ADD / ADHD Coaching Blog

ADHD Coaching - Crazy Busy & Easily Distracted

Well, it's been awhile since I have posted here, and I'll tell you that it is NOT for a lack of interest or wanting to connect with you all.

The last few weeks have been incredibly busy, without (what at least feels like) a moment to spare.

But let me realistic with you.

I have had plenty of time to write a short blog post.  So what happened then, you might be asking?

Simply put, caring for two young children makes time feel incredibly short and incredibly busy.  Is my mind clear?  Yes  Is my mind free?  Yes

But sometimes, when I get 5 seconds, I just want time to myself.

Does that affect my productivity?  YES!

And I have no doubt this happens to you as well.  Whether it is ADHD or not, we all get busy and we all get distracted.  And for those of you struggling with ADHD (either personally or with a child), life seems a little bit more chaotic than it has to be or should be.

I raise this point, not so much to provide infinite wisdom or something you don't know.  In fact, I am willing to bet you know this fact of life better than me.  But, I still have to acknowledge it.

Like right now, my son is sitting in his high-chair, screaming at the top of his lungs.  To him, it is a new game because he can finally raise his voice.  To me, the sound is piercing and hurts my ears.  But to him - this is pure FUN as he learns yet another new skill.

Most days, this is what distracts me from getting work done, but this morning, I set a goal to come on here and say hello.

I hope you are all doing well.

Rory
Let Me Know What You Think!

The Disorganized Mind

I was planning to wait until April to talk about the book The Disorganized Mind: Coaching Your ADHD Brain to Take Control of Your Time, Tasks, and Talents because it's not going to be published until April 1st. I got a review copy a few weeks ago and think the book is great so I figured with only about 2 weeks left until it's published I could start talking about it now. Since I have ADHD myself I have a very hard time waiting for things and I know that a lot of the people reading my blogs do too.

Here's some good news! If you pre-order The Disorganized Mind: Coaching Your ADHD Brain to Take Control of Your Time, Tasks, and Talents you can save 5%. So even though you'll need to wait about 2 weeks to get the book you'll save some money!

Tara McGillicuddy,SCAC

ADHD & Thinking Outside The Box

Hi everyone! 

It's been about a week, and I am happy to be back here on the ADD / ADHD Coaching Blog.  And what a week it has been.  Just jam packed with life happening all over the place.

How about you?

Well, the last few posts I have been writing have all really been about thinking outside of the box...  About trying new things...  About asking questions...  And about looking to alternatives for support in managing your child's symptoms of ADHD.

Alternatives are everywhere, and should be explored (within reason).

Now, you might be asking, "Why?"  And that's good.

The answer is that ADHD is different among everyone who experiences.  Sure, there are "hallmark" symptoms - the big ones - but not everyone experiences them in the same way.  Not everyone sees things the same way.  And most of all, not everyone faces the same struggles or believes in struggles.

So it is really up to the individual to seek out what will make the difference to them.

Action steps:

• Focus on one area of your child's life
• Try a bunch of different tactics
• Pay attention to what works!
• Pay attention to what DOES NOT work!
• Do more of what works

Managing symptoms should not does not have to be a struggle all the time.  I know it won't be easy - but find tips, tools, & strategies that work for your child.

Rory Stern, PsyD
Get A Free Report Here

Resiliency - Personal and Professional

It's kind of funny how a certain theme seems to pop up in relationship to ADD Coaching. This week a theme for both my ADD Coaching Clients and myself has been resiliency. I have a couple of excellent resources about resiliency that I want to recommend.

The first is the book the The Power of Resilience. This is an excellent resource about personal resilience. The authors Dr. Robert Brooks and Dr. Sam Goldstein have also researched resilience. The Power of Resilience a really powerful book that combines scientific research with warmth and emotion.

The second is brand new book called Upping the Downside. This a great resource about Professional resilience. Also if you order Upping the Downside today you'll get access to a bunch of different gifts related to professional resilience.

Tara McGillicuddy, SCAC

ADHD & Searching For Hope

The last few posts I have written about, have really talked about looking for "off the beaten path" strategies for managing and understanding ADHD.

When working with parents of children with ADHD, I find that it is just not simply enough to look at a child's behavior as just ADHD.  And this is particularly true when you are first starting to wonder:

"Does my child have ADHD?"

One of the most popular articles I have written, is about ADHD & a Gluten-free diet.  You can read it here (if you are interested).

The main idea behind the article was that Jenny McCarthy (when she found out her son had autism) searched high and low to find different alternatives to treat her child.  My point was to illustrate that she went well-beyond the beaten path to find resources and information on autism that just wasn't being heavily promoted.

I think the article has taken on a life of it's own, because many people now ask me if a Gluten-Free diet can "cure" or treat ADHD.  The pure answer is "no."

And I still stand by the fact that this article was only intended to share a message:

"Sometimes you need to dig deep and look farther than you imagined to find out what is really going on, and what can really make a difference.

Rory Stern, PsyD
Get A Free Report Here

Attention Deficit Disorder Carnival #39

Welcome to the March 2, 2008 edition of attention deficit disorder.

The "Attention Deficit Disorder" blog carnival is a collection of recent blog entries about Attention Deficit Disorder. The reason that it is called a carnival is because each week the carnival travels to a different host Blog.

Here are the Blog posts the were submitted to the Carnival:

Kevin Heath presents You and Your Famous Company - Famous People with ADHD posted at More4kids.

John MacKenzie presents Six Overlooked Reasons why you are struggling with your finances: Reason #1 - Not Fully Committed posted at Adult ADD and Money.

Alvaro Fernandez presents Self-Regulation and Barkley's Theory of ADHD posted at SharpBrains, saying, "A great overview of Barkley's ADHD research, by neuroscientist David Rabiner."

Pete Quily presents Top 10 Ways to Manage Adult ADHD posted at Adult ADD Strengths.

The Art of Personal Productivity presents Odd One Out - The Maverick's Guide to Adult ADD posted at The Bubble Planner.

These are Blog entries I have chosen:

• How Do I Get My Spouse to Deal with ADD?
• How I Survived My Life with Undiagnosed Adult ADD and Learned to THRIVE!
• Adult AD/HD Ambitions #5: Pick Your Battles
• Surviving Life with Undiagnosed ADD

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of attention deficit disorder using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Tara McGillicuddy

ADHD & Imaginative Play

Yesterday I started off by writing about being "Off the Beaten Path..."  I may have gotten a little sidetracked - and I think it happened for good reason.

You see, I initially had wanted to talk to you about an incredible article I found on NPR.  It talked about the way children play has changed in recent times - and how this change could possibly account for an increase in what we see as ADHD.

How, you wonder?

The article basically goes on to talk about how children now engage in "structured" play that is run by parents, instead of more independent, creative play that fosters imagination and self-discipline.

There is a great deal of information I am leaving out - but it is the overall theme that I want to focus on...

And that point is this - ADHD has become so commonplace that many people think "if A, then B."  In other words, it's as if we just blindly accept "inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness," to always be ADHD.

It's as if we have forgotten about "thinking outside the box," or looking beyond the more common approach.

Listen - when ADHD is really the diagnosis, I will support that.  It's a real disorder that causes a lot of frustration for a great number of people.  But I also have to stand up and fight for the person who is being labeled with ADHD who does not have.

So I want to encourage you to think outside of the box - to explore the path less chosen - and to consider what else it might be...

Rory Stern, PsyD
Watch It, Share It, Live It

PS - You can read the NPR article in it's entirety here.