Attention Magazine April 2023

Marlene Snyder, PhD | 1949–2022

Today we pay tribute to a woman who was special to so many people. Her recent death is a loss not only for her family but for the whole world. Marlene Snyder, PhD, was a national and international champion for two great causes: ADHD and bullying. She was a farm girl who grew up to be a teacher and who later pursued her doctorate in education. She became a professor at the University of Nebraska and a research associate professor at Clemson University.

She joined CHADD in the early 1990s for family reasons and soon began to volunteer, helping CHADD at the national level with the education of parents and school staff. She gave numerous local and national workshops and wrote articles about how to help children with ADHD in the classroom. After the pivotal moment in 1991, when children with ADHD were granted eligibility for special education services under the other health impaired category, she was asked to serve on CHADD’s board of directors and to chair the education and public policy committee.

One of the pioneers in promoting ADHD school training for both parents and school staff, Dr. Snyder also became aware of other training needs. Her book ADHD and Driving: A Guide for Parents of Teens with ADHD was published in 2001. It was the first book on the topic and helped many frazzled parents. Then the mother of a teen with ADHD, she spoke from experience and yet used her sound wisdom and research experience to put practical words around difficult subjects.

She wrote about the research on teen drivers with ADHD, who, not surprisingly, were more likely than peers to have speeding offenses, traffic violations, accidents, and license suspensions. She reviewed the literature on driving from Germany and New Zealand as well as the USA. She advised parents on what to do to make sure their teen does not become one of those grim statistics. She illustrated the book with practical examples, charts, and forms—including a driving observation form, a chart for teens to earn driving privileges, and a chapter on what to do when it isn’t going well and there has been an accident or suspended license. Twenty years later, this book is still pertinent, and there are copies available on Amazon. Every parent of a teen with ADHD should have a copy.

A world traveler who visited 57 countries in her lifetime, Dr. Snyder saw the need for ADHD education in other countries and began doing workshops and sharing articles overseas. She was a pioneer in that sphere as well. How was she able to do accomplish so much? Well, she was one of those special people that you meet in your lifetime. She was someone who brightened a room when she walked in. She was wise and generous with her thoughts and knowledge. She was also the parent of a child with ADHD and personally knew how difficult it can be. Her husband, Lee, said that she had compassion, was an avid listener, and had a great ability to focus and process how to get from A to B in projects she undertook. She had great wisdom and respect for others.

Dr. Snyder saw another need in the world: the prevention of bullying. She decided to work toward that end with Susan Limber, PhD, at Clemson University’s Family and Neighborhood Life program in the national movement to prevent bullying using the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. She became a “pillar [in] the early efforts in the United States to raise attention to bullying among children and youth and reduce its prevalence.” She was one of their first trainers and coauthored the teacher and schoolwide guides. She mentored scores of trainers and was the point of contact for the program in the United States. She also served as the first president of the International Bullying Prevention Association. Dr. Limber called her a fantastic communicator; the size of the audience did not matter, be it a school district, a parent, or a school counselor. She was very approachable, other-centered, and focused on the goals and not herself. Her experience in education was a major asset to the bullying programs.

Marlene Snyder was a valuable player in the world of ADHD and she will be greatly missed. She touched so many people’s lives through her writing and her many training sessions for educators, parent education organizations, mental health providers, child welfare groups and juvenile justice agencies. CHADD is deeply grateful for her tremendous efforts to improve our world.

Those who knew Marlene personally are reminded of a saying from one of her favorite authors, Maya Angelou: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” She was a blessing to us all.

As a licensed clinical social worker, Maureen Gill has spent her career working in medical, rehab, and psychiatric hospitals—and, more recently, as an ADHD coach. She served as a parent consultant for the American Academy of Pediatrics workgroup that produced the first ADHD toolkit for medical offices. She served on CHADD’s national board of directors as co-chair of the education committee, and was instrumental in the formation of the Northern Virginia ADHD Partnership training program that provided countywide training on ADHD to schools from 1991 to 2011. The former chair of the editorial advisory board for Attention magazine, she received CHADD’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.

A friend of  Marlene Snyder and fellow pioneer in the world of ADHD, Zara Harris serves as deputy co-chair of Attention’s editorial advisory board and a member of CHADD’s conference committee. With over thirty years of experience as a pediatric occupational therapist, she is licensed in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Specializing in helping students who are struggling with handwriting, homework, attention, time management, and organization, she has worked with international schools on three different continents.