ADHD Center for Success

Parenting ADHD children can be confusing, stressful and challenging at times, causing parents to overlook the ‘wonderfulness’ of the child within.

This seminar will offer practical parenting strategies to help reduce stress and build harmony for families with ADHD children.

When:   Wednesday, May 30, 2012,     [7 – 8:30pm]

Where:  Malaprops Bookstore

              55 Haywood Street, Asheville, NC

              (828)254-6734

Cost: Free

Details: www.ADHDasheville.com

I am always thankful when clients, friend and colleagues send articles, studies and resources pertaining to ADHD. Thank you Susanna for sending this news article.

 <<<<<<>>>>>>

Here’s a new and interesting news article that speaks to the value of behavioral therapy and/or the ADHD coaching which I provide.

“Not-So-Quick Fix: ADHD Behavioral Therapy May Be More Effective Than Drugs in Long Run”

Cognitive and behavioral therapies that help young people reduce impulsivity and cultivate good study habits are costlier and take longer to administer, but may be more efficacious over time.

READ FULL ARTICLE

Life can be a challenge if you’re a non-ADD adult living in relationship with an ADD adult partner.

I recently coached a non-ADD adult regarding some of her specific issues living with her ADD adult partner. My client voiced concern that is easily the most common complaint I hear from non-ADD relationship partners. “I feel like he needs me to tell him what to do all the time. I have to guide him and direct him. I resent that I married my husband to have an equal partner but now I feel like I’ve got another child to take care of.”

Adults with ADD tend to lack the inherent nature of structure and routine. Consequently, adults with ADD often function best when there is some source of ‘external structure’ in their life, ie work and school. However, non-ADD relationship partners also provide a great deal of structure and anchoring for the adult with ADD. Without this anchor, the ADD partner may have a greater tendency to meander during projects, chores, and possibly with life in general. Thus, it may appear that the ADD partner is depending on you or that he/she won’t do certain things without your comments or reminders.

Coaching Tips for Non-ADD Relationship Partners:

• Communicate, communicate, communicate.
• Be honest, firm and gentle with your communication.
• Clearly communicate your preferences and expectations of your ADD partner.
• Clearly communicate your disappointment when there are breakdowns in agreements.
• Take time to acknowledge the strengths, assets and gifts of your ADD partner. Acknowledge these gifts to your ADD partner.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Consider marriage/couple therapy with a therapist who is dual trained in couple therapy AND who has a thorough understanding and skills working with adults with ADD.
• Do not take your ADD partner’s challenges and breakdowns personally.
• Do have ‘realistic’ expectations of your ADD partner.
• Do not expect perfection from your ADD partner.

Schedule your complimentary consultation with CoachRudy

~CoachRudy

*Resource: Russell Barkley, PhD

Russell Barkley, PhD, one of the foremost researchers of ADHD suggests that ADHD is not an attention disorder. He suggests that “ADHD is a blindness to the future… so that the child and adult with ADHD are going to wait until the future is eminent (in your face)… and then they will try to deal with it.”

Barkley suggests that “ADHD  creates a nearsightedness to time so that the person with the disorder cannot organize to the delayed future but only to the imminent future. Thus, everything in life becomes a crisis. But the crisis was avoidable and no one has patience with this because they see this as a moral failing. ‘You could have chosen to get ready, but didn’t’.”

 Dr. Barkley also suggests that “ADHD is a performance disorder. You can’t perform the things you know how to do. People with ADHD know what to do, but they can’t do what they know”.

“I have heard Dr. Barkley speak several times but I had not heard him speak of this before. Most of the ADHD children and adults that I work with struggle with procrastination, delaying the activation to get things done.”  ~CoachRudy

If you’d like to hear Dr. Barkley yourself, click on the link below.

1. Sleep – Proper sleep hygiene is a very important part establishing a foundation of self-management of ADHD. Start by establishing a target bedtime for your teen. Be firm with the time. While understanding that exceptions to the bed time may occur, it is equally important that the occasional exception is an exception.  It is not uncommon for teens to resist bedtime, claiming that they are not tired or complain that it’s too early and they can’t fall asleep. For best results, I’ve been recommending that all teens (and adults) disconnect from ALL electronics (computer, Facebook, cell phones, texting, Instant Messaging, etc) at least 30min to 1hr before bedtime. Electronics too easily stimulate the brain adding to the difficulty falling asleep.
2. Routine & Structure –  ADHD children adults do far better with basic structure in the home. Lack of structure is often a problem in ADHD homes, especially if the parents also struggle with ADHD. An example of establishing structure is setting a specific bedtime and time to get up in the morning. This simple routine can be a key component of reducing conflicts in the morning. Structure may also include specified times for homework, for dinner and a specified time for use of electronics. Each year at the start of the semester, I have my child/teen clients bring in their book bags for a review and comments on adding structure to avoid lost homework and more.
3. Homework – I find that many teens have already exhausted their days quota of focus by the time they arrive home from school. Thus, resistance to homework is not uncommon. Here’s my recommendation: start with 30min of free/play time before getting down to homework. A word of caution is to avoid free time activities that your teen will have trouble disengaging from i.e. computer games. Next step, start by purchasing a ‘dual-digital-timer’. Then begin by estimating the pre-set length of time for your teen to give quality focus/attention. Let’s say that time is 45min. Thus, Begin by setting your dual-digital-timer for 45min and the second timer at 10min. For best results have your teen study for 45min followed by a 10min break. Repeat this sequence 2-3 times until the homework is complete. A common parental mistake is to force children and teens to sit and do homework until it’s complete. Many students easily lose their focus within the first 30min to one hour and spend the remaining time daydreaming.
4. Launching Pad – I learned this great idea from www.ADDitudemag.com. Mornings are frequently a challenging time for most children and teens to wake up, shower, get dressed, eat and then get out of the door on time. Recommendation: Use a box or tape off an area on the floor beside the front door and designate this area as the ‘Launching Pad’. Each night before bed, have your teen gather books, supplies, completed homework, sports bag, etc and place them in the ‘launching pad’ ready to go in the morning. Option: I had one bright teen inform me that her launching pad was her car. She put everything in her car the night before to insure she was ready to leave for school without a last minute fuss, stress and anxiety.

ADHD Seminar Monthly Series

at Malaprop’s Bookstore

Haywood St. Asheville, NC (828)254-6734

http://www.malaprops.com/

====================

Wed. April 25 – 7pm

“How To Self Manage Your ADHD”

by CoachRudy Rodriguez, LCSW

The controversial link of diet and ADHD has existed for many years. Remember the Feingold Diet of the 1960′s? Let’s be clear that scientific evidence supports that ADHD is a genetically based neurological (brain) disorder. ADHD is not a dietary disorder. However, evidence does support that food/diet can contribute to or exacerbate ADHD traits and challenges.

To this end, I’d like to introduce you to an ADHD colleague from across the pond, Bryan Hutchinson. Bryan has a very active blogsite and recently posted an article: “What We Eat Can Make a BIG Difference to Our (Mental) Health!”. I hope you enjoy Bryans writing style.

READ Full Article: “What We Eat Can Make a BIG Difference…”

Let me know what you think?

Upcoming Calendar:

 April 16, 2012

Asheville Adult ADHD Meetup Group
(monthly Adult ADHD support group)

Monday, April 16 from  7 – 8:30pm

Always the 3rd Monday of each month.

Attendance is open to the public but pre-registration is required

Go to following link:

http://www.meetup.com/Asheville-Adult-ADHD-Meetup-Group/

# # # # # # # # # # #

CoachRudy’s upcoming Speaking Itinerary

April 21 – Topic: “Strategies for Supporting ADHD in school and in life”
[Event] ADHD: Understanding Diagnosis, Treatment, and Educational Implications & Creating Support Strategies for School and Life. Location: The Key School and Learning Center, Asheville, NC

# # # # # # # # # # #

ADHD Seminar Monthly Series

at Malaprop’s Bookstore

Haywood St. Asheville, NC (828)254-6734

http://www.malaprops.com/

====================

Wed. April 25 – 7pm

“How To Self Manage Your ADHD”

by CoachRudy Rodriguez, LCSW

====================

Wed. May 30 – 7pm

“Strategies for a Successful ADHD College Experience”

by CoachRudy Rodriguez, LCSW

====================

Wed.  June 27

“Mindfulness Practices for ADHD”

by CoachRudy Rodriguez, LCSW

**All Seminars are FREE   -   No pre-registration

====================

It has long been known that psychostimulant drugs have the paradoxical effect of reducing hyperactivity. [Psychostimulant drugs include methylphenidate - known by the trade names Ritalin, Concerta, and Methylin - and methamphetamine]. Since the mid-1950s, millions of children and adults have been prescribed stimulant medications to control attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). But for more than seven decades, since the first experiment that gave an amphetamine drug to children diagnosed with behavioral problems, scientists have not known how stimulants work to control hyperactivity.

Now, a researcher at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, working with colleagues in Mexico, has identified the probable mechanism by which certain stimulants accomplish this paradoxical reduction of motor activity. David Erlij, MD, PhD, professor of physiology and pharmacology at SUNY Downstate, and fellow researchers have identified a network of nerve terminals where stimulation of dopamine D4 receptors depresses motor activity. “This network is localized deep in the brain, in the basal ganglia and the thalamus,” says Dr. Erlij, “and its responses explain the reduction in motor activity caused by psychostimulants.”

READ FULL ARTICLE 

Source: Medical News Today

I recently returned from attending the 5th Annual International ADHD Coaches Conference in Atlanta, GA – March 23-25. It’s always a delight and pleasure to visit and network with other ADHD Coaches, share ideas, resources and delight in our shared ADHD. I met coaches from all parts of the United States, Canada, Sweden, Turkey, Israel, Shanghai, Denmark and elsewhere. ADHD is truly a GLOBAL affair!

I was also pleased to present a seminar at this year’s conference. The topic of my seminar was: “The Temperament of Teen and Adult ADHD: A Strategic Perspective”. The seminar was well attended and well received.

Here is a sample of post-conference email comments I received:

“Thank you so much. I am very impressed with your work and was thrilled to learn from you.”

“I loved your your presentation. You can’t imagine how important that it was to me!”

“I attended your workshop yesterday. The content was extraordinary and your presentation skills were equally impressive.”

<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>

It was a real pleasure for me to present a seminar to my ADHD Coach colleagues.

~CoachRudy