Got ADD?

Are you sure?

I knew from the time my son was a toddler that he had Attention Deficit Disorder. It took several more years and a teacher’s concern before I got him tested. (I was waiting for someone “official” to tell me; I didn’t trust my own instincts. Isn’t that a shame?)

Anyway, as I said, I had known since he was little that my son had ADD, and I also knew that it was hereditary. I had been studying ADD for some time, and I saw the classic signs in my husband, so I assumed that our son had inherited it from his father.

A couple of months after our son was diagnosed, the school asked me to have our oldest daughter tested for learning disabilities. I was very surprised, but went ahead and made the appointment. Although I didn’t know it at the time, the psychologist I took her to was an expert on Attention Deficit Disorder. He spent several hours with her (and me), and when we left, we had somenew information to digest: she had a math disability as well as ADD, and I had ADD, too!

Basic 4: Managing ADD

A combination of medication and coaching has been shown to be highly effective in treating the symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder. However, there are other, more basic things that you can do that will have a positive impact, too. Here are 4 of the best:
1. Get enough sleep, and do so on a regular basis. It seems that getting enough sleep is hard for all of us these days, and no one functions properly when they haven’t slept well or long enough. People with ADD, however, will feel that lack of sleep more acutely. In addition to feeling tired and sluggish, their ADD symptoms (inability to focus, hyperactivity, etc) will be more pronounced and more difficult to manage. By the way, going to bed and going to sleep are two different things.
2. Eat a balanced diet. Again, we all function better when we eat good, healthy food, and people with ADD are no exception. It almost seems, though, that having ADD brings with it a heightened sensitivity to our environment. Just as we are more aware of what is happening around us, so, too, is our body more aware of what we put into it. Too much fat, too much sugar, and/or too much junk food will cause ADD symptoms to flare and make them more difficult to control. Check out The Natural ADHD Diet for more.
3. Give some thought to wheat and dairy. There is a growing number of doctors, nutritionists, and parents who believe that a diet free of both wheat and dairy products can have a significant impact on ADD symptoms. If you (or your child) suffer from allergies, even non-food related ones, you might want to consider this option. Do some research first, and see if it makes sense to you. The Natural ADHD Diet is one way to implement this.
4. Exercise! Evidence has shown that as little as 30 minutes of vigorous exercise can improve focus and concentration for hours. Done on a regular basis, it can have a significant impact on ADD symptoms.
Those are my basic 4 strategies for managing ADD symptoms. Not earth shattering, surely, but good stuff we sometimes need to be reminded of. As far as the wheat free diet - if you’ve got questions, let me know. I’ve been living it for 6 years now.

Basic Organization

Organizational skills are one of the hardest things for ADDers to manage, and one of the most frustrating for moms! Here are a few tips:
• People with Attention Deficit Disorder are visually oriented. If they don’t see it, they forget about it or lose it. That’s the reason their room looks the way it does. Try using clear containers to organize smaller items - and don’t forget to label them!
• Utilize closet space (as opposed to drawer space) for as much as possible. Hanging clothes allows you to see what it there at a glance; clothes stored in drawers are hidden under one another, making it more difficult and time consuming to find what you need.
• Make things easy to put away. People are willing to look for something they need, but not so willing to put it away. If you can corral all of your child’s art supplies, for instance, in one container, they will be willing to dig through it for just the right marker, and then clean up is just sweeping everything back into the box.
• Use color as an organizing tool. Assign a color to each school subject, for instance, and then purchase notebooks, folders, and whatever else is needed for each subject in that color. This makes finding the appropriate notebook when you need it quick and easy. You can also use this same system for a calendar, assigning each family member a color, or each area of your life (school, sports, social, etc).
• Start small and keep it simple. Pick one small thing to organize (your backpack or purse, for instance). Figure out a way to organize it, and then work on maintaining it before you tackle another area.
• Schedule a set time each week to maintain your system. 30 minutes spent once a week can keep things running smoothly.
• Finally, don’t let perfection or other people’s ideas of organization do you in. If your current system of doing something works for you, then why bother changing it for someone else? Just be absolutely certain that it does work.

10 Time Management Tips

Time management is an issue that people with Attention Deficit Disorder constantly struggle with, due in large part to the nature of ADD itself. Here are 10 tips for managing time more effectively:

12 Tips on Improving Your Grade

Last time I mentioned that after you determine why you’re failing a class, you need to come up with a plan to address it. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Make the most of class time:

• Do the required reading the night before. Repetition is one of the keys to learning and retaining, especially for ADDers. I know what you’re thinking - I can’t remember what I read. I get to the end of the page and have no idea what it was about. Try doing this:
  • Skim through the chapter reading only the section titles or headings. This gives you an idea of what the chapter is about.
  • Skim through again, this time reading section headings, caption headings under pictures, and charts, diagrams, etc.
  • Go through a third time, this time looking for words in bold within the text or definitions, explanations, etc contained in the margins. Read each of these.
  • Turn to the end of the chapter and look at the questions or chapter summary. Can you answer any of the questions based on what you’ve done so far? If not, do you have a good idea of where they are located?
  • Take a ten minute break. Walk around the room, get a snack or a drink, do something other than study.
  • Now go back and read the chapter. If you just can’t make yourself do that, then find a section or two that you’re willing to read and do that.
  • Take notes as you read. They don’t have to be lengthy, just write down things that you want to remember or don’t understand.

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