Shire Announces 2015 Excellence in ADHD Patient Group Award Winners

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Dundee and Angus ADHD Support Group, ADHD Kids Rock Society and ASOCIACIÓN ANDAH TDAH recognised for outstanding projects supporting people affected by ADHD.

To coincide with ADHD Awareness Month, Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPG) today announced the winners of the 2015 Excellence in ADHD Patient Group Awards.* The awards celebrate outstanding projects led by patient advocacy organisations that aim to improve the lives of people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

On behalf of Shire, an international panel of judges awarded unrestricted grants of €10,000 to the following patient groups in recognition of the impact of their innovative work during 2014:

“At Shire, we are constantly inspired by the commitment of patient advocacy groups to enrich the lives of those affected by ADHD by building a better understanding of the disorder and tackling its stigma,” said Tom Croce, Head of Global Patient Advocacy at Shire. “This year, we received a large number of first-rate entries and were extremely impressed how each project has positively impacted people affected by ADHD.”

Developed, funded and organised by Shire, the Excellence in ADHD Patient Group Awards are part of the company’s patient-centric approach that provides support to people living with ADHD and their caregivers.

“We are delighted to be nominated as one of the winners for the Excellence in ADHD Patient Group Awards 2015,” said Alison Zerouk, Project manager at Dundee and Angus ADHD Support Group. “We would like to thank all our staff and volunteers as without their motivation and commitment this would not have been possible. This grant will be extremely beneficial in supporting the essential work we do for children with ADHD.”

“In my eyes all kids with ADHD deserve to know that they rock and adults need to know that they can’t punish the ADHD out of kids,” says ADHD Kids Rock Society Founder Jeff Rasmussen.  “I want to encourage kids from all over the globe to speak up and share their story. You are not alone!”

“Winning the grant will help us to continue our therapeutic activities, camps and other projects that aim to improve the standard of living for the ADHD children we work with,” says Déborah Moreno Caballero of Asociación ANDAH TDAH. “For us, the most important thing is to help them smile day after day.”

The esteemed judging panel included the following representatives from patient and mental health organisations: Audrey Craven, European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA); Kawaldip Sehmi, International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations; Frédéric Destrebecq, European Brain Council; and Rebecca Müller, Global Alliance of Mental Health Advocacy Networks-Europe (GAMIAN-Europe).

About ADHD
ADHD is a common psychiatric disorder in children and adolescents1,2 and adults.3 The disorder is recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO)4 and is thought to affect around 5% of children and adolescents globally.1 Worldwide, 3.4% (range 1.2-7.3%) of adults aged 18-44 are thought to have ADHD.3 The core symptoms are inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.5 While the exact origin of ADHD is not known, studies have indicated that ADHD is typically associated with certain structural and functional brain abnormalities.6-8

About the Excellence in ADHD Patient Group Awards
The awards aimed to recognise, reward and profile the outstanding work of patient groups working in the area of ADHD; to share best practice with patient groups working in the area of ADHD across the world; and to spread positive messages about ADHD and the impact of advocacy campaigns amongst the general public, media and healthcare professionals.

Any project led by a patient group that supports people affected by ADHD was eligible for consideration for the retrospective award. Projects promoting the use of any specific medication were not considered for an award.

The awards were available to patient groups based outside of the United States of America. Only organisations were eligible; individuals could not submit a project for consideration.

All award entries were assessed against a pre-determined set of criteria by an independent judging panel. Projects were scored on a scale of 1 to 10 for each of the Award criteria. The three entries with the highest total scores were declared the winners. All judges’ scores had equal weight. In cases where entrants’ scores are identical, the judges made a final decision.

About ADHD Awareness Month
ADHD Awareness Month is October, when a number of events are held worldwide to raise awareness and share information on this challenging disorder. Traditionally, the third week of ADHD Awareness Month has been celebrated as ADHD Awareness Week in Europe, led by ADHD-Europe.

For further information please contact:

Media
Deborah Hibbett dhibbett@shire.com +41 79 961 84 64

 

References

* The Excellence in ADHD Patient Group Awards are open to patient organisations based outside of the United States with not-for-profit/charitable status that put the needs and interests of people affected by ADHD at the heart of their work. The 2015 winners are all based outside of the US.

  1. POLANCZYK G, et al. (2007)The Worldwide Prevalence of ADHD: A Systematic Review and Metaregression Analysis. Am J Psych;164:942–948.
  2. WILLCUTT EG. (2012) The prevalence of DSM-IV attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a meta-analytic review. Neurotherapeutics. 9: 490-499.
  3. FAYYAD J. et al. (2007). Cross-national prevalence and correlates of adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The British Journal of Psychiatry. 190:402-409.
  4. International Classification of Diseases, 10th ed., (ICD-10). World Health Organization 2007:Chapter 5,F90. http://apps.who.int/classifications/icd10/browse/2010/en#/F90-F98. [Last accessed June 2015].
  5. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th ed. Washington, DC, 2013.
  6. DICKSTEIN SG, et al. (2006) The neural correlates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: an ALE meta-analysis. J Child Psychol Psychiatry;47:1051-62.
  7. HOEKZEMA E, et al. (2014) An independent components and functional connectivity analysis of resting state FMRI data points to neural network dysregulation in adult ADHD. Human Brain Mapping;35:1261-72.
  8. RUBIA K, et al. (1999) Hypofrontality in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder during higher-order motor control: a study with functional MRI. Am J Psych;156:891-6.