ADHD and the College Transition: Rethinking a Gap Year
Over the last decade, more than half (an average 66%) of high school graduates went directly to college in America, but those numbers are now changing. The rising costs of college and questionable job market, worry about college preparedness, and pandemic have made millions of students question whether college is the correct path. In fact,…
Read More“Everyone’s So Tense All the Time”
It’s Not What You Say, It’s How You Say It “When there is no more blame or criticism in your eyes, when you are able to look at others with compassion, you see things very differently. You speak differently. The other person can sense you are truly seeing her and understanding her, and that…
Read MoreThings to Do By and In Early 2022
Suggestions for College Students and High School Seniors By mid-December, most college students are finishing up finals. High school seniors may be working on end-of-the-year projects and reports or studying for exams. Before 2021 concludes, I believe we should strongly encourage students, their families, and the rest of their support system to stop and celebrate…
Read MoreMotivating an “Unmotivated” Child or Teen with ADHD Ask The Expert
Study Skills for Thriving with ADHD
Whether or not they have ADHD, it is surprising how few students learn effective study skills in school. Part of this may stem from the fact that children learn differently, and study skills are not one-size-fits-all. For children with ADHD, executing the act of sitting down and studying can be tough, because it is not…
Read MoreMindfulness, Stress, & Emotion Ask The Expert
The Imagine Neighborhood, Where Children (and Adults) Learn About Feelings
Joyce Cooper-Kahn, PhD, interviews Scotty Iseri and Sherri Widen, PhD Imagination and pretend play have long been considered a foundation for the development of behavioral and emotional regulation—see, for example, the work of psychologists Dorothy and Jerome Singer. Both the process of imagining and the specific rehearsal of situations that are part of pretend play…
Read MoreHow to Be Angry Better
MANY OF US, INCLUDING SOME PEOPLE WITH ADHD, have anger behavior problems. We know emotional dysregulation is a common reason for this. In their study on ADHD and emotional dysregulation, Philip Shaw and his colleagues define it as “an individual’s ability to modify an emotional state so as to promote adaptive, goal-oriented behaviors.” To modify…
Read MoreADHD & Rarely on Time? It’s Not Just About Time Management
ARE YOU ALWAYS LATE FOR EVENTS? Do you often turn in papers, reports, or projects after their deadlines? If so, you are not alone. Many adults with ADHD struggle with understanding and using their time well. Despite trying a million different tricks and techniques, they can’t stop miscalculating how long things will take or procrastinating…
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 MoreSelf-Driven Kids with ADHD
IN MY THIRTY YEARS OF TESTING KIDS WITH ADHD, I have seen hundreds of kids like fourteen-year-old Alex, whose homework is an enormous source of stress and frustration for him and his parents. Even with constant parental nagging, teacher reminders, the help of a tutor, and an elaborate home-school communication program, Alex commonly forgets to…
Read MorePut Down the Stick, Pick Up a Feather: Adult ADHD & Self-Criticism
MANAGING ADHD AS AN ADULT requires more than just taking medication and putting a few systems and structures in place. It is a complicated condition that relies on self-education, setting intentions, and exerting effort for self-management—which are not always easy for adults with the condition. But the hardest part to manage, I believe, regardless of…
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