National Spotlight Aimed at ADHD, Area Child Psychiatrist Promoting Awareness
Child Guidance & Family Solutions' Medical Director Dr. Steven Jewell presents to agencies, schools, parents and individuals on ADHD
Akron, OH - 12-20-2006 - ADHD has drawn national attention with recent stories involving Portland Police using tasers and batons on a 15-year-old autistic boy suffering from Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity (ADHD) inhibiting his ability to follow directions and difficulty with emotional control and recent US estimate of ADHD drugs expected to reach $4.3 billion by 2012 with better understanding of the disorder by mental health community. One person striving to bring this message to the Ohio mental health community is Child Guidance & Family Solutions’ Medical Director Dr. Steven Jewell who has been giving presentations on the disorder to increase awareness regarding the prevalence of ADHD in children and adults.
Dr. Jewell has passionately given presentations on symptoms, alternative treatments and the current concern for ADHD to numerous agencies, including Akron Children’s Hospital, schools, parents and individuals in an effort to better equip community members on the disorder whose heredity likelihood is as high as 70-95%. On top of his regular duties as Medical Director of Child Guidance & Family Solutions, which include psychiatric evaluations, medication management, supervision and administration of psychiatric staff and agency-wide administrative responsibilities, he began to give dozens of presentations on ADHD after realizing and identifying the need.
ADHD affects individuals’ lives in more ways than just family, learning and relationships but also increases likelihood of driving citations, jail, hospitalization, job loss and community ostracism. “The direct impact of ADHD is the impairment of learning and organizational abilities, as well as social skills. In fact, driving and increased accident proneness may be a result of ADHD. Indirect impacts often include self-esteem, increased stress, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety and drug and alcohol abuse. Nearly 7 million Americans suffer from ADHD and so many cases go undiagnosed.”
His commitment and time to advocacy efforts on behalf of community child psychiatrists and on behalf of children and their families suffering from mental health disorders, particularly ADHD, is impressively divided as a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM), Co-Chair of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Committee of Ohio Psychiatric Association (OPA), founding member of the Ohio Alliance for Children’s Mental Health and board member of the American Association of Community Psychiatrists.
For close to 90 years Child Guidance & Family Solutions provides treatment to over 4,000 children and 1,000 adults every year and employs 150 professionals and support staff. The agency is Summit County’s leading provider of behavioral and mental healthcare to adults, children and families. Their counselors and case managers are also on-site in numerous area school districts.
Media Contact
Kim Skerl
Administrative Assistant
Child Guidance & Family Solutions
Central Office
312 Locust Street
Akron, Ohio 44302
Phone: (330) 762-4559
