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Top 5 Things to Tell Your ADHD Child

admin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:09:37 +0000

By Dr. Lara Honos-Webb

The way you talk to your child can profoundly impact his or her behavior, motivation and ability to pay attention. One of the key strategies parents can use is to find and focus on your child’s gifts. The best way to get improvements in areas of concern is to adopt a coaching approach. This means that you use frequent reminders of desired behaviors. It also means you give explanations for why they should use these desired behaviors. This is in sharp contrast to how most parents communicate with their ADHD child, “How many times do I have to tell you not to mouth off to your teachers?” Here are five examples of things you can say to coach your child to better performance in school:

1. “It’s ok to ask lots of questions, it shows your curiosity, problem solving ability and leadership. You will be more effective in getting the outcomes you want if you use a tone and style that shows your respect for your teacher.”

2. “Your teachers work hard to give you the best education and they care a lot about you, I want you to show respect and appreciation for their hard work.”

3. “When you can sit still in class, remember that you can be the boss of your body. If you take a couple deep breathes and remind yourself to calm down you can take control.”

4. “The best way to get your teacher to support you is to look at her and listen when she talks.”

5. “Remember that the harder you try, the smarter you get. You can build your brain by working hard.”

Lara Honos-Webb, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist licensed in California. She is author of The Gift of ADHD and Listening to Depression: How Understanding Your Pain Can Heal Your Life which was selected by Health Magazine as one of the best therapy books of 2006. The Gift of ADHD Activity Book: 101 Ways To Transform Problems into Strengths and The Gift of Adult ADD were released in 2008. Her work has been featured in Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune and Publisher’s Weekly, ivillage.com, msn.com, abcnews.com as well as newspapers across the country and local and national radio and television. Her books have over 125,000 copies in print. The American Psychiatric Association included the Gift of ADHD (2005) in its recommended reading list in their “ADHD Parents Medication Guide.” She specializes in the treatment of ADHD and depression and the psychology of pregnancy and motherhood; she speaks regularly on her areas of expertise. Honos-Webb completed a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship at University of California, San Francisco, and has been an assistant professor teaching graduate students. She has published more than 25 scholarly articles.

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Technorati Tags: add, ADHD, Attention, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, attention-Deficit, Hyperactivity

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A psychologist has diagnosed me with ADD, which medication is the most effective?

admin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:35:51 +0000

I have been struggling with concentration and focus issues for a long time. I just took over 7 hours of testing and was diagnosed beyond any doubt that I have ADD (techincally ADHD innatentive type) and the doctor recommended that I start taking medication. Which medication is most effective at treating this condition? Don’t tell me to get educational therapy or behavioral modifications because I have already tried that.

Wow… don’t you just LOVE how helpful and considerate some people are? Jeez folks!

Well, I struggled my whole life with issues focusing, and completing tasks and remembering things. Finally, when I was a junior in high school, my parent’s took me to a psychologist who gave me the same news. I have ADD. What people don’t understand is that ADD or ADHD is a CHEMICAL IMBALANCE and medications for the condition make up for those unbalanced chemicals.

My doctor put me on a medication called Concerta. Concerta has completely changed my life! Ritalin just made me feel like I had 17 shots of espresso and there is another medication called Stratera (which I have never used). Those are the most common one’s used for ADD/ADHD. I feel like I’m a "normal person". i was always the one falling behind and forgetting to do things, never finishing things I started… now I do it all and don’t even realize it until the end of the day and I’ve gotten SO MUCH done! I would ask your Doctor about Concerta and/or Stratera. I hope this helps.

Sleep & 14 yr old with bipolar & ADHD?

admin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:35:23 +0000

I have a 14 yr old boy who is bipolar & ADHD. He takes Meds at night to help him sleep and be able to calm down from the days activites and what not. He is having problems staying asleep throughout the night. He wakes up early in the mornings and can’t go back to sleep for awhile. He does eventually fall back to sleep but then when its time to get him up for school its extremely hard to get him awake. What are some suggestins for helping him relax before bed so he can sleep and ways to help him wake in the mornings?

bipolar is like that. the meds will always make it hard for him to wake up. getting up at the same time everyday no matter what will help him to learn how to wake up. getting on your feet helps to get you up taking shower too but not real hot ones need to be as cool as he can take it. as far as going to sleep i can’t help much i’ only sleep 2 to 4hrs a day so i don’t know how to sleep my self. i will tell you that getting 8hrs of sleep was started by the drug com to sell sleeping pills. they have done lost of studies and found that there are a lot of people that only need 4 to 5 hours a night and do fine. try to find studies that aren’t done by drug comp. there should be a lot of info on the net.

How do doctors diagnose ADHD?

admin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:35:19 +0000

Do they just ask questions? Wouldn’t that make it a whole lot easier for anyone to get their hands on that med? What proof would they need?

A proper ADHD diagnosis begins with an initial clinician visit. This visit entails multiple assessments, mostly dealing with behavioral and personality questions. A TOVA test is also given to ascertain a child’s or adult’s attention level. Most clinicians require a thorough physical examination in order to rule out ancillary factors

A second visit is more comprehensive. Clinicians require a significant other join the patient for verification of symptom existence and strengths. Report cards and other evidence is also utilized by clinicians before rendering a conclusion.

An ADHD diagnosis does not utilize brain scans. The diagnosis is purely subjective, based on anecdotes, tests and paper trails, The ADHD diagnosis process has come under intense scrutiny because of the subjectivity, and the fact that a 700% increase has occurred with ADHD being diagnosed in children. Because of this, some ADHD experts suggest seeking second and third opinions before settling on a clinicians decision, especially if ADHD medications are prescribed for childre.