The 7 Types of ADD and How to Treat Each One

This is so interesting.  I am wondering if my kids all deal with a different variation of ADD.



The 7 Types of ADD and How to Treat Each One

My Story: Raising (and Surviving) Three ADHD Children

I am encouraged when I hear stories like this.  Their life wasn't perfect, but Diane found ways to manage difficult seasons like preparing for the school year.  Raising ADHD kids is a very intense season of life that seems to be unending. However, I am reminded that though the days sometimes seem to drag on, the years fly by.  I hope I can look back and realize that in the midst of all the chaos we laughed and cried and I did my best to raise our impulsive, distracted, wonderful children.



My Story: Raising (and Surviving) Three ADHD Children

Embracing Your ADHD

When I looked up and read the preceding article, "ADHD in College" by Grace Friedman, I went to the website mentioned and found a great resource.  Grace has written a guide for ADHD teens and tweens from an ADHD teen.  Embracing Your ADHD is a well written, organized guide to understanding your diagnosis in the voice of a teenager.  It covers Signs of ADHD, Emotional Challenges, Medication, Coping Tactic and Strategies among other topics.  Grace is thorough in her explanations but qualifies her guide:

"This is not a medical Guide, it is a personal one. My 

goal is to help you understand, cope with and 

ultimately accept your ADHD. I am an ADDYTeen, 

just like you, and my advice is simple: Why wait? 

Start now! Embrace your ADHD." 

I just love that Grace has turned a potential challenge into an opportunity to educate other teens.  She had the vision to not only inform, but encourage other teens to accept their diagnosis and thrive.  Her experience was a diagnosis, receiving medication and then being left to cope on her own. Instead of letting that defeat her, she turned it into a chance to research and write a guide that she wished she would have had when she was diagnosed and offering it for the benefit of others like herself.  She became a trailblazer!  Such an ADHD trait.  Way to go, Grace!

In the following YouTube clip (7 minutes), you will be introduced to Grace and her guide as well as hear from a clinical psychologist, Dr. Keith Sutton.  His explanation of the disorder is very detailed.  Some people think that ADHD just means someone is wiggly and has a short attention span.  Dr. Sutton expands on that understanding by discussing all the characteristics of this neurobiological disorder.  You can receive this free download,  Embracing Your ADHD , by going to www.addyteen.com.

I also recommend the website and guide to parents of ADHD kids or anyone who would like to gain more understanding about ADHD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0hVBfqu_gU

ADHD in College

Wow!  Here is a girl who knows herself and is sharing her ADHD experience with others making the transition from high school to college.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/grace-friedman/adhd-in-college_b_5916650.html

ADHD Medications: Are There Any Long-Term Side Effects, Risks?

I hope to post about meds in the near future, but here is some information that may help in making that decision.



ADHD Medications: Are There Any Long-Term Side Effects, Risks?

Let's Get Practical

When I was first diagnosed 2 years ago, it was actually a big relief!  I have heard that a sense of relief is common in later diagnosis of ADHD.  It was like a huge "AH HA" moment!

Now I understand why I can't organize myself out of a paper bag and "rabbit trail" myself in mid sentence and don't have the patience for difficult/multi-stepped tasks and get easily overwhelmed and why my emotions feel so intense and why I have trouble connecting with people and can't stand parties and crowds and have the capacity to create the longest run-on sentence known to man!

Then I went through a grieving stage about all those wasted years.  Why did I go undiagnosed for so long? Why didn't anyone catch this when I was young?  46 years!  That's a long time!  The emotional damage of living with a cluttered mind, not being able to relate well to people, being frustrated all the time and also dealing with chronic depression was devastating. 

I also grieved for my husband who has had to deal with my emotionality all of our married life, being uber self-conscious about social events, indecisiveness, and moody, moody, moody! Not to mention the fact that he's a cleanie and I'm a messie.  Yikes!  He has had to endure a lot! 

Then comes the stage of "okay, what now?"  Now that I know I am not the most deficient human being on the planet and not the only person who struggles with these symptoms...what now?  Do I just accept it and use it as an excuse to keep living the way I have been living?

You know what my answer is going to be, right?  A big fat NO!  One of the things I so enjoy doing is researching stuff.  I love looking through cookbooks for new recipes, reading book after book on home organization (ironic, isn’t it?) or coming up with resources on a particular subject to pass on to a friend.  Now I put my research passion to work.  I am so glad a friend recommended Dr. Edward Hallowell's books to me and that I picked them up first.  I love Dr. Hallowell's take on ADHD.  He emphasizes the positive attributes of individuals with ADHD and also talks about how to deal positively with the challenges.  He, himself, was diagnosed with ADHD, so he speaks from both a professional and personal point of view.  I think I read 6-8 books right away on all kinds of information on ADHD, ADD organization, nutrition, etc.  I wanted to become an expert so I could know what I was dealing with.

http://www.drhallowell.com/

Once my brain was full, I verbally processed it with people, asked questions, and tried to pinpoint things I could do differently to overcome some of the challenges.  I recognized the following things would help me:

1.  Healthy, Balanced Diet  

You know, eliminating red dye #40,

sugar, processed foods, etc.

2.     Exercise  

Boy! That has really been something

that has become a priority.  It stabilizes me.

It clears my head and gets those endorphins going.

3.     Take my meds religiously  

I can't tell you how much the

Wellbutrin and Adderall help

my overall outlook on life.

I can really tell when I miss a

day or forget to take the Adderall

in the morning.  I go from a mean,

green cleaning machine to wandering

around the house wondering what to

tackle first but giving up because it's

all so overwhelming.

4.     Renew my mind  

This one is ongoing.

I have to intentionally

replace those tapes in my

head that continually

remind me of what a failure

I am and how I can't change.

That's where Redeemed Lives

(see My Personal Journey)

comes in as well as private

counseling and daily prayer and

Bible study.  Even with all that

going on, I can still fall back into

those negative cycles.

It's a constant battle.

5.     Accept my weaknesses  

This is a biggie, because even if

I do the first 4 things as I should,

I still can't keep more than a couple

plates spinning at a time.  I still misplace

stuff, get frustrated with the clutter in

the house, and forget appointments,

but I'm making progress.  Some days are

just bad days, but I'm getting okay with that.

Being a pessimist and a perfectionist works

against me, but I am learning to take it a day

at a time and celebrate what goes right.

(That’s a big deal for a pessimist!)

Really, it's not just 5 simple steps to overcoming all things ADD.  I attribute the healing I have received to the Lord.  On my own, I could have never kept even 2 things up consistently.  Daily surrendering my life to God and giving Him access to those wounded places has brought the most significant change.  To His Glory!

Of course, I am always reading about new strategies to try, making my lists, setting my timers and reminders, talking out loud to myself, etc.  Knowledge is power, if you put it to good use.  

So that's how I armed myself with knowledge to begin to make adjustments to my life and my children's lives after my diagnosis.   As a result we are better informed and able to handle the daily challenges of our Family ADDventures.

Resources:

http://www.amazon.com/Driven-Distraction-Revised-Recognizing-Attention/dp/0307743152/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411693227&sr=1-1&keywords=dr.+hallowell

http://www.amazon.com/Answers-Distraction-Edward-Hallowell-M-D/dp/0307456390/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411693273&sr=1-4&keywords=dr.+hallowell

http://www.amazon.com/Delivered-Distraction-Getting-

Attention-Disorder/dp/0345442318/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411693273&sr=1-2&keywords=dr.+hallowell

ADDitude Magazine - additudemag.com

http://untappedbrilliance.com/blog

http://www.amazon.com/Disorganized-Mind-Coaching-Control-Talents/dp/0312355343/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1411693029&sr=8-9&keywords=books+on+ADHD

Children with ADHD: Health and Happiness

I really appreciate Dr. Hallowell's advice about connection, practice and mastery.



Children with ADHD: Health and Happiness

Focus on the Family Article

This article includes a first person account of what a boy experienced in his academic environment.  Even though I deal with symptoms myself, sometimes it's still hard to understand the daily challenges my kids face in the classroom.  It is true that you have to take a different approach to training and discipline, too.  We have found that many of the normal avenues haven't worked for our children - and each one responds differently.

How To Help an ADHD Child

No Nagging or Yelling: Better ADHD Discipline

I don't think you need to have an ADHD child to use these strategies.  Being an ADHD mom, I have to really be aware of my own emotions.  So many times, the angry words come out before I even have a chance to think.  I am having to develop the discipline of addressing my own emotions during explosive episodes before dealing with my kids' behavior and emotions.  My encouragement to you is patience, patience, patience.  Keep practicing the right approach to discipling.  You will mess up, but the more you practice speaking calmly, not getting dragged into the firestorm, maybe even giving yourself a time out before you deal with your child, the more consistently you will do the right thing!  Think of it less as punishment and more as training!



No Nagging or Yelling: Better ADHD Discipline

Nothing Ever (Could Separate Us)

Nothing Can Separate Us!

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Rom. 8:28

Wow!  That is an amazing truth.  I was reflecting on that verse this morning while I was on my walk and it occurred to me...NOTHING can separate us from God's love in Christ Jesus!   Not ADHD, not depression, not mental illness nor anything else in all creation!  On the surface, that seems like a no brainer until I thought of the ways I have let things separate me from Christ's love.

Sometimes I have said to myself after saying an unkind word to one of my children,

"Shoot!  There I go again.  My ADD's to blame!"  

Other times I have tried to recall a verse in the moment, but it was out of reach in my muddled mind.  Then I mutter:

"I guess I can't memorize Scripture.  I can never seem to remember anything."  

Lies, lies...all lies!  My excuses were just rationalization for not doing something differently.

As I was thinking about the truth of Rom. 8:28, I remembered that it's not a great memory or being the model parent that keeps me close to Jesus.  It's His love.  In this fallen world, there are lots of things that don't work right.  But here's the thing.  God already knows that we're all broken in some way.  Whether it be neurologically, emotionally, physically or morally, that's why Jesus had to die for each of us.  The very things that tend to become barriers to my relationship with Christ should actually be the things that draw me closer to Him!  The reason I was thinking this was because I was pondering what keeps me from experiencing this amazing love.  It's making agreements with the enemy of our souls.  John and Stasi Eldridge talk about agreements in their book, Love & War.  It has really helped me recognize when I am living out of a lie instead of God's truth.  They say,
                     

"Now, what this father of lies does is put his "spin" on a situation.  It typically comes as a "thought" or a "feeling."  ...What Satan is hoping for is to secure from us an "agreement," a very subtle

but momentous shift in us, where we believe the spin, we go with the feeling, and we accept as reality the deception he is presenting.  (It always feels so true.) ...Once we buy in to the lie and make the agreement, we come under the spell and come under the influence of that interpretation of events.  Then it pretty much plays itself out; becoming self-fulfilling."

It's so easy to believe that many things can separate us from God's love.  The agreements may sound like this:

"I'm not good enough".  

"Why try.  I'll just fail."  

"I don't know how to hear God's voice."  

"Maybe He just doesn't speak to me."  

"My thoughts are so confused. I can't make sense of reading the Bible."

Do these sound familiar?  They sure do to me.  However, I am coming to actually appreciate the fallen-ness of being human.  Sometimes I still struggle and I get sucked into an agreement, but I am reminded that even a spiritual giant like the apostle Paul struggled with something that he wanted to get rid of and asked God to take away three times, but God said,

 "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12:9

So, when I am tempted to make agreements, it's really an opportunity to trust God and lean into Him instead of believing those negative thoughts.  I am so glad God left us a love letter, the Bible.  I can trust what it says. And what it says is that nothing, no, nothing can separate us from God's love!