More than 6 million children in the U.S. have been diagnosed with ADHD, while the prevalence of ADHD in adults is estimated at 4.4-8.1%. Chances are, someone in your circle of friends and family has ADHD. If you are giving them a present this holiday season, you may be brainstorming for practical, useful, or fun gifts. We’ve got a list of some fantastic ideas to get you started!
by Lexi Walters Wright
from Understood.org
As enjoyable as Thanksgiving is for some families, it can often be a difficult time for kids with ADHD to manage. That’s especially true if the holiday involves gatherings and long sit-down meals. Here are some typical trouble spots and what you can do to help.
The problem: If you’re traveling for Thanksgiving, your child may be sleeping in a strange place and following an unfamiliar schedule. Even if you’re hosting, your family’s routines may be disrupted. That’s rough for kids with ADHD.
Adults with ADHD face extra challenges when it comes to task management and organization, whether at work or at home. Overstimulation, feeling stuck, getting overwhelmed—any one or all of these can hinder your productivity and elevate your anxiety. We’ve got 9 tips to help you maximize your productivity so you can anticipate your challenges, stay focused, and finish your tasks.
Enter your due dates and deadlines. Then count backwards and enter mini due dates and/or reminders for completing phases of your project.
October 19, 2020
by Lisa Woodruff
from ADDitude.mag
Ours is a paper-based society.
Paper-dependence starts with birth certificates and Social Security cards. In short order, kids become paper producers. From precious handprint turkeys to report cards, they bring home so much paper that is heart-wrenching to discard. Some you keep as memorabilia; some you save for a while to remind you of an action item — like an upcoming field trip or project.
When I realized I would never be paperless, I changed my goal from eliminating all paper to having less of it.
Read the rest on ADDitude.mag.
by Amanda Long
from The Washington Post
October 31, 2021
After giving birth to her second child in February 2020, KC Davis keenly felt the relationship between the state of her home and the state of her mental health. At home with two kids under 2, battling postpartum depression and ADD, she found herself sitting on the floor surrounded by onesies, toddler clothes and pajama pants, unable to get the laundry finished, ever. “I was living out of a basket of clean laundry — just unable to fold it or put it away — so I decided not to,” said Davis, a licensed therapist in Houston.
At Simplify Experts, we do more than just declutter and organize—we also specialize in supporting clients with ADHD. Our founder Denise Allan has specialist credentials in Chronic Disorganization and ADHD, as well as ten additional certificates of study through the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD). She is also the only certified Chronic Disorganization Specialist (CPO-CD) in the Pacific Northwest. Our professional organizers are trained one-on-one by Denise with this ethos in mind. This is how we understand that whether you are taking care of a child diagnosed with ADHD or have ADHD yourself, you face extra challenges when it comes to home management and organization. It is not your fault. ADHD causes your mind to feel like it is jumping all over, making you overwhelmed, and disorganized—and your home becomes the same. Your brain chemistry is working against you and your coping mechanisms may not be enough.
When it comes to getting organized, you may feel stuck and don’t even know where to start. Adults with ADHD have many passions and great ideas. Common spaces such as kitchen, dining rooms, garage, and family rooms may have become cluttered by open projects. Visual overstimulation can occur and you never feel the satisfaction of completing a project. Common spaces lose their intended function. Uncompleted projects may cause financial strain and increase conflict with loved ones. We understand these unique challenges and we can help.
By from ADDitude MagazineJune 25, 2021
ADHD is sometimes impossible to miss — and other times far too easy to overlook. The children who exhibit stereotypical symptoms (i.e. hyperactivity or impulsivity) are often diagnosed, while those with not-so-obvious signs (i.e. emotional dysregulation or sleeplessness) may be misdiagnosed into adulthood — or entirely. Here are the ADHD signs most likely to hide in plain sight.
Though it manifests in disparate and dichotomous ways, ADHD is often associated with only a handful of stereotypical behaviors and presentations. So when not-so-obvious ADHD symptoms show up in broad daylight, they may go ignored or misdiagnosed.
Then, when subtle-but-lifelong symptoms of ADHD explode (as they are likely to do) under unique and stressful circumstances, they suddenly become unmanageable. And it’s only then that many adults get the help they need.
from SafetyDetectives.com
June 2, 2021
Keeping kids away from inappropriate YouTube content can feel overwhelming. There are several billion YouTube videos (500+ hours of video are uploaded every minute), and 2 billion users log into YouTube every month — so how do we filter out all of the violent, sexual, manipulative, hateful, and otherwise unsuitable content that our kids find on YouTube (frequently on accident)?
YouTube has a couple of solutions — including “Restricted Mode” on conventional YouTube and also the curated YouTube Kids app, both of which are meant to filter out adult content. But dozens of reports have been published showing the staggering amount of vulgar, violent, and disturbing content that YouTube’s automated filters fail to catch.
What’s even more worrying is that a lot of these videos are actually targeted at young children, using popular characters, misleading titles, and search-engine-optimized language to maximize views from young children who don’t know any better.
That’s why relying on YouTube’s filters isn’t good enough. But there are some pretty simple techniques that you can use to ensure your kids don’t stumble across the millions of hours of inappropriate content on YouTube in 2021.
Read the rest on SafetyDetectives.com
The key to starting school on time starts the night before. Since kids with ADHD may have sleep issues, a solid sleep routine can help your child be successful with their morning routine.
Begin the sleep ritual early. Turn off any electronic devices well ahead of bedtime, if possible. We know this is tough when kids’ laptops and netbooks are their a major point of connection to their learning environment. It’s also challenging if your student is up late studying, but aim for an early bedtime as much as you can. Try a non-electronic ritual—like reading together or setting out the next day’s outfit—to help ease your child’s transition towards bedtime. Taking a hot shower or bath before bed can help the body get into sleep mode. Some kids with ADHD like to settle down with a book on tape or on Audible, but if that is too stimulating a white noise machine can help your child tune out noise and settle into sleep easier. If possible, try to avoid evening sports or lessons as these may overstimulate your child, making it more difficult for them to fall asleep. Try different strategies until you come up with a sleep routine that works well for your child.
“I’m so confused!” was my first thought as I walked into Home Depot and saw frightening Halloween decorations for sale positioned right next to dazzling Hanukkah and Christmas delights. My initial reaction was followed by, “Wait, isn’t it a bit early for Christmas decoration sales?”. Then my heart skipped a beat and the panic set in: “Yikes! I need to get started on all that holiday stuff or I’ll never get everything done!” The onset of the holiday season can be both exhilarating and terrifying. This is one time of the year during which time management is crucial. For those struggling with ADHD and/or have loved ones challenged by ADHD, time management during the Fall holidays can be particularly daunting.
Time management encompasses the ability to both “see” and “feel” time. Visual cues are used to observe the passage of time, such as the movement of hands on an analog clock or changing shadow patterns on a sidewalk throughout the day. We feel time as we perceive its passage before, during, and after our experiences. Furthermore, we gauge our behavior using the concept of a time horizon—how near in time something needs to be for someone to be motivated into action. According to psychologist Ari Tuckman, people challenged by ADHD experience a shorter time horizon. That motivation kicks in much closer in time to when the event will take place, greatly affecting time management. Tuckman asserts that those with ADHD recognize two times: now and not now. All this spells trouble when trying to navigate the holiday months amidst deadlines, events, and additional responsibilities. However, there are strategies to help deal with the impact that ADHD plays on time management during the holidays.
Calendars: This is the time of year when the calendar becomes your best friend. That snazzy calendar app on your smartphone is sure handy because it travels with you (assuming you’re like me and take it with you everywhere) and is so versatile. However, I can’t stress enough the importance of a more visual, paper calendar for this time of year. It is much easier to visualize that time horizon as well as your increased commitments if you use a paper calendar, especially one with large day blocks in which to record entries you can readily see. If you are in charge of scheduling for a family, a personal calendar as well as a family calendar is helpful for coordinating everyone’s activities while not losing sight of your own commitments.
