5 Things I Learned at the ADDA Conference

Attending the 14th Annual ADDA Conference was amazing! I met so many wonderful, talented people and learned so very much! I’ll be sharing more specific details in the next week or so, but today I thought I would start out with just a few things that I learned.

First a few pics.

This is the outside of the Renaissance Center where we stayed in Detroit.

And this is the view from our room on the 30th floor.

OK so now to the conference. You can’t imagine how many things I learned while I was there. I attended eight lectures as well as a couple of keynotes, plus I got to talk to experts, coaches, and just plain people with ADHD.

Here are a few highlights:

1. Did you know that 85% of adults who have ADHD are undiagnosed? I find that shocking. Consider yourself lucky that you at least have a diagnosis and have ways to improve your life by managing your symptoms.

2. One of the best ways to get and stay organized is by using containers such as baskets, boxes, and drawers. But did you know that a container can also be your cell phone (contains your contacts, pictures, music, etc) or an app such as Evernote? Thanks Linda Anderson!

3. I learned from Dr. Roberto Olivardia that people with ADHD are far more sensitive to certain foods (food allergies) than people without ADHD. And that was demonstrated to me at lunch on Saturday when we all ate lunch together provided by the ADDA. I was in the line for a gluten free lunch and there were many others with me. Gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, and other special meals were requested. Something you may want to think about if your symptoms are still giving you trouble despite your best efforts.

4. I learned from coach Kevin Roberts, M.A. that video gaming is not all bad. Of course, if it’s done to an extreme, then it’s an addiction and that’s not good. But video games are being used in other positive ways. Many pediatric oncologists use a video game called Remission to help young patients visualize themselves as super heroes fighting the bad cancer cells and winning. It is apparently quite effective. Video games are also used by surgeons to keep their skills up, particularly when it comes to microsurgery.

5. Alan Brown, B.S. owner of ADD Crusher shared some very cool “brain hacks” to teach us how to manage our brains more effectively. One of my favorites was about what you’re doing now. More on that later.

Be sure to keep an eye out as I continue to share what I learned at the ADDA Conference!