Controlling Adult ADD: 10 Simple Ways Posted By : Jason Swanson

Both adult ADD and adult ADHD has drawbacks, though we know there are great benefits in creativity, intelligence, and the ability to hyperfocus. Yet, some of the mundane tasks in the world can be helped by following these 10 easy steps:

1. Color Code Your World: When it comes to things like what to do with the dirty clothes, color-coded bins that make sorting easier is a great way to streamline laundry day and to keep sleeping spaces neat for people with adult ADD. Rather than tossing clothes wherever they may land, get bins color-coded to the laundry sorting ritual. Use white for whites, colored for colors, and black for dark colors. You may want an extra one, just for clothes that could bleed into your other laundry, like red, for instance. Or, you may want to put delicates in another colored bin. It's up to you how you use your adult ADD creativity

2. Keep it open: People with adult ADD don't do well with space that is too structured, probably owing to time spent in school desks as a kid, and this is especially true for adults with ADHD. Allow your home to be as open as possible to allow yourself to move around whenever you need to do that. Don't have too much furniture or other things that can get in your way.

3. Make deadlines for yourself: Even if there isn't a hard deadline for some project you're working on, set one anyway. This helps adult ADD people to stay on task and the urgency factor may help you to keep from being bored.

4. Chunk it up: Rather than looking at a huge project and freaking out because it just seems too daunting, remember how to eat an elephant... one bite at a time. Break big projects into a series of smaller ones.

5. So, be a multitasker: What's wrong with that? Just because linear-thinking people can only do one thing at a time, that shouldn't limit you. So, listen to music while you're preparing that boring report for work. Bake some cookies so you can smell them while you're working, too. Involve as many senses as you need to so that you aren't bored.

6. Be a time waster: We all are, generally. But when you have adult ADD, time wasting activity can really bring your productivity to a halt. If you feel like you want to waste some time, then do it, but set a time limit, say half an hour. Do whatever it is you want to do to waste that time, and then back to work!

7. If you're going to waste time, you'll need a timer: Yes! When it's wasting time, set a timer for the time you've allotted to waste. Or, use the timer for hyperfocus time. Use whatever time you set to work on something boring that just has to be done, like balancing your checkbook. When the timer goes off, you can get back to doing something you like to do better. Set the timer again. Then, go back to the checkbook and continue the process until it's done.

8. Treat yourself like a child: When you have particularly angry moments or when you're just so worked up you can hardly stand it, go into a separate room, away from people and get your ya-yas out. When you have adult ADD or ADHD, these periods are bound to arise, so don't take them out on other people. Go somewhere that you can be alone until your temper settles back down.

9. Workout: Or find some other form of exercise, like running or swimming. This helps to relieve your pent up energies, which are inherent with adult ADD and even more so with ADHD.

10. Plan regular meals: Adult ADD often gets us so hyperfocused on what we're doing that we actually forget to eat. By keeping a routine, this may ease the burden of remembering to provide sustenance for our own bodies.

These ideas are all ways to make dealing with adult ADD or ADHD easier. Try some of them, and if they work for you, then add others to your daily routine. In fact, email this story to friends who have adult ADD and email a copy to yourself. That way, it will always be close by.

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Attention Deficit Disorder" article category.

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So many youngsters today have been diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. When that occurs many kids are put on drugs that can do more harm than good. What is a parent to do besides suffer together with their kids? Look into alternative answers ; natural answers. Many of the children I grew up with who were prescribed these medications either sold them or took them in a way the tablets were not intended to be taken.ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a disorder that is characterized by hyperactivity, inattention and hyperactivity and impulsiveness of children. Kids with this disorder need more help than normal children and must be given proper attention and ADHD treatment as early as possible.Simple Steps in Diagnosing ADHD: Do you have children who frequently forget their homework, act without thinking, get fidgety all the time, impulsive, hyperactive, inattentive, lazy and undisciplined? Watch out! Your child might show symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).ADHD refers to attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder. Most children who suffer from this disorder suffer from attention problems as well as hyperactivity. Parents of such children are well aware that inattention and hyperactivity continue throughout the day. Keeping such children busy after school hours can be as difficult as keeping them safe during the school day.Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is usually identifiable in early stages of childhood. There are instances when the disorder continues until adulthood if treatment is not prompt or effective. This is known as Adult Attention Deficit Disorder (AADD). The impact of AADD is severe compared to ADD because as an adult, coping strategies are required to a greater extent with regard to disorganization and other symptoms of the syndrome.ADD is often accompanied by a coexisting condition. On the other hand, often ADD and these other conditions have similar symptoms and, therefore, are easily misdiagnosed. Of course, this creates a plethora of problems as these disorders, when separate, must be treated differently. A misdiagnosis will lead to ineffective treatment. As coexisting conditions, these are especially of concern, because they increase the severity of many of the symptoms of ADD, as well as the negative impact on those that suffer them.Tyler, a five-year old boy was nicknamed "Twister Tyler" after being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) about four months ago. He is currently enrolled in a special education (SPED) school to accommodate his academic and social needs. During the initial pre-enrollment interview, Tyler's mother said that her son used to study in a regular school but had to be transferred after the teachers complained about the boy's disturbing behavior in the classroom.

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How Diet Can Affect ADHD Posted By : Steve Geysbeek

So many youngsters today have been diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. When that occurs many kids are put on drugs that can do more harm than good. What is a parent to do besides suffer together with their kids? Look into alternative answers ; natural answers. Many of the children I grew up with who were prescribed these medications either sold them or took them in a way the tablets were not intended to be taken.

How can this cycle of prescribing drugs with side effects from suicidal thoughts and anorexia to drug abuse be useful to youngsters whose bodies are still developing? Is there a better, more natural way to contribute in these kids' lives?

The adage, you are what you eat, is very true. So , what precisely are youngsters eating now-a-days that make them more at the mercy of hyperactive disorders? What can be removed from their diets or added, that could help how their bodies process nutriments and information.

Each year between three and 10% of college aged youngsters are diagnosed with Attention Deficit / hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ), also known as hyperactivity. Most of these kids are presently being treated with drugs.

And these drugs have side effects - ranging from comparatively minor ( loss of appetite, weightloss, insomnia and mood swings ) to major ( suicidal thoughts, insane behaviour and substance abuse ).

So it's just natural for parents to ask whether there is a more holistic angle that they could follow and, more precisely, whether diet could contribute.

To answer that question lets start by taking a look at only 1 facet of children's diets - the increasing incidence of synthesised food colors and chemicals in the diet. The average kid today is consuming over ten pounds of food additives every year!

The concept that food additions - specifically synthetic colours and chemicals - could be accountable for hyperactivity was first raised by Dr. Ben Feingold over 30 years ago. He devised the Feingold Diet - a diet that was free of synthesised food colours, additives and other synthesised food additions.

Some little scale trials suggested the diet could be successful and millions of parents exploited the diet for their hyperactive kids with much success.

But the medical authorities pooh-poohed the Feingold Diet. They illustrated that when parents are putting their child on a special diet they are also giving that child more attention - and it may be the parent's increased attention that reduced the child's hyperactive behavior.

They also pointed out when you eliminate food additives from the diet you are decreasing the "junk" food and rocketing fresh fruit and vegetables - in short the child's diet is much more healthy.

So finally the Feingold Diet lost popularity but the idea artificial food colors and chemicals might trigger hyperactivity has refused to depart.

In fact , a couple of recent studies have substantially braced the linkage between synthesised ingredients and hyperactivity.

The first study was a meta-analysis of 15 prior studies having a look at the consequences of synthesised food colours and chemicals on hyperactivity ( book of developmental and behaviour Pediatrics, 25 : 423-434, 2004 ).

This meta-analysis concluded that synthetic food colours and preservatives caused a rise in hyperactivity in 28% of the youngsters tested.

Almost all the kids in those previous studies were chosen for the study because they'd been diagnosed as hyperactive ( ADHD ).

However , a more fresh study looked at 297 kids from Southampton Britain who had not been diagnosed as hyperactive ( Lancet, 370 : 1560-1567, 2007 ).

After a 8 week elimination phase in which artificial food colours and additives were removed from their diets, they were given an one week challenge consisting of fruit juice containing one of two different mixtures of four synthesised food colors and the preservative sodium benzoate or a pill.

The amount of synthesised food colours and sodium benzoate in the fruit juice drinks was built to match the average amount found in the English diet ( which isn't all that different to the American diet ).

Once more, the results were clear. The quantity of synthesised food colours and chemicals found in the typical child's diet is sufficient to trigger hyperactivity in numerous youngsters.

So what does that imply to you if you have a hyperactive kid? Could the easy act of dumping synthetic colors, flavours and additives from your child's diet eliminate hyperactivity and give you back that calm, sweet child that you like?

The available info suggest that removing artificial food additives from your child's diet can make a contribution in their behaviour, but I tend to side with experts who suggest a holistic approach is best.

Dumping food additions from your child's diet is vital, but also make sure the diet is a good one, that your kid is getting all of the nutrient elements that they need and that they are getting all of the attention and support that they need .

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Attention Deficit Disorder" article category.

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ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a disorder that is characterized by hyperactivity, inattention and hyperactivity and impulsiveness of children. Kids with this disorder need more help than normal children and must be given proper attention and ADHD treatment as early as possible.Simple Steps in Diagnosing ADHD: Do you have children who frequently forget their homework, act without thinking, get fidgety all the time, impulsive, hyperactive, inattentive, lazy and undisciplined? Watch out! Your child might show symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).ADHD refers to attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder. Most children who suffer from this disorder suffer from attention problems as well as hyperactivity. Parents of such children are well aware that inattention and hyperactivity continue throughout the day. Keeping such children busy after school hours can be as difficult as keeping them safe during the school day.Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is usually identifiable in early stages of childhood. There are instances when the disorder continues until adulthood if treatment is not prompt or effective. This is known as Adult Attention Deficit Disorder (AADD). The impact of AADD is severe compared to ADD because as an adult, coping strategies are required to a greater extent with regard to disorganization and other symptoms of the syndrome.ADD is often accompanied by a coexisting condition. On the other hand, often ADD and these other conditions have similar symptoms and, therefore, are easily misdiagnosed. Of course, this creates a plethora of problems as these disorders, when separate, must be treated differently. A misdiagnosis will lead to ineffective treatment. As coexisting conditions, these are especially of concern, because they increase the severity of many of the symptoms of ADD, as well as the negative impact on those that suffer them.Both adult ADD and adult ADHD has drawbacks, though we know there are great benefits in creativity, intelligence, and the ability to hyperfocus. Yet, some of the mundane tasks in the world can be helped by following these 10 easy steps...Tyler, a five-year old boy was nicknamed "Twister Tyler" after being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) about four months ago. He is currently enrolled in a special education (SPED) school to accommodate his academic and social needs. During the initial pre-enrollment interview, Tyler's mother said that her son used to study in a regular school but had to be transferred after the teachers complained about the boy's disturbing behavior in the classroom.

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Why Managing Adult ADD Is Like Singing Rock Music Posted By : Jennifer Koretsky

In my personal life, I'm a singer, and rock-style music is my passion. As I've been working to take my abilities to the next level, I've realized that there are a number of similarities between managing adult Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and singing rock music. You don't need to be a rock singer to appreciate the similarities.

Whatever it is that really sparks your passion in life, you can find parallels between that passion and managing your ADD. Take my example of singing rock music, and consider this:

You Gotta Practice.

Even the most skilled and talented rock singers--the Robert Plants and Ann Wilsons of the world--have to keep their voices well tuned by using them on a regular basis. Without practice, a singer's skills and raw talent won't disappear, but will be a lot harder to access when needed.

Similarly, even the most successful adults with ADD have to practice their ADD management skills. Time management, organization and focus, for example, are learned skills that become rusty when you don't use them on a regular basis.

It's All About Breathing.

Your breath supports your voice when you're singing. If you're not breathing regularly and deeply, your body becomes tense. And tense muscles quickly prevent a singer from performing well and sounding good.

When you're managing your ADD, tension is one of your worst enemies. A stressed mind produces a stressed body and vice versa. That stress quickly leads to ADD overwhelm, and it's nearly impossible to manage ADD in the state of overwhelm. One of the best ways to keep stress and tension at bay is to make a point of breathing deeply and regularly.

You Gotta Believe In Yourself.

Singing is a performance art. If you're going to be a successful singer, you have to get over your nervousness and just go for it. (This is the stage I'm in right now!) If you believe you can do it, then you will find a way. If you believe you can't do it, then you won't do it.

You also have to believe that you can manage your ADD and take your life to the next level. If you tell yourself that you'll never be organized, then you won't be. If you give up on yourself easily, you'll never allow yourself the opportunity to be successful. When you're ready to tackle a challenge or learn a new skill, the first step is believing that you can do it.

Combining Skill With Personal Style Leads To Success.

One of the things I love about rock music is that the emphasis is placed more on emotion than on skill. A rock singer definitely needs to learn about their voice and how to use it properly, but there is a lot of room for personal style. In fact, that personal style is what often draws a person to a particular singer.

This is exactly the way I describe effective ADD management. There are some base level skills and systems to be learned, and the rest is all about personal style. When you learn to manage your ADD, WHAT works for you is not nearly as important as the fact that it DOES work.

The great thing about drawing these comparisons between two seemingly different subjects is that it allows you the opportunity to simplify the challenges you experience and ground them in something that really excites you. You can continually remind yourself, "Oh yeah, managing my time is just like singing. If I'm stressed out and nervous then I'm not going to do it well! I need to be calm, breathe, and believe that I can handle this to-do list."

I encourage you to take a stab at this exercise and see if you can draw some helpful comparisons between managing your ADD and something else that you're really interested in.

Copyright (c) 2008 Jennifer Koretsky

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Attention Deficit Disorder" article category.

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So many youngsters today have been diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. When that occurs many kids are put on drugs that can do more harm than good. What is a parent to do besides suffer together with their kids? Look into alternative answers ; natural answers. Many of the children I grew up with who were prescribed these medications either sold them or took them in a way the tablets were not intended to be taken.ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a disorder that is characterized by hyperactivity, inattention and hyperactivity and impulsiveness of children. Kids with this disorder need more help than normal children and must be given proper attention and ADHD treatment as early as possible.Simple Steps in Diagnosing ADHD: Do you have children who frequently forget their homework, act without thinking, get fidgety all the time, impulsive, hyperactive, inattentive, lazy and undisciplined? Watch out! Your child might show symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).ADHD refers to attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder. Most children who suffer from this disorder suffer from attention problems as well as hyperactivity. Parents of such children are well aware that inattention and hyperactivity continue throughout the day. Keeping such children busy after school hours can be as difficult as keeping them safe during the school day.Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is usually identifiable in early stages of childhood. There are instances when the disorder continues until adulthood if treatment is not prompt or effective. This is known as Adult Attention Deficit Disorder (AADD). The impact of AADD is severe compared to ADD because as an adult, coping strategies are required to a greater extent with regard to disorganization and other symptoms of the syndrome.ADD is often accompanied by a coexisting condition. On the other hand, often ADD and these other conditions have similar symptoms and, therefore, are easily misdiagnosed. Of course, this creates a plethora of problems as these disorders, when separate, must be treated differently. A misdiagnosis will lead to ineffective treatment. As coexisting conditions, these are especially of concern, because they increase the severity of many of the symptoms of ADD, as well as the negative impact on those that suffer them.Both adult ADD and adult ADHD has drawbacks, though we know there are great benefits in creativity, intelligence, and the ability to hyperfocus. Yet, some of the mundane tasks in the world can be helped by following these 10 easy steps...

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The role of support in promoting the social inclusion of persons with intellectual disabilities

Title: The role of support in promoting the social inclusion of persons with intellectual disabilities

Author (s): McConkey R & Collins S

Log: Journal of intellectual disability research, 54, 8, 691-700

Purpose research question (a declared/inferred): 
To describe the range of tasks that support staff undertake towards social inclusion of the people they support; to determine the extent to which staff considered these tasks as being applicable to their role and the priority given to the workload and to identify changes in the perception of their role in all three settings for different services staff

Methods:
245 staff recruited day or support residential services across managed by statutory sector, voluntary and private Ireland North sector organization.

40% of employees worked in residential housing or shared; 24% 36% recruitment centres in six days and life support systems.

79% of women 56% aged less than 40 participants.

70% of the full-time contracts with 59% after it was posted less than 5 years.

17% of respondents were in managerial or executive positions.

Developed based on the responses of 44 volunteer staff who attended the discussion groups where they discussed their job tasks and support their perception of the role self-completion questionnaire.

Thematic analysis identified 32 tasks commonly performed by staff-16 which related to the activities of social inclusion.

Personal note: each of the 32 tasks in terms of priority, where 1 = high - must be carried out; 2 = Medium priority - especially gets done and 3 low priority - sometimes gets fact. A fourth option ' does not apply to my job role "has been added with two issues pending improvement of social inclusion of the users of the services."

Conclusions:
Three tasks have been noted as having priority high by 50% or more staff - increase of choice among the activities of the day. help clients become familiar with the local facilities and facilitating clients to maintain contact with their families.

14 of 16 care tasks relate does not social inclusion were recorded by more than 50% of staff as having high priority. The authors found a large variation among their rating, even within the same type of service personnel.

The only significant predictors of staff giving more high median scores on social inclusion that staff in supported living environments were more likely to assess more social inclusion tasks tasks as a priority and those centres were less likely to assess these tasks as a priority day.

Answers to the question open on the ways in which staff assists people they contend with social inclusion on proposed six themes:
• Encourage and accompany the people to take part in social and community activities
• Risk management. assessing health and safety audit accessibility concerns
• Supporting choice. encourage independence and advocating for person
• Promote communication and social skills of persons taken in charge
• Collecting information about the available activities and community liaison
• Providing or help with transport
Interviewed on which would help the staff to do more to allow people argue to join activities and meet people from the community, most responded increases the availability of staff and providing more opportunities for one-to-one support.

Conclusions:
The authors point out some limitations in their study, e.g. personal chose to participate and services had a prior engagement with a project social inclusion. the level of dependency of persons taken in charge has not been evaluated directly.

Staff working in the life support systems appears more likely to give priority to tasks of social inclusion that other media that the authors emphasize staff is online focus on individuals, it is does not clear leaving studies how inclusion social made Beaver known to support life tenant is a product of the attention of the staff to support these results or increased opportunities that provides this kind of service model.

Staff more inclined to tasks such as social inclusion is not applicable to their job was who work day, women's personal care centres and those working on the front rather than officials line.

The authors also found variation among the staff of the same type of service to their ratings on the priority tasks of social inclusion that suggests staff interpret their roles and their priorities differently in the absence of explicit direction and advice service leaders and managers. The authors suggest and social marginalisation of people with learning disabilities may be a systemic aspect of current models of service by relying on qualified and poorly paid staff than their primary supporters.

A result of the study was the development and evaluation of a "-Toolkit" front line to provide resources and strategies to promote greater social inclusion, for example the person engaging in social and community; activities support staff research opportunities for social inclusion, work, recreation and learning opportunities and to recruit new members to their social networks. (The Toolkit is (available on CD-Rom for induction /refresher http://www.trianglehousing.org.uk staff training).)

Summary prepared by NHS evidence of learning specialist collection August 2010 

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