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How to ADHD: What if We Could Make Our World More ADHD Friendly?

9/12/2021

I'm not someone who struggled in School --- and School coupled with my Home Life was really about as close to a perfect ENVIRONMENT as one could hope for.

I really came out of that thinking I was PERFECT or PRETTY CLOSE --- at least academically. I had organizational issues that my family was aware of --- both my parents were NEAT FREAKS --- and that served me very well.

BUT they didn't imagine and I didn't imagine that I had significant EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING DIFFERENCES or DEFICITS --- HEY, I WAS AT THE TOP OF THE CLASS.

ADULTHOOD was to be one TRIAL BY FIRE after another, professionally and personally.

Now a lot of this has to do with HOW SENSITIVE ONE IS.

Hair Stylists often ask: "Are You Tender-Headed" --- Man am I "Tender-Headed"

Further, I think there might be some problematic EPIGENETICS going on ---- You're SO SENSITIVE to the ENVIRONMENT
- That if things are going well --- Hey, I'm next to perfect;
- If things are not going well --- Your whole body and mind is becoming MORE SENSITIVE in an attempt to right itself --- and that can certainly be problematic.
  - Bipolar Disorder involves MULTIPLE SYSTEMS of the BODY -- not just one.
  - Further, one of the discoveries coming out of the University of Michigan School of Medicine--- your cells are MORE REACTIVE / SENSITIVE --- and that's DEVELOPMENTAL.

My experience is that the MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSION is NOT UP TO SPEED on NEURO-DIVERSITY and that is having DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES.

WELL: The Mental Health Profession is the most "PROXIMATE LINK" in the CAUSAL CHAIN or NET (after the person themselves)---

But they are not going to be able to SOLVE this problem by themselves anymore than the person is-----
- That's because there are a lot of DRIVERS of inadequate understanding of NEURO-DIVERSITY and its RELATIONSHIP to Psychiatric Disorders, Substance Use, Homelessness and Criminal Justice Involvement.

THAT brings us to TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE FRIDAY.

Further, on Sunday we will get into HOW and WHY this INADEQUATE UNDERSTANDING of NEURO-DIVERSITY is causing DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES.

Click Here for the How To ADHD Website & Neurodiversity University

We've Been SELECTING for NEURO-DIVERSITY

9/9/2021

*Except we didn't think we were selecting for NEURO-DIVERSITY -- we thought we were selecting for Intelligence & Talent

Part of what I'm trying to say here is --- not only bad diet, lack of exercise, modern farming practices, the Old Friends Hypothesis are responsible for an increase in Immune Disorders, Mental Illness & Neuro-Diversity

--- at the same time --- we've been selecting for Neuro-Diversity --- but what we thought we were selecting for was Intelligence and Talent.

I'm critical of some of the incarnations of "Emotional Intelligence" BUT part of what they got right is that TRADITIONAL INTELLIGENCE does have weaknesses that have historically not been talked about.

Further, while some might disagree, my observation is that TWICE EXCEPTIONALITY is much more the RULE than the EXCEPTION in the GIFTED and NEURO-DIVERSE POPULATIONS.

Many if not most of the great thinkers, scientists and artists ---- were NEURO-DIVERSE --- my meaning is that they had significantly advanced abilities in one or more areas and executive functioning differences or deficits.

I would submit that greater developmental inflammation is responsible in many cases for BOTH:

Significantly advanced abilities in one or more areas, and
Executive Functioning differences or deficits

If DEVELOPMENTAL INFLAMMATION is the source of these advanced abilities --- what's the MECHANISM?

I would submit that the MECHANISM is heightened SENSITIVITY to the ENVIRONMENT
- BUT TOO MUCH Heightened Sensitivity can OVERLOAD the SYSTEMS of the BODY --- causing MORE INFLAMMATION, leading to INFLAMMATORY and/or PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS.

Einstein didn't talk until he was 5 and was really the model for the Absent-Minded Professor.

Smithsonian Magazine: New Study Suggests Leonardo da Vinci had ADHD

Leonardo da Vinci --- our great RENAISSANCE MAN --- was considered unreliable by some if not many of his patrons.

I suspect that Leonardo had his own agenda, and it wasn't always that of his patrons.

[BTW --- I know Leonardo was gay]

This is a lot about finding the intersection between:

the PEOPLE WE REALLY HAVE (& Developing their Talents and Working Around their Weaknesses even if those STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES are NOT TYPICAL) and
the NEEDS & WANTS of the SOCIETY for GOODS & SERVICES (Morality somehow prevailing).

We're not doing that ---- and the REALITY is a significant number of neuro-diverse people are finding it hard to fit into this economy.

And that among other things is leading to:

A Mental Health Crisis
A Substance Use Crisis, and
Homelessness

Colter Wall's "Sleeping on the Blacktop" ---When our Society FAILS Us or the People We Care About ----- It is a Spiritual Crisis

9/9/2021

Corn liquor tastes sweeter in this town
Could it be it's the same as the last?
I swear I've seen ya face elsewhere before
Just as familiar as a bottle and a glass

Lyrics

Hey darlin'!
Sleeping on the blacktop
Hey darlin'!
Running through the trees honey
Hey darlin'!
Leaving for the next town
Less'n my sense catches up with me

Colter Wall paints a PICTURE of Homelessness

The Dangers INHERENT in homelessness (See Colorado's own HORROR STORIES)
The UBIQUITY of Homelessness from one town to another --- that is often true in Colorado.

Wall also paints a picture of HIMSELF --- the NARRATOR

Feeling Morally Obligated to Help
BUT having his own problems and limitations
Choosing to Help (for the moment) even as he appreciates the daunting odds

Dublin City University
DCU Autism and Homelessness research presentation (2022)

I think as a Society we do appreciate that "Mental Illness" and "Substance Problems" are big drivers of HOMELESSNESS.

What we're just beginning to appreciate is that NEURO-DIVERSITY is a big driver of "MENTAL ILLNESS," "Substance Problems" and sometimes HOMELESSNESS.

What's needed is SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, but we also must have SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT and SUPPORTED ENTREPENEURSHIP,

Two Dynamics: Abilities and a Hierarchical Society

9/8/2021

Abilities

ABOVE AVERAGE: A lot of neuro-diverse people have abilities in one or more areas that are ABOVE AVERAGE.
- We can't just cram these people into menial labor and think it is all going to work out.
- Certainly Australia labor data showed that JOBS need to fit the person --- otherwise it is going to DAMAGE their MENTAL HEALTH.

I think there is a real relationship between INFORMATION PROCESSING and EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING ISSUES. My experience is that if you can ACCOMMODATE / WORK WITH some of those INFORMATION and SENSORY PROCESSING ISSUES ----- Emotional Regulation will likely be improved and other areas as well.

It is important to recognize that the person is often just more BIOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE to the ENVIRONMENT --- whether the PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT and/ or the SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT.

THAT IS NOT WHAT WE THINK. We think the problem is the PERSON IS NOT SENSITIVE --- from my perspective, it is the person's heightened sensitivity to stimuli that is OVERWHELMING THE PERSON and sometimes those around the person.

BELOW AVERAGE or DIFFERENT EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING

Hobbs Consultancy

HILDA: Household Income & Labor Dynamics in Australia

The psychosocial quality of work determines whether employment has benefits for mental health: results from a longitudinal national household panel survey

Image Credit: Wikipedia

HIERARCHICAL SOCIETIES: My Strengths are Better than Your Strengths, and my Weaknesses Don't Matter --- Your Weaknesses do Matter and I don't Understand Your Strengths

Colorado Needs a Supportive Housing Plan for People with Physical and Cognitive Disabilities

9/5/2021

Alaska is on the right track.

In April 2014, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), its Division of Behavioral Health (DBH), and the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority (the Trust) formally embarked on a statewide strategic supportive housing planning process.

The purpose of the process was to develop a three-year action plan that would enable Alaska to achieve the following objectives:

1. Maximize the development of integrated, affordable, lease-based permanent supportive housing (PSH) for Alaskans with serious behavioral health conditions served by DHSS and the Trust.

2. Identify, develop, and implement the services that individuals need to succeed in PSH.

3. Coordinate efforts among state and partner agencies working to develop and ensure access to PSH.

4. Leverage additional federal financial participation through modifications to state Medicaid services.

DBH and the Trust contracted with the Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc. (TAC), a national non-profit consulting and technical assistance firm and recognized leader at the intersection of affordable housing, health care, and human services policy and systems to facilitate the planning process and develop strategic goals for these partnering state agencies to implement.

Nothing is related: bodily System Edition

8/31/2021

"NOTHING IS RELATED"

What is A Tribe Called Red up to in this video:
- While there are indigenous vocalizations --- we don't see "indigenous" people in the video
- The main characters are Black and seemingly Arab.

The Song

A Tribe Called Red (now known as The Halluci Nation) is a Indigenous Music Group in Canada --- they are not neuroscientists.

BUT I think the song R.E.D. is about getting EVERYONE into the SAME HUMAN TRIBE and into the same "IN GROUP."

For The Halluci Nation that is being done for SACRED REASONS.

The Law: "Nothing is Related" --- Some of the MOST RELEVANT FACTS are routinely deemed "IRRELEVANT"

Whether TRAUMA or a Brain Injury --- people are used to Courts deeming those things "IRRELEVANT" to the disposition of a criminal case.

BUT what is often driving those MYOPIC LEGAL DECISIONS is:

UNCONSCIOUS BIAS FOR the negative impacts of our COMPLEX, HIERARCHICAL SOCIAL ORDER, and

STATE FAILURE to provide INTENSIVE SERVICES including Supported Employment , HOUSING & PLACEMENTS at the SCALE NEEDED for Justice Involved People.

People have latched onto the "HEART" or the "HUMORS" or the "BRAIN" as the bodily answer to it all for a long, long time.

It doesn't appear in 2021, that we can understand COGNITIVE DISABILITY / DIFFERENCE without understanding not only the BRAIN, but other SYSTEMS of the BODY as well.

Much focus is on the IMMUNE SYSTEM, but researchers are also investigating the ENDROCRINE SYSTEM, the MICROBIOME and METABOLISM and their INTER-RELATIONSHIPS with THEMSELVES and the BRAIN.

Intent is relevant --- but not for punishment -- for dangerousness

8/26/2021

Right now: Proof Beyond A Reasonable Doubt is running headlong into some outdated COMPETENCY & INSANITY STATUTES.

While most people INTENDED THE CRIME --- Most People who COMMIT CRIMES have:

A Brain Injury, and/or
Substance Issues, and/or
Mental Illness, and/or
Developmental Disabilities

that are greatly mediated by INNATE & ADAPTIVE INFLAMMATION affecting the Brain.

"INTENT" is RELEVANT ---- but not for "PUNISHMENT" --- On the other hand, "INTENT" often can indicate "DANGEROUSNESS" or at least be RELEVANT EVIDENCE of that.

If "BAD INTENT" is often the result of a COGNITIVE DISABILITY, we don't need to PUNISH the COGNITIVE DISABILITY --- we need to TREAT the UNDERLYING HEALTH ISSUE/ COGNITIVE DISABILITY which probably involves INNATE & ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY as well the BRAIN and other SYSTEMS OF the BODY.

If we don't have great treatments, we provide whatever level and duration of HUMANE SUPERVISION necessary to protect the public.

That looks very much like Civil Commitment or Outpatient Certification --- BUT just like traditional MENTAL HEALTH CERTIFICATION --- it is INEFFECTIVE if we don't provide the Supportive Housing, Intensive Services and/or Placements needed.

Science & Research Hot Topics

3 Big Takeaways from the Research

The Immune System, Physical Health Issues & Mental Health Issues

CRAP Justice & Crap Services --- They Often Go Together ---- Revisited

8/17/2021

19-year-old Colorado young man with mental health and addiction problems sentenced to 3 years (7 credited) in Prison for Property Crimes.

See the 1st Edition ---
Crap Justice & Crap Services --- They Often Go Together

Aloysius from Evelyn Waugh's "Brideshead Revisited"

Radboud University --- Netherlands

"Brideshead Castle represents English heritage, tradition, and Catholicism."

Sebastian & Aloysius

Sebastian is "immature," alcoholic and his family is fabulously wealthy.

Sebastian continues to falter and his sister predicts he will soon die from alcoholism.

I will just say --- if you have seen that --- it is something you will not forget.

On the other hand, people who are neuro-diverse often have abilities or talents that neurotypicals don't have.

The SIGNIFICANT & SUBSTANTIAL RISK for individuals if the SOCIETY recognizes the BIOLOGICAL BASIS of BEHAVIOR --- not in a handful of cases but across the board--- is EUGENICS.

For the SOCIETY, people must have safety.

Now, not everyone who is neuro-diverse is JUSTICE-INVOLVED --- but thousands of people with ADHD, Brain Injury, Mental Illness, Autism and Substance Issues are Justice-Involved.

What Are You Good At?

Clinical Psychologist Tayyab Rashid at TEDxUTSC --
University of Toronto at Scarborough

"Nobody has it all, Nobody lacks it all"

So on the one hand, we're OUTRAGED that the Housing, Intensive Services and Placements are not available to prevent imprisonment of a 19-year-old with mental health and substance issues.

On the other hand, the COMMITMENT we need to make to one another is not an arbitrary term of years --- it's a LIFETIME COMMITMENT to provide SUPPORT when needed.

Strengths-Based Approach

The incomplete science of lobatomies and current DSM 5 Personality Disorders

8/16/2021

What I'm saying is the INCOMPLETE SCIENCE of LABOTOMIES is in some respects ANALOGOUS to the INCOMPLETE SCIENCE that has led to the NIGHTMARE resulting from combining "ANTI-SOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER DIAGNOSIS" with Ancient IDEAS of MENS REA / Criminal Intent and OUT-DATED COMPETENCY & INSANITY STATUTES.

Australia is THINKING about Civil Commitment for "Anti-Social Personality Disorder" and some researchers are seeing ASPD as a developmental disability.

I think what societies will find is if they INVEST MUCH MORE in DEVELOPING NATURAL STRENGTHS and EMPLOYING MORE NATURAL STRENGTHS and WORK-AROUNDS for EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING DIFFERENCES, especially at the TOPS and BOTTOMS of their SOCIETIES ---- a lot of our SOCIAL DISCORD will CALM DOWN.

Neuroscientist Antonio Damascio: "The Brain is the Servant of the Body"

University of Virginia School of Medicine: the Immune System Controls Social Behavior

About 50,000 people received lobotomies in the United States, most of them between 1949 and 1952. About 10,000 of these procedures were transorbital lobotomies. The rest were mostly prefrontal lobotomies. Walter Freeman performed about 3,500 lobotomies during his career, of which 2,500 were his “ice pick” procedure.

My Lobotomy – StoryCorpshttps://storycorps.org › stories › my-lobotomy

RECONCILING SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTS WITH BIOLOGY.

This is author Johann Hari on TRIBES ---- we're NOT SOLITARY ANIMALS.

Hari is using examples to show the importance of ENVIRONMENT.

Wouldn't it be IMPORTANT for our BODIES to MONITOR & REACT to that Social Environment?

Our IMMUNE SYSTEMS seem to be responding to / reacting to not only PATHIGENS but also the Social Environment.

BRAIN INJURY: The Emerging Cognitive Disability in US Criminal Justice & Globally?

8/12/2021

Val's Take

When we think of cognitive disability in Criminal Justice we often think of MENTAL ILLNESS and often some type of PSYCHOSIS.
Later we started looking at DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY and LOW IQ, and more recently we've come back to MENTAL ILLNESS.

Denver, Australia, the UK are some of the places that are doing work on BRAIN INJURY in CRIMINAL JUSTICE and it appears to be OVERWHELMINGLY REPRESENTED in the Criminal Justice Population.

The Building Bridges project: Linking disconnected service networks in acquired brain injury and criminal justice (2020)

Affiliations

1Private practice, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
2Concept Psychology Services, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
3Brain Injury Rehabilitation Research Group, Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
4John Walsh Centre for Rehabilitation Research, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

The Building Bridges project: Linking disconnected service networks in acquired brain injury and criminal justice (2020)

Affiliations

1Private practice, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
2Concept Psychology Services, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
3Brain Injury Rehabilitation Research Group, Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
4John Walsh Centre for Rehabilitation Research, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.The Building Bridges project: Linking disconnected service networks in acquired brain injury and criminal justice (2020)

Affiliations

1Private practice, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
2Concept Psychology Services, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
3Brain Injury Rehabilitation Research Group, Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
4John Walsh Centre for Rehabilitation Research, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

The surprising connection between brain injuries and crime | Dr. Kim Gorgens (University of Denver) -- 2019

"Here's a shocking statistic: 50 to 80 percent of people in the criminal justice system in the US have had a traumatic brain injury. In the general public, that number is less than five percent.

"Neuropsychologist Kim Gorgens shares her research into the connection between brain trauma and the behaviors that keep people in the revolving door of criminal justice -- and some ways to make the system more effective and safer for everyone."

People with more than one TBI have higher rates of criminality. Injury in childhood and young adulthood may be particularly associated with criminality.

Aggressive behaviour, temper outbursts and disinhibition increase with TBI. These problems relate to offending behaviour and inprisonment. Oct 3, 2019

Traumatic brain injury in the prison population - GOV.UKhttps://www.gov.uk › ... › Prisons and probation

How many people in prison have brain injuries?

In prisons, however, approximately 60 percent of adults have had at least one TBI—and even higher prevalence has been reported in some systems. These injuries, which can alter behavior, emotion and impulse control, can keep prisoners behind bars longer and increases the odds they will end up there again. Feb 4, 2012

Brain Injury Rate 7 Times Greater among U.S. Prisoners ...https://www.scientificamerican.com › article › traumatic-b...

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