Reading Comprehension and Executive Function
Learning disabilities and ADHD often go hand in hand. According to Thomas E. Brown, PhD, approximately 45 percent of those with ADHD have coexisting learning disabilities. The most common learning disability of students with ADHD is dyslexia, characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities (International Dyslexia…
Read MorePAX Tools
PAX Tools are simple, evidence-based strategies that parents and other caregivers can use to help improve children’s self-control and emotional self-regulation skills. Strategies are drawn directly from the PAX Good Behavior Game (PAX GBG) and the publications on evidence-based kernels that are fundamental units of behavior change in humans. The brainchild of prevention scientist Dennis…
Read MoreKeeping Organized Goes Beyond a Task List
Do you have trouble remembering and keeping tracks of tasks you need to complete? Has anyone ever suggested you use an electronic task list or make a list on paper? Have you tried either of these options without success? You may wonder why you have difficulties with this and wish there was something you could…
Read MoreExecutive Functioning Disorder and Mathematics
Three Strategies to Implement Evan is a likeable fourth grade student who has a lot of friends but struggles in school, especially with math. He was diagnosed with ADHD last year because of his attention-related behavior. Evan thinks he understands the material, but then struggles at home with completing his homework. He feels most defeated…
Read MoreForaging for Information
In very simple terms, we do what we do for pleasure. That statement makes sense; otherwise, why would we do things that are boring, unpleasant, or uncomfortable if they don’t make us feel good? The question is, though, what makes us feel good? In a simplified view of the infinitely complex brain, the answer is dopamine. Dopamine…
Read MoreWhy Can’t I Do This? How Emotional Intelligence and Self-Regulation Pay Off for Adults with ADHD
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME you experienced a set of emotions so intense that they overtook your mind, resulting in a lack of normal functioning? Perhaps you blanked in a job interview, shut down during an exam, or spent days wiped out after the emotional explosion with your kids or your spouse. Perhaps it’s been…
Read MoreManaging Thoughts that Get in the Way
BEHAVIOR THERAPY is a recommended intervention for children with ADHD. Parenting programs that use behavioral techniques typically involve supporting parents in improving child behavior by modifying antecedents (giving effective instructions, for example) and consequences (such as rewards, loss of privileges). When these parenting programs include teacher involvement, they can be even more helpful because parents…
Read MoreWhat’s Up with All This Anger?
Here’s how you can reduce your frustration, manage intense feelings, and live with more contentment. YOU KNOW THE MOMENT. The moment when something goes wrong or someone says a few words that set you off. A switch has flipped and suddenly there’s a bubbling volcano of angry, negative emotions inside of you waiting to erupt.…
Read MoreADHD and Life Expectancy: Treatment Matters More Than You Might Think
CHADD and Russell A. Barkley, PhD, Partner to Announce Findings THE MESSAGE IS CLEAR. Treatment for ADHD, along with the related health risks it poses, has the possibility of adding an average of nine to thirteen years to the lifespan of children and adults diagnosed with ADHD. This is the implication of a cutting-edge research…
Read MoreSMARTS: Creating a Culture of Executive Function Strategy Users
IMAGINE MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS teaming up with their students to create a culture that values, celebrates, and continually reinforces the use of executive function strategies not only to do better in school, but also to do better in life. It would be a dream come true for kids with ADHD and other learning…
Read MoreEnough Is Enough: The Adult ADHD Guide to Saying No
DO YOU AGREE TO DO THINGS and feel resentful later? Can salespeople persuade you to go over budget? Do you “go along to get along” all too often? This happens to everyone occasionally. For adults with ADHD, saying no can be a challenge. Executive function issues and nonlinear thinking make it hard to weigh pros…
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…
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