Today we're giving the CAHSEE, the California High School Exit Exam. Your state probably has something similar. Since I work with special ed kids, some of them get to have "accommodations," which means they get to use a calculator, or a CD that reads the questions to them, or some other thing that helps compensate for their processing difficulties without actually changing the test (which would be called a "modification").
The calculator is definitely helpful on the math section, and the CD seems to work well on the English section, but there's one accommodation that isn't offered but I know would be extremely helpful--let them listen to music.
Throughout our own high school days, it was universal parental wisdom that kids would study or work best when free from distraction. "Turn off the TV/stereo, sit still, get your nose in that book and study!" But over the past few decades it has become abundantly clear that many types of ADD/ADHD brains (and maybe many other "non-disabled" teenaged brains) actually NEED external stimulation and/or movement in order to function adequately.
The same applies to some adults but they typically have more freedom to make the adjustments they need for themselves (e.g. doodling during meetings to keep their brain activated, listening to music in their office, taking stretch breaks at their own discretion, choosing careers that let them be active). However, kids are usually scolded or disciplined for employing these types of self-management techniques and consequently, their performance and productivity goes way down.
If you're interested in more information on this subject, or if you're just not yet convinced, please visit the following:
Med Page Today
Fidgeting Helps ADHD People Stay Focused
There are countless other articles and studies on this topic as well, which are easily found through a web search.
Showing posts with label ADD/ADHD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ADD/ADHD. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
WSJ Article: High Enrollment Strains Two-Year Colleges AND Why This Should Encourage You to "Go Private"
I think it's important to link you directly to a Wall Street Journal article (published yesterday) about the growing problem of overcrowding in community colleges. Please take a moment to read it when you get a chance, if your child is considering this educational path.
In my position as a college counselor for high school students, I am intimately aware of the ebb and flow of changes in our local community college system. However, it makes sense that parents are usually not privy to changes in budgetary or enrollment policies and other things that can ultimately affect their children, so I want to lay out some important considerations here.
More and more students are enrolling in community college each year. There are a multitude of reasons, and the weak economy has driven many of them. For example, an obvious one is the cost difference between a junior college and a university--even a state school. Also, many adults who are either unemployed or feel their employment is tenuous are returning to school to improve their job skills or train for a new career. These adults, or "non-traditional students," are competing for the same seats as your teenager.
In my position as a college counselor for high school students, I am intimately aware of the ebb and flow of changes in our local community college system. However, it makes sense that parents are usually not privy to changes in budgetary or enrollment policies and other things that can ultimately affect their children, so I want to lay out some important considerations here.
More and more students are enrolling in community college each year. There are a multitude of reasons, and the weak economy has driven many of them. For example, an obvious one is the cost difference between a junior college and a university--even a state school. Also, many adults who are either unemployed or feel their employment is tenuous are returning to school to improve their job skills or train for a new career. These adults, or "non-traditional students," are competing for the same seats as your teenager.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Recommended: ADDitude Magazine
It's important to me to only recommend products/services with which I have personal experience and that I feel strongly about, and because it meets both of those criteria I feel comfortable sharing with you the best magazine I have come across that focuses on ADD/ADHD: ADDitude Magazine.
This publication bills itself as "dedicated to helping children and adults with Attention Deficit Disorder and learning disabilities lead successful lives — at home, at school, at work, and in their communities....Every issue contains a wide range of service and lifestyle articles for individuals and families dealing with ADD. Many articles are written by medical and psychological experts, including M.D.s and Ph.D.s. "
That's sort of a dry description (though technically accurate), don't you think?
Apparently I'm not the only one who feels so positively about ADDitude because their website traffic increased 40% from 2009 to 2010 and even Oprah Winfrey calls it "a magazine that is needed by every parent of an ADD child."
If you're interested in subscribing to the quarterly paper version of the magazine, check around for the best price. It costs more on their own website (currently $24.99/yr) than if you go to a newsstand and pull a card from the inside of an issue ($19.99/yr) or if you use a discount service like magazines.com or magazineline.com* (both $19.99/yr), but they sometimes offer a "bonus gift," which perhaps makes the extra expense worth your while. I'm old fashioned that way--I like to have a hard copy to write on, fold corners, tear out pages, etc., and plus it's easier on my eyes. However, most of the same content is available online free of charge.
If you, your child, your spouse, your sibling, your best friend or even your boss has ADD/ADHD, I encourage you to check out the website. It just might make 2011 a whole lot easier!
*I have used both online subscription services in the past with no problems.
This publication bills itself as "dedicated to helping children and adults with Attention Deficit Disorder and learning disabilities lead successful lives — at home, at school, at work, and in their communities....Every issue contains a wide range of service and lifestyle articles for individuals and families dealing with ADD. Many articles are written by medical and psychological experts, including M.D.s and Ph.D.s. " That's sort of a dry description (though technically accurate), don't you think?
I would call their website an absolute treasury of resources and support for parents of children with ADD/ADHD as well as adults with the diagnosis themselves. It provides extensive information about "living well with attention deficit" from basically every conceivable angle and often infused with all-important humor. In addition to the archive of helpful articles there are forums, free printables, a calendar of events, an e-newsletter, a directory to find services in your local area and even a link to a free podcast by Dr. Ned Hallowell, a recognized expert in this field (who you might have seen in the documentary, "ADD and Loving It?!").
Apparently I'm not the only one who feels so positively about ADDitude because their website traffic increased 40% from 2009 to 2010 and even Oprah Winfrey calls it "a magazine that is needed by every parent of an ADD child."
If you're interested in subscribing to the quarterly paper version of the magazine, check around for the best price. It costs more on their own website (currently $24.99/yr) than if you go to a newsstand and pull a card from the inside of an issue ($19.99/yr) or if you use a discount service like magazines.com or magazineline.com* (both $19.99/yr), but they sometimes offer a "bonus gift," which perhaps makes the extra expense worth your while. I'm old fashioned that way--I like to have a hard copy to write on, fold corners, tear out pages, etc., and plus it's easier on my eyes. However, most of the same content is available online free of charge.
If you, your child, your spouse, your sibling, your best friend or even your boss has ADD/ADHD, I encourage you to check out the website. It just might make 2011 a whole lot easier!
*I have used both online subscription services in the past with no problems.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Various perspectives on ADD/ADHD (cont'd.)
In Monday's blog I touched on the basics of ADD/ADHD and introduced you to Amen Clinics, Inc. Today I'd like to bring you a few more perspectives before handing you off to other blogs and websites that dedicate themselves to this vast and topical subject.
The argument for "meds"?
I was trying to do some research here to find a group who categorically supports the use of Ritalin, Adderall and the like, and I couldn't find anything that wasn't either from a pharmaceutical company or associated with psychiatry. Let me make clear that I have great respect for psychiatrists because they have gone through an incomprehensible amount of rigorous schooling--more than I could handle--but in cases like this I think Maslow's sentiment applies: When all you've got is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. By this I mean that it seems like a foregone conclusion to ask a person who has built their career by prescribing medication whether or not medication should be prescribed.
On the other hand, I was able to find many, many groups who call for the elimination of or at least decrease in the use of ADHD medication with children and adolescents. They point to arguments such as the side effects and risks that many kids experience when taking the pills, the fact that it is really a "band-aid solution" because it treats some symptoms but not the underlying causes, the scandalous degree of over-diagnosis of ADHD, the fact that medicating kids sometimes robs them of developmental and personal growth opportunities, and on and on.
Personally, I have seen some kids who are absolutely crawling out of their own skin and have only been able to exist in the world thanks to the proper prescription of a psychostimulant. But for every one of those kids I have seen a dozen who are having their relatively "normal" curious, energetic behavior pathologized and medicated for the comfort and convenience of the adults in their life. Certainly there is a growing population of students who can't seem to function in our public school system without either medication or special services but it's disturbing how quickly our society reaches for that magic pill instead of trying to support those children in developing better self-awareness and coping mechanisms first.
The upside to ADD/ADHD
It might go against the grain to be positive about something that is so widely regarded as a "problem," but I truly believe there are beneficial aspects to an ADD/ADHD personality. Whether these abilities and traits are caused by ADD/ADHD or are simply co-occurring is irrelevant because they show up together so frequently that there is a definite correlation. What's more is that I'm not alone! A growing number of people are realizing that though ADD/ADHD symptoms can impair certain functions if not managed, there are some great characteristics that come from this way of being as well.
Here are some websites to check out if you want to delve into the "feel good" side of current ADD/ADHD conversation:
For general ADD/ADHD support on the web, try the following sites:
The argument for "meds"?
I was trying to do some research here to find a group who categorically supports the use of Ritalin, Adderall and the like, and I couldn't find anything that wasn't either from a pharmaceutical company or associated with psychiatry. Let me make clear that I have great respect for psychiatrists because they have gone through an incomprehensible amount of rigorous schooling--more than I could handle--but in cases like this I think Maslow's sentiment applies: When all you've got is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. By this I mean that it seems like a foregone conclusion to ask a person who has built their career by prescribing medication whether or not medication should be prescribed.
On the other hand, I was able to find many, many groups who call for the elimination of or at least decrease in the use of ADHD medication with children and adolescents. They point to arguments such as the side effects and risks that many kids experience when taking the pills, the fact that it is really a "band-aid solution" because it treats some symptoms but not the underlying causes, the scandalous degree of over-diagnosis of ADHD, the fact that medicating kids sometimes robs them of developmental and personal growth opportunities, and on and on.
Personally, I have seen some kids who are absolutely crawling out of their own skin and have only been able to exist in the world thanks to the proper prescription of a psychostimulant. But for every one of those kids I have seen a dozen who are having their relatively "normal" curious, energetic behavior pathologized and medicated for the comfort and convenience of the adults in their life. Certainly there is a growing population of students who can't seem to function in our public school system without either medication or special services but it's disturbing how quickly our society reaches for that magic pill instead of trying to support those children in developing better self-awareness and coping mechanisms first.
The upside to ADD/ADHD
It might go against the grain to be positive about something that is so widely regarded as a "problem," but I truly believe there are beneficial aspects to an ADD/ADHD personality. Whether these abilities and traits are caused by ADD/ADHD or are simply co-occurring is irrelevant because they show up together so frequently that there is a definite correlation. What's more is that I'm not alone! A growing number of people are realizing that though ADD/ADHD symptoms can impair certain functions if not managed, there are some great characteristics that come from this way of being as well.
Here are some websites to check out if you want to delve into the "feel good" side of current ADD/ADHD conversation:
- "Famous People with ADD/ADHD" by Kay Wittenhauer
- "Positive Aspects of ADHD and ADD" by Darcy Andries
- "Why You Should Hire Someone with ADHD" by Kathryn Goetzke
- "The Positives of ADD" by ADD Coach Pete Quily
- "ADHD Can Be a Good Thing" by Gabriella Roth
For general ADD/ADHD support on the web, try the following sites:
Monday, December 13, 2010
Various perspectives on ADD/ADHD
Have you heard of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual)? It's the bible of psychiatric diagnosis. Essentially, if this book (current version = DSM-IV-TR) doesn't list it, we're supposed to pretend it doesn't exist. Or at the very least, insurance companies won't cover the treatment of it.
Within the DSM there is a category called "Disorders Usually First Diagnosed in Infancy, Childhood, or Adolescence," where you will find learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and my topic for today--ADD/ADHD. The DSM criteria for an attention deficit diagnosis are too long to list here, but suffice it to say that they include behaviors and symptoms we are all familiar with:
It's all about perspective
The history on ADD is that comparable symptoms were first recognized after WWI in soldiers with head injuries, so initially the medical field made the unfounded assumption that these behaviors were strictly the result of brain trauma, even when none had been reported. There were several revisions to this theory over the decades, based on the prevailing medical science of the day, but I think it's most important to focus on what we know today to be true: that attentional difficulties seems to be passed down in families; that symptoms sometimes diminish with pharmaceuticals and/or age; that there are positive characteristics associated with this condition as well as negative; and that the causes and neurological configurations of ADDers are so diverse that the label is really just a convenient term used to refer to a collection of recognizable behaviors.
In this article I would like to share a number of current professional perspectives, approaches and resources, as well as some of my own.
Within the DSM there is a category called "Disorders Usually First Diagnosed in Infancy, Childhood, or Adolescence," where you will find learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and my topic for today--ADD/ADHD. The DSM criteria for an attention deficit diagnosis are too long to list here, but suffice it to say that they include behaviors and symptoms we are all familiar with:
- Has difficulty sustaining attention or following through
- Trouble with organization and/or loses things
- Often avoids engaging in tedious tasks that will require sustained mental effort
- Interrupts others, has trouble waiting their turn
- Fidgets, has difficulty remaining seated, or is generally restless
It's all about perspective
The history on ADD is that comparable symptoms were first recognized after WWI in soldiers with head injuries, so initially the medical field made the unfounded assumption that these behaviors were strictly the result of brain trauma, even when none had been reported. There were several revisions to this theory over the decades, based on the prevailing medical science of the day, but I think it's most important to focus on what we know today to be true: that attentional difficulties seems to be passed down in families; that symptoms sometimes diminish with pharmaceuticals and/or age; that there are positive characteristics associated with this condition as well as negative; and that the causes and neurological configurations of ADDers are so diverse that the label is really just a convenient term used to refer to a collection of recognizable behaviors.
In this article I would like to share a number of current professional perspectives, approaches and resources, as well as some of my own.
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