke some conversation and to invoke some interest in people and the community around getting back to their, our values and getting back to a bit, a healthy lifestyle.

Rick Cluff: Charlene, thanks for your time.

Charlene Giovannetti-King: Thanks so much for calling and including us.

Rick Cluff: Charlene Giovannetti-King, the Vice President of the Funds Development for the YMCA. Now the organization has dropped the ad with the slogan. What are your thoughts on this and how this advertising campaign was conceived and delivered? You can call us with your thoughts at 604-662-6690 or send us an email to let us know, our email address is earlyed@cbc.ca

Some actions you can take.

People with ADHD like options. So instead of one, I’me throwing out a couple, maybe pick one that feels intuitively right for you. If you’re extra motivated, do one and then come back and chose another. Or do something different.

The only way to stop stigma against people with ADHD is to stop being silent about it.

1. Express your thoughts on this blog post in the comment section or do a blog post of your own on the topic and let me know about it. Or tweet it a link and comment on this post, or post it on Facebook. Maybe you could do a guest post here or on another blog explaining what living with ADHD is really like and what kind of stigma children and adults with ADHD have to face so non ADDers can understand. Here’s 12 Ways to Fight Mental Health Stigma With Social Media. Know any more?

2. Contact the media. The more people that do so, the more likely the media will take it seriously enough to do a followup story on it. The BC Liberal party (which isn’t really very liberal) has a good free contact list for letters to the editor and ways to contact talk radio too.

3. Contact the YMCA and them some questions about why they ran that ad that stigmatized ADHD families? Why haven’t they responded on their website? Update they have done an apology on their website see this post, but you can’t find it anywhere on their homepage Are they trying to hide the story? Also ask them to explain this “We don’t see this (ad) really as a mistake, we see this as our organization is inclusive and open to everyone” And let them know how you feel about the ad and their response. BUT please do so in a respectful, productive way vs. a counterproductive one.

Vancouver YMCA on Twitter @WDCG_YMCA

Contact The Greater Vancouver YMCA

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Can your BC doctor / psychiatrist / psychologist diagnose ADHD? If not, let them know about this workshop.

As an Adult ADHD Coach who’s often asked where can I find a doctor / psychiatrist / psychologist who know’s enough about ADHD to diagnose it, who’s heard far too many horror stories of what happens when people with ADHD DON’T get diagnosed and who emails out many copies of a list of people known to diagnose ADHD in the Vancouver area on regular basis, sometimes several a day, I’ve very, very happy to let you know about this.

If you medical professional doesn’t know enough about ADHD, you might want to tell him about this one day workshop in Vancouver next week to teach people how to diagnose adult ADHD and associated comorbid conditions by Dr. Anthony Ocana, Dr. Cyril Melck, and Mr. Lawrence Sheppard April 21st at Robson Square. Currently UBC medical students only get 1 hour on ADHD.

Also they’re giving a Free Public Seminar – Parenting the ADHD Child – April 21, 2010 – 7-9 pm at Robson Square.

Please pass the info on to anyone you know that might be interested in it.

Learn to Recognize and Assess Adult ADHD and Associated Co-morbidities

Approved for 6 CME Credits by the College of Family Physicians of Canada

April 21st, 2010    8:30 am-4:30 pm

UBC Downtown Campus at Robson Square

800 Robson St, Vancouver, BC

604-822-3333| robsonsquare.ubc.ca

This workshop, appropriate for family physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, pediatricians, clinical counsellors, pharmacists, mental health clinicians, social workers, human resources professionals and teachers, will give you an opportunity to assess and examine actual patients with three of Vancouver’s leading Adult ADHD clinicians: Dr. Anthony Ocana, Dr. Cyril Melck and Mr. Lawrence Sheppard.

The Learning Objectives:

1. Review the neurobiology of ADHD and associated co-morbidities based on the latest research.

2. Review the diagnostic criteria for ADHD in adults vs. adolescent and/or children.

3. Discern the signs and symptoms of common co-morbidities associated with ADHD such as substance   use, impulse control disorders, and bipolar disorders.

4. Observe experienced clinicians conduct an ADHD/ co-morbidity assessment using an actual patient.

5. Undertake an ADHD/ co-morbidity assessment and critique the assessment of your partner.

6. Learn how to bill for the time taken to assess and manage patients with ADHD and associated co-morbidities.

Agenda

8:30am – 9:00am: Registration and Breakfast
9:00am – 10:00am Update of latest ADHD Research – Dr. A Ocana, Mr. Lawrence Sheppard, Review of Diagnostic Criteria – Dr. C Melck

10:00am – 10:30am Break

10:30am – 12:00pm See One’: Watch live patient interviews

12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunch

1:00pm – 3:00pm ‘Do One’: Each participant takes a history from a patient. ‘Teach One’: Each participant gives feedback to his/her partner.

3:00pm – 3:15pm Break

3:15pm – 4:15pm Discussion and review of cases
4:15pm – 4:30pm Closing Remarks

This seminar is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from: Janssen, Lilly, Purdue, Shire

Register for the workshop here

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I’ll be doing an interactive presentation on Adult ADHD coaching at The Vancouver Adult ADD support group this Tuesday, February 2nd from 6.30-8.30 at Ravensong Community Healthcare Center, 2450 Ontario St, near Main & Broadway.

As part of the presentation, I will also be doing a short live demonstration of Adult ADHD coaching of someone that I haven’t coached before.

If you want to be coached at the meeting, please come with an openess & willingness to change yourself and 1, not 3, very specific practical goal or problem. I.e., get organized, get focused is too general and vague. Be very focused and specific, i.e.,  location, context, people etc.

For the curious types, I’ve got an overview on what Adult ADHD coaching is all about on my website including comparisons to therapy and consulting, articles on ADHD coaching, benefits of ADHD coaching, coachability quiz (not everyone is coachable at every point in time), and notes from a live coaching session I did.

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The next CHADD Vancouver meeting is, Tuesday May 19th.

Topic: Feeding Your Child who has ADHD

Speaker: Joy Kiddie, Registered Dietician. She’s done research on ADHD and nutrition with Dr. Margaret Weiss, head of the BC ADHD Clinic at Children’s Hospital. Here’s her website

Date: May 20th

Time: 6.30-8.30pm

Location: 2450 Ontario St. Raven Song Community Health Centre (between Broadway & West 8th Ave)

Joy has ADHD and has ADHD children. She’s spoken before at 2 CHADD Vancouver meetings before. She know’s her topic, is an engaging speaker, and we’ve had good audience feedback.

The next Vancouver Adult ADD support group meeting will be Tues June 2nd topic TBA.

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Update3 The Vancouver Sun today Wed may 13th 09 has linked to this post and covered the story on page A11.  Also The Victoria Times Colonist is also linking to this post on their story in todays paper on page B7.

The penalty for breaking the law could include up to a $10,000 fine and a year in jail. “The penalties are up to the chief electoral officer’s discretion,” said Ken Faris ( Elections B.C. spokesman). “Since the B.C. Liberals responded to our request (to take the offending tweets down), we’re not going to pursue the issue any further.”

Liberal spokesman Chad Pederson said the party removed the items after being contacted by Elections B.C.

“We think it’s a debatable point,” Pederson said, noting that the technology is new. But rather than argue the matter, he said, the party chose to take the items down and pursue the issue at a later date.

Update2 Looks like Green Party also breaking election laws advertising on Twitter on election day #bcelection #bcvotes2009 Like the liberals they’ve deleted their tweets from twitter via Georgia Straight here’s the tweet

Go Green – Be Green – Vote Green

BCGreens: Go Green – Be Green – Vote Green #bcelection
about 14 hours ago from Nambu
http://twitter.com/BCGreens/statuses/1773456965

and the same tweet 6 hours later

You can find it by searching twitter for the name of the tweet

Also BC Liberals violated the law 3 times not one, my mistake.

The Vancouver Suns @gillianshaw shows that Elections BC doesn’t really understand the internet that well and that Elections BC said the BC Liberals “were in contravention of the act” and ordered the BC Liberal party to delete their tweets at 10.30am. But the one I took a screenshot of was still there at 1.30pm

UPDATE: The BC Liberal party has deleted the tweet, without apology or explanation. I have i higher rez version if people are interested they can email me for it.

Around 9.30 this morning, Tuesday May 12th, 2009, The BC Liberal Party violated the BC elections act, section 223 by doing online advertising on Twitter.

The BC Liberal Party’s Offical Twitter account

published this tweet

The BC Liberals are the best choice to build B.C.: http://tinyurl.com/dmy3mq #bcelection
http://twitter.com/bcliberalparty/statuses/1775236510

clicking on that tinyURL link goes to this link on the BC Liberal Party’s official website titled “Improving and protecting vital public services” and talks about how much the govt has spent on health spending.

Rather ironic since the BC Liberals are TOTALLY Ignoring the BC Medical Associations 8 recommendations on ADHD in their February policy paper. It said that ADHD is costing BC half a billion annually but they only counted children with ADHD and ignored adults with ADHD, and there’s more adults with ADHD than kids with ADHD. So it’s costing BC multiple billions

I’ve tried asking several Liberals on twitter for their position on the BCMA ADHD policy paper and none have responded. The Liberals like the BC NDP, BC Greens & BC conservative party are basically using social media in an Anti-social manner, just one way advertising vs acutal conversations. I’ve asked many BC MLA candidates on twitter for their position on the BCMA ADHD policy paper and got either no response or some generic non answer avoidance strategy ie “whole system needs to be revamped”

I even asked 2 of their MLA candidates Colin Hansen and  Margaret MacDiarmid in person last Thursday at the Ridge and the responses I basically got was the Kim Campell quote ie an election is no time to discuss policy. They and NDP Mel Lehman all basically said there’s only a few days left in the campaign no time for policy discussions contact me after the election. Marget was the past president of the BC Medical Association and said as a doctor she’d be more open to dealing with that, and Mel seemed to be genuinely interested if my memory serves me correctly but still no policy response. I wish I had brought a tape recorder.

Here’s my screenshot of the BC Liberal Party’s tweet from my Flickr site

Found this on twitter from @lobbycanada on my #bcelction tweetdeck feed

RT @lobbycanada: Watch the @bcliberalparty break #bcelection law in real-time! Just follow them on Twitter as they tweet away in contravention of Section 233
http://twitter.com/lobbycanada/statuses/1775311783

then this

RT @lobbycanada: #BCElection Act, Section 233: On General Voting Day, election advertising must not be published, transmitted or broadcast. @BCliberalparty
http://twitter.com/lobbycanada/statuses/1775327696

Then I googled the elections act. The BC election site was limited to votefinder and election results all rest locked down.

So on BClaws.ca found this

Election Act
[RSBC 1996] CHAPTER 106

Part 11 — Election Communications
This Act is current to November 1, 2008

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I’m restarting the Vancouver Adult ADD Support Group, the local Adult ADHD support group that I started and ran for 3 years until we became homeless and the group stopped. It’s the adult group of CHADD Vancouver, which I’m on the board of.

We have found a new home for the group, the old home has become available, Thanks for the search & persistence Ed! Thanks also to those that were willing to help out with the group.

The first meeting will be Tuesday May 5th from 6.30 to 8.30pm

Location: Our old home Ravensong Community Healthcare Center, 2450 Ontario st, near main and Broadway, map on the group’s webpage.

Discussion Leader: Pete Quily
Topic: Direction of the group.

For those who attended our support group in the past, 2 questions.

* What worked well in our support group in the past?
* What didn’t work so well or what would you like to change about the group?

For everyone

* What do you want out of & what are you willing to put into the Vancouver Adult ADD Support Group?
* What topics would you like to see covered in the monthly meetings?
* Any news on BC politicians talking about/ignoring the BC Medical Association’s ADHD Policy Paper & 8 Recommendations, including requiring the BC govt to treat ADHD. I.e., what did your local candidate say when you asked them if they supported it, since no one else is asking?

Please help us get the word out there about the only Adult ADHD support group in BC. If you know of any organization or individual that might be interested in finding out about the group, please let them know.

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THere are the notes and the links for my presentation Adhd – Busting The Myths, Breaking The Stigma, Showing Reality, One Post And Tweet At A Time for Mental Health Camp Vancouver April 25, 2009. I won’t be able to cover all this material during the session so I have some extra info here. Tell me what you think of it in the comments.

Here are the topics I’ll cover.

1. Defining ADHD
2. ADHD Impairments
3. Co-existing or Co-morbid conditions that go along with ADHD
4. Costs of ADHD
5. Positives of ADHD
6. Famous people with ADHD
7. Myths about ADHD
8. Social media
9. Some ADHD links

1. Defining ADHD

Diagnosis of ADHD as a child

Adult ADHD 5 minute screening test from Harvard & W.H.O.

CADDRA Canadian ADHD Practice Guidelines 2007-8.

Detailed PDFs on diagnosis, treatment, medication, dealing with side effects etc. Must read for ADDers, show your doctor

2. ADHD Impairments

From Dr. Margaret Weiss head of the BC ADHD children’s clinic excellent PowerPoint entitled “The Economic Costs of ADHD”. Hope to blog it in more detail later

Smoking, drug use, health costs, driving, accidents, school performance, behavior, academic achievement, peer relations, parental functioning, divorce, work, unemployment, dysemployment, psychopathology, quality of life, adaptive skills, divorce

Faraone SV, 2003. 2. Pelham WE, 2007 3. Barkley R, ADHD, Guilford 2006
Jensen P ADHD State of Science, Best Practices.  Kingston, NJ. Civic Research
Institute

Also higher rates of attempted suicide, teen pregnancy,

3. Co-existing or Co-morbid conditions that go along with ADHD

Here’s a list of some on my website Note, comorbidity is the norm with ADHD, not the exception, that being said not everyone with ADHD has one of these conditions.

Antisocial Personality Disorder
Asperger’s Disorder
Autism
ODD Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Bipolar Disorder
Conduct Disorder
Antisocial Personality Disorder
Depression
Dysthymia
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Learning Disabilities
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
OCD Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
ODD Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Substance Abuse Disorder
Tourette’s Syndrome

For more detail the Mayo Clinic has good overviews of each condition.

Or there’s a book ADHD Comorbidities: Handbook for ADHD Complications in Children and Adults. Edited by Thomas E. Brown, Ph.D.

4. Costs of ADHD

Here’s info from 2 slides from Dr. Margaret Weiss, head of the BC ADHD children’s clinic PowerPoint entitled ADHD in the Health Care System. Will upload later

Costs of ADHD in Children

Annual cost ADHD in children
$14,600 per individual in 2005 US $
18% health care
34% education
48% crime and delinquency
42.5 billion/year
Comparable to asthma2
Increased risk ER visits, co-morbidity, accidents
Depression costs 44 billion

1 Pelham W 2007; Chan 2002; Leibson 2001, Swensen 2003

Cost of Adult ADHD

Excess per capita health care and work loss age 7 to 44 and family members
Administrative claims data from a large company
Total excess cost ADHD in 2000 in the US $31.6 billion
5% treatment of the condition
38% other health care costs
45% increased health care costs of family members
12% productivity losses of adult family members
1 Birnbaum 2005

Costs not accounted for

From Dr. Margaret Weiss head of the BC ADHD children’s clinic excellent PowerPoint entitled “The Economic Costs of ADHD” Will upload later.

Smoking 2
Drug abuse3
Foster care
Fetal alcohol and narcotic syndrome
Victims of crime
Victims of drug accidents
Insurance rates
Increased prevalence and adult prevalence 4.4% with 90% comorbidity4
Suffering to the individual, siblings, families, other children and teachers
Decreased life1
1 Barkley R 2 Pomerleau 3 Wilens T 4 Kessler R

ADHD in BC

BC has NO strategy for ADHD. None at all.

The ADHD clinic at Children’s hospital added on an adult ADHD clinic, they soon found it took have their case load, and it developed a year long wait list for an entire year They asked the BC govt for money to take care of the wait list and they said no, so they closed down the adult ADHD clinic. One way to deal with politically embarrassing wait lists.

In Feb the BC medical association released a policy paper on ADHD, with 8 recommendations. They noted the cost of ADHD to BC, called for the BC govt to treat Adults with ADHD, develop a provincial strategy for ADHD etc. They said ADHD cost BC half a billion a year, but they only counted the cost of children with ADHD which means ADHD is costing BC Multiple Billions of dollars annually. Actual treatment of ADHD is the smallest cost.

Here are their 8 recommendations:

Recommendation 1.

The provincial government must restructure the Child and Youth Mental Health Network so that it meets more frequently, is supported with an adequate budget, and is responsible for producing tangible outputs outlined in a publicly-available strategic plan.

Recommendation 2.

The provincial government should work with stakeholders to ensure that any new child mental health plan includes a strategic plan for the delivery of services specifically for patients with ADHD.

One consequence of the lack of strategic direction has been the reduction in services offered to patients with ADHD through the province’s sole centre for ADHD diagnosis and treatment initiation at BC Children’s Hospital (the ADHD Clinic):

Recommendation 3.

The provincial government must provide services for adults with ADHD and follow-up services for children who graduate from the ADHD clinic at age 18.

Recommendation 4.
Funding for ADHD services should be increased to guarantee waitlists of less than three months for all ADHD patients.

Recommendation 5.
A billing fee for consulting with third parties, such as teachers, should be added to the BCMA Fee Guide to encourage optimal coordination with teachers in the diagnosis and management of ADHD.

Recommendation 6.
Medical professional associations for pediatrics, child psychiatry, psychiatry, neurology, and family practice should endorse the Canadian Attention Deficit Disorder Resource Alliance (CADDRA) ADHD practice guidelines; or review, amend, and then endorse revised CADDRA guidelines. Such guidelines should be accompanied by the implementation, in primary care offices across British Columbia, of a ‘diagnostic toolkit’ for ADHD.

Recommendation 7.
PharmaCare should expand coverage for long-acting ADHD medication in order to facilitate compliance, minimize stigma and prevent missed opportunities for focused learning.

Recommendation 8.

In order to improve access to services for ADHD patients and foster the kind of collaborative care arrangements necessary to provide optimal care, both the MoHS and MCFD should train specialized ADHD clinicians for mental health teams and provide BC families access to community services to complement treatment by physicians.

End of Recommendations.

The BC NDP who in the 70’s emptied the mental hospitals in the guise of community care and never did that and then abandoned the mental patients to the predators of the downtown eastside, said nothing about it. NONE of the BC political parties have mentioned ADHD in their platform. Hopefully ADDers and their families will start contacting their MLA candidates to show that their is a need for proper treatment.

Here’s a Vancouver Sun article on a local with ADHD

5. Positives of ADHD

Top Ten ADD Advantages in a Hi Tech Career.

This post got me top of Digg, Delicious, 30,000 unique hits in 3 days, and 200+ links. Still my most popular post on my blog.

1. The Ability to Hyperfocus. IF interested.
2. Rapid Fire Mind.
3. Multitasking at Will.
4. High Energy Level.
5. Highly Creative.
6. Quick Learner. IF interested.
7. Stimulus Seeking Brain.
8. Constantly Scanning your Environment.
9. Great in a Crisis.
10. Risk Taker.

151 Advantages of ADD

My ADHD strengths blog post category

6. Famous people with ADHD

Paul Orfalea who founded Kinko’s. His book is called Copy This! : Lessons from a Hyperactive Dyslexic who Turned a Bright Idea Into One of America’s Best Companies

JetBlue Founder and billionaire CEO David Neeleman who attributes his creativity to ADHD

Magic Johnson

Michael Phelps

Justin Timberlake (ADHD & OCD)

Howie Mandel (ADHD & OCD)

Seth Godin Marketer Author Blogger. “I clearly have ADHD,” he says. “Lucky for me the world kind of organized around me rather than the other way around. It’s such an asset.”

Clarence Page Chicago Tribune Columnist & Author Famous for: Winning a Pulitzer Prize. Twice.

Ty Pennington

James Carville Political Strategist who co lead Bill Clinton’s campaign that won the presidency

Payne Stewart who won the 1999 and 1991 US Open & other pro golfers

7. Myths about ADHD

Myths About ADHD Misconceptions About ADHD – Separating Fact from Fiction

Many Parents Want Distance Between Own Kids And Those With Mental Illness

New research suggests that Americans are more likely to socially reject children with mental illness than they are those with physical illnesses such as asthma. Almost 30 percent of the 1,134 participants said they would not like their child to become friends of a child with depression, and almost one in four said the same thing about ADHD. But a kid with “normal troubles” and asthma, only 10%.

Many ways to take action on stigma from SAMHSA’s Resource Center to Promote Acceptance, Dignity and Social Inclusion Associated with Mental Health.

*  Tips on Taking Action
* Organizing a Campaign or Program
* Planning Anti-stigma Events and Strategies

How to Respond to People Who Say “ADHD doesn’t exist”  & Clinical Evidence of The Existence of ADHD as a Real Condition My answer to the flat earth people.

Pencil, Pens and Meds. LA Times Editorial Stigmatizing ADHD Get’s Fisked By Gina Pera

Helping Your Child Cope with the Stigma of ADHD

Silencing Skeptics: The Truth About ADHD and LD
What is ADHD? Does medication really help? Can adults have ADD? Learn to clear up common misperceptions about ADHD with authority.

Overcoming the ADHD Stigma
An expert psychologist shares his secrets for fighting ADD ADHD stereotyping in children and adults.

Myths and Misconceptions About AD/HD: Science over Cynicism

Helping your child overcome the stigma of ADHD

Spread The Truth About ADHD
3 ways to help friends and family understand that ADHD is a real disorder with real symptoms and real solutions.

8. Social media

12 Ways to Fight Mental Health Stigma With Social Media
I created this post specifically for my presentation. Please check it out, and if you have any other ideas, let me know.

What things have you done to fight stigma against ADHD?

What are you willing to do?

9. Some ADHD links

ADDCoach4u My 130 page ADD Website

Pills Don’t Teach Skills Website of one of my ADHD Coaching Clients

CHADD Vancouver Local ADHD support group I’m on the board of

CADDAC Center for ADD Advocacy, Canada

CADDRA Canadian ADD Resource Alliance

Thanks and please let me know any feedback in the comments

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This is for a presentation I’m doing at Mental Health Camp Vancouver (a conference combining social media with mental health) called ADHD – Busting the myths, breaking the stigma, showing reality, one post and tweet at a time. While ADHD is especially stigmatized as the orphan of mental health conditions, especially Adult ADHD, it’s not the only one that suffers stigma.

12 Ways to Fight Mental Health Stigma With Social Media

Arranged from more anonymous to more personal, and less effort to more effort. There’s a choice for everyone.

1. Click on a factually correct, non stigmatizing mental health article, or personal story via a blog post, tweet, podcast, YouTube video, Facebook update, Friendfeed, web forum etc. Result will traffic to the site/account, encouragement for the creator to continue to create, possible revenue and good for SEO just from that one simple easy click.

2. Actually read/listen/watch above content. Assuming the content is non stigmatizing, and helpful, interesting, or entertaining do one or more of the following.

3. Vote on it /rate it, i.e. number of stars if available.

4. Socially bookmark it in site’s like Stumbleupon, Delicious, etc.

5. Submit it to sites like Digg, Yahoo Buzz, Reddit, Mixx, Propeller etc.

6. Forward the content to others either without a comment, or with a personal comment by :

a) Email
b) Twitter i.e. Retweet it, or on Facebook, Friendfeed etc

7. Comment on the original article, post, video etc in one of the following ways depending on your comfort level:

a) anonymously
b) with your first name
c) with your full name
d) with your full name and the name of your blog/website/Twitter account etc.

8. Do a response to the original content by a blog post, tweet, or video on your blog or social media account

9. Respond to someone lying, stigmatizing, minimizing, trivializing, or shaming a person with a mental health condition or the actual condition itself. This can be done in a wide variety of creative ways depending on your personality, subject knowledge, and comfort level with conflict, some of us occasionally enjoy conflict for a good cause:) Perhaps involve your social media friends in the effort.

10. Create some original content that’s factual, anti stigma or a personal story or story about someone you know, or all of the above on one or more of your social media accounts.

11. Participate in a social media mental health campaign. I.e., anti stigma, awareness, fund raising, political action, online petition, contacting politicians etc. Could be all online or a combination of online and offline i.e. involving traditional media.

12. Create a social media mental health campaign.

If you know of any other ones or some good examples of the above, please share them in the comments for others. If you think this was useful, please do one of the above for this post:)

Hopefully some of you might take one action now and ask your BC MLA candidate if they support the 8 Recommendations of the BC Medical Association in their February policy paper on ADHD. Currently BC has NO Strategy at all on ADHD, Adults with ADHD are especially ignored, ADHD is costing BC billions annually, and the BC Liberal Party, the BC NDP, and the BC Green Party have all ignored the recommendations, they have nothing at all in their platforms for ADHD. Hopefully BC ADDers won’t be abandoned again.

If you don’t know your riding use the BC MLA finder

List of  BC Liberal Party candidates

List of BC NDP candidates

List of BC Green Party candidates

List of BC MLA candidates on twitter

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I was interviewed on Victoria BC’s CFAX 1070 radio station on adult ADHD monday April 13th. The host was Dave Dixson and I really enjoyed it. Hope to have the audio from the show sometime next week, and will upload it when I do.

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UBC and SFU are hosting two free public forums titled “Searching Health Information Online” as part of the Technologies for Better Health project.

It’s led by an experienced medical librarian.

Free, but you need to register online.

When we use the Internet as a source of information about health and wellness, how do we know that what we are finding is appropriate, reliable and trustworthy? The following FREE learning events are offered as part of a joint SFU-UBC initiative which explores how information technologies in health can best benefit us all. Register in either or both:

Interactive Presentation
April 29, 2009, 6:30 to 8:30 pm
Lecture Theatre 1020
G. & L. Diamond Health Care Centre
(at Vancouver General Hospital)
2775 Laurel St. (& Oak), Vancouver

Hands-On Session
May 13, 2009, 6:30 to 8:30 pm
Room 3300
Simon Fraser University Surrey
(at Surrey Central SkyTrain Station)
13450 102nd Ave., Surrey

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