What to Do When You Can’t Get the ADHD Medication You Want
Jake is a happy third grader who has ADHD. He takes a stimulant medication that helps him focus, and both his parents and his teacher have noticed an improvement in his behavior, academics, and relationship with classmates. However, the pharmacy just informed Jake’s parents that his medication is on backorder, and they are not sure…
Read MoreWorried and Preoccupied? You Can Reduce Anxiety and Live More Confidently
IN TODAY’S WORLD, where bad news travels the globe in seconds online, people seem more anxious than ever. For adults and children with ADHD, when worries interfere with daily living, they increase your distractedness or impulsivity and make things seem worse than they are. By changing your relationship to worry and avoiding the pitfalls of…
Read MoreDon’t Give Up, Don’t Give In: Survival Skills for the Non-ADHD Partner
IF YOU ARE THE NON-ADHD PARTNER in an ADHD-affected relationship (one has it—the other doesn’t), you are likely to experience more than usual amounts of frustration and annoyance because of your ADHD partner’s behaviors. You are not alone. In fact, the relationship failure rate is twice as high for individuals with ADHD. The ADHD-affected relationship…
Read MoreDigital Medicine and Rigorous Science
ADAM GAZZALEY, MD, PhD, is a professor in the departments of neurology, physiology, and psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, as well as the executive director and founder of Neuroscape, an academic research center at UCSF. Gazzaley is also the cofounder and board member at Akili Interactive, a digital medicine company. We interviewed…
Read MoreWhy Does Sam Struggle with School Projects?
Executive Functions and Academic Achievement WHY DO MANY STUDENTS, including those with average and above intelligence and no diagnosed or known learning or developmental disability, struggle with academic performance? While there is no simple response to this vexing question, the answer is often rooted in executive functioning deficits. Executive functions, often synonymous with the term…
Read MoreHomework Problems & ADHD?
Use Research-Based Strategies that Work PROBLEMS WITH HOMEWORK COMPLETION are the most common and frustrating challenge faced by parents and teachers of children with ADHD. These children may perform well on tests but receive low or failing grades due to incomplete or missing assignments. Homework problems prevent students with ADHD from reaching their full academic…
Read MoreGirl on Fire: Hope Is a Strategy
I’M GOING TO BRAG ON MY DAUGHTER FOR A BIT. I’m entitled, so bear with me. We’ve recently had the honor of presenting together at several incredible ADHD conferences (the 2017 Annual International Conference on ADHD in Atlanta, a University of Alabama conference, and another here at home in Kansas City, Missouri) on the exciting…
Read MoreBrain Management as a Developmental Path
FOR THE KIDS, let’s start with marshmallows. Why marshmallows? Because it turns out that the basic cognitive skill of putting off a short-term reward (one marshmallow) for a long-term gain (two marshmallows) correlates with success across a lifetime. It reflects one step on a developmental self-management path called executive function (EF). Understanding the impact of…
Read MorePreparing for College: The Top Three Things to Consider
AS COLLEGE LIFE COACHES, we have supported hundreds of students with ADHD in successfully transitioning to college. No two transitions look alike. Students have varying degrees of support, confidence, resourcefulness, and tangible information that affect their personal journey from high school to college. While there is no exact formula, there is one key theme among…
Read MoreUnderstanding and Supporting Your Emerging Adult
UNDERSTANDING OUR EMERGING ADULTS is an essential step to supporting their growth and developing independence. Transgenerational expectations for how individuals should “progress” in life don’t apply like they used to, as today’s emerging adults are different than those of any other generation. Cultural, economic, healthcare, educational, and technological changes have pushed back the clock for…
Read MoreCBT & College Students
WE WILL HIGHLIGHT two new studies in this issue, spanning cognitive behavioral interventions for college students with ADHD and a newly released US prevalence study. Can a cognitive-behavioral treatment program help college students with ADHD? College students with ADHD experience academic deficits, have difficulty with the transition from high school to college, and are at…
Read MoreFailure to Launch: Treating It as a Process, Not a Failure
A GROWING NUMBER OF YOUNG ADULTS continue to live at home with their parents, appearing to others to be unmotivated to lead more independent, self-sufficient lives. They often feel stuck and unable to move forward, even when provided access to different supports. Their parents are also often at a loss about how best to help.…
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