Saturday, March 21, 2009

New Faces on Facebook®: "ADHD Moms" Online Community Offers Tools for Moms of Children with ADHD

New Faces on Facebook®: "ADHD Moms" Online Community Offers Tools for Moms of Children with ADHD

In response to the rising trend of consumers seeking health information and everyday support online, McNeil Pediatrics™, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc, has announced the launch of the "ADHD Moms" online community housed on Facebook®.

Titusville, NJ (PRWEB) July 16, 2008

In response to the rising trend of consumers seeking health information and everyday support online, McNeil Pediatrics™, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc, has announced the launch of the "ADHD Moms" online community housed on Facebook®. Facebook® is a social networking site with more than 70 million active users. "ADHD Moms," available at www. facebook. com/adhdmoms (http://www. facebook. com/adhdmoms), is a unique online destination where mothers of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can go to hear directly from other moms about their personal experiences and get tips for raising children and adolescents with this challenging condition.

Leaders of the ADHD Moms community include: Patricia Quinn, MD, a nationally recognized pediatrician who treated children with ADHD for more than 30 years and now focuses on ADHD education, advocacy and research, and Debbie Phelps, a middle school principal whose son, Olympic gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps, was diagnosed with ADHD at age nine.

"'ADHD Moms' is the first online community of its kind on Facebook®. There, moms of children with ADHD can get credible advice and information from ADHD experts and fellow moms in similar situations," said Dr. Quinn. "It is a resource where moms can turn for the support they often need when raising a child with this condition."

The ADHD Moms community will include monthly feature articles, a series of podcasts addressing various issues related to ADHD, personal testimonials, interactive monthly polls, and a collection of other ADHD resources. The ADHD Moms community leaders will act as a resource for other moms, offering their insights on a wide range of important topics such as how ADHD impacts the entire family, back-to-school preparation, inheritability of ADHD, helping children build confidence, managing ADHD during the summer and holiday seasons and much more.

"One of the things I found to be most helpful in dealing with Michael's ADHD was getting practical advice from other moms in similar situations," said Debbie Phelps. "As an educator for the past 34 years and the mother of a son with ADHD, I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences and providing support to other moms raising children with this condition. I encourage all mothers of children with ADHD to visit www. facebook. com/adhdmoms (http://www. facebook. com/adhdmoms) and experience this valuable resource."

Research has shown that there are 32 million moms online today, and social networking sites are the highest-visited areas of the Web for this demographic. The location of the ADHD Moms online community makes it an easily accessible resource to moms already actively networking Facebook®.

*Dr. Patricia Quinn is a paid consultant for McNeil Pediatrics™.
*Debbie Phelps is a paid spokesperson for the "ADHD Moms" initiative sponsored by McNeil Pediatrics™.

About ADHD
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common and treatable neurobehavioral condition, characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), ADHD is one of the most common mental disorders in childhood. It affects an estimated four million children and adolescents in the United States.

About McNeil Pediatrics
McNeil Pediatrics™, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc, is committed to meeting the needs of medicine through the development of therapies specifically formulated for children and adolescents. McNeil Pediatrics™ now markets a treatment for children, adolescents and adults with ADHD in the US. McNeil Pediatrics™ is continuing to explore other new therapies to meet the special needs of children and the pediatric community. Visit http://www. mcneilpediatrics. net/ (http://www. mcneilpediatrics. net/) for more information.

Media Contacts:
Meredith Teague: (919) 260-7998 
Paula Mavroudis: (312) 729-4294
GolinHarris

GolinHarris
(mteague @ golinharris. com)
(pmavroudis @ golinharris. com)

# # #