Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome: What Is It and How Is It Different from ADHD?   Attention difficulties are common in children and adolescents with ADHD. They include trouble staying focused, being easily distracted, rushing through schoolwork, losing materials or being forgetful, and disorganization. Due to these difficulties, children and adolescents with ADHD struggle with starting and…

Is ADHD related to challenges with eating? This research update reviews two recent studies involving samples of young children as well as young adults. The first is a cross-sectional study that found links between ADHD and eating disorder symptoms among university students. In particular, the inattentive symptoms of ADHD were related to body dissatisfaction, bulimia,…

It’s Not Always Your Fault When It Ends Most people who identify as having ADHD have a long, and often complicated, history with friends. We often have an equally long history of feeling misunderstood in social situations because we were “too much” for some people, leaving us feeling that we caused conflict, worried that we…

Since it was first highlighted by Attention in 2016, Building Our Kids Together (BOKS) continues to strive toward its important mission: making physical activity a part of every child’s day. Based on its growing popularity, the program appears to be succeeding. One reason may be how easy it is to bring BOKS to a school,…

We existed as a family for fifteen years before realizing some of us had ADHD. How did we do it? Although life after diagnosis and treatment is not easy, I look back in wonder at what we went through before in staying married, raising our children, and maintaining a family life. Reviewing our life has…

The tradition of honoring outstanding service and dedication to the ADHD community continued during the Annual International Conference on ADHD in Dallas, Texas, in November 2022. During this first-ever hybrid event, CHADD presented two outstanding teachers with the 2022 Educator of the Year award. Congratulations to both of these deserving educators, along with CHADD’s deep…

ADHD symptoms can profoundly affect intimate relationships such as dating and marriage. But even though ADHD is present, it doesn’t mean that the person with ADHD is the sole cause of the problems. Transforming a relationship starts with both partners understanding the role that ADHD plays and the importance of non-defensive listening, says Melissa Orlov,…

Thirty years ago, just after being diagnosed with ADD at age twenty-one, I stood in the doorway of my dorm at Landmark College saying goodbye to my mother. I was terrified. I had come very close to failing out of Ohio State and knew that if this didn’t work, I would probably never finish college.…

The school year comes to a close and you want to make sure your child with ADHD has an opportunity this summer to grow, have fun, and develop some important coping skills. If only there was a way to meet all of those needs, especially since many of these children tend to be anxious, struggle…

It’s Never About Me: Strategies to Meet the Hidden Needs of Siblings of Kids with ADHD   The shock and disbelief when our pediatrician told us that our eight-year-old child had ADHD has been etched in my mind for over eighteen years. Mostly, my view of ADHD, gleaned from the three related paragraphs in my…

What is the experience of hyperfocus among college students with ADHD, and how is it different from the experience of flow? Hyperfocus is an experience that involves intense concentration on a task of interest, leading to less attention to activities outside of the task at hand. Such experiences have been described as similar to experiences…

Five Ways to Double-Check Thoughts or Feelings Before Jumping to Conclusions “They’re only coming over because they feel like they have to. They don’t really want to be my friend.”“She doesn’t really care about what I’m saying. She’s just being nice.” “I know they’re talking about me. I can’t trust them.” “He didn’t take my…