Music to stimulate the brain during standardized testing

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.

Teen Depression and Suicide

About a week ago, a freshman at our local public high school killed himself by kicking out an eighth-story window at the hotel across the street from the school and jumping to his death.  Consequently, I want to cut straight to the chase on this post so I don't lose anyone before I get to the point.

It is important to know the signs of teen depression and suicidal ideation because it is more common than most people want to admit.  The Centers for Disease Control claims that suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 15-24 year olds.

Here's a chart from the website HelpGuide.org:

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION IN TEENS
Sadness or hopelessness Irritability, anger, or hostility Tearfulness or frequent crying Withdrawal from friends and family Loss of interest in activities Changes in eating and sleeping habits	Restlessness and agitation Feelings of worthlessness and guilt Lack of enthusiasm and motivation Fatigue or lack of energy Difficulty concentrating Thoughts of death or suicide

Please do not assume that a "successful" teenager is not depressed and is not in danger of hurting themselves.  The most important thing you can do is to be truly tuned in to your child, to have an open channel of communication, and to encourage their healthy relationships with other adults/role models who will also be able to tell if something starts to go astray.

I may seem reactionary right now and admittedly, this post was inspired by this recent, local tragedy.  However, in my daily work I see teens who are struggling with this very issue and my guess is that if these students were wandering around anonymously at a large school, most adults would be oblivious to the seriousness of the situation.  Too often adults are dismissive of teens' concerns, downplaying them with platitudes like, "You don't have any real problems. These are the best days of your life so stop complaining."  If we were to know the full extent of the stressors of being a teenager today we'd undoubtedly approach them differently.

If there is any concern at all that your child is experiencing depression, based on the factors listed above in the chart or just your gut instinct, please take the time to check in with them to assess the situation.  It wouldn't hurt to call their teachers or coach or anybody who works with them on a daily basis to see if they are observing the same thing.  If there is a possibility of depression and/or suicidality, contact whatever mental health professional to which you have access, or call the 24-hour National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. It could be a life saver.

Sometimes it's like talking to a wall

Yesterday afternoon the student I interviewed on December 22nd, Zack Rosenberg, came to promote Paul Smith's College to our cooking class (because PSC has a culinary program).  My reason for mentioning this is neither Zack nor Paul Smith's, however. I'm here to talk about how one of my senior students reacted.

After the presentation, during which he had asked several on-point questions, this student came to my office and said he wanted to keep talking about the school.  Unfortunately I had meetings for the rest of the day so I had to make him wait until this morning. When he came in, he said something I wasn't expecting to hear.  He said:

I didn't know there were small colleges.  I really had no idea.  I'm totally excited about looking at colleges now.


Mind you, I said SENIOR student.  Which means that a) he's way behind on any applications he might choose to submit, and b) I'm baffled about what the hell was he doing for the past several years while I, his parents, his older sister, his teachers and all of the college admissions reps who have visited the school have been telling him about various types of schools.  Perhaps you have had a similar experience.

Cut to the end: I spent most of today researching colleges with this young man and it seems that there are actually some viable options available to him, even at this late date.  And I am definitely delighted that he finally made the choice to take his post-high school life seriously because he has great potential.

I have no answers or insight to provide in this post, just this story to share in commiseration with all of you parents out there who feel like they are talking to a wall good deal of the time.  I suppose if there's anything positive I can say after this experience, it's that it reminded me that most of them do, eventually, hear what we're saying.

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?

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.

Success Story: Zack R. (Part 1)

Every once in a while you meet a young(er) person who exemplifies all the things you hope are still alive in future generations: manners, ethics, ambition, humor, creativity, personal responsibility, healthy curiosity.  Well, the gentleman I interviewed for today's post has all those bases covered, as well as some ephemeral attributes that I can't quite put words to.

Upon meeting Zack Rosenberg (a proudly self-proclaimed nerd) it is hard to imagine anything but the self-assured, friendly, successful persona he presents today.  However, Zack's school years were not as smooth as one would wish for their precious little boy.  He was diagnosed with OCD and Tourette Syndrome early on and as he aged into puberty and adolescence, his symptoms grew out of control.

He attended various schools in the Los Angeles area with minimal success, but eventually he had the great fortune of finding the solution:  Glenholme School in Connecticut.  (I encourage you to check out their website.  Not only will you see an example of a best-practices secondary program, but you will be envious because odds are good that your high school wasn't this gorgeous and didn't incorporate an equestrian program.)

Zack was gracious enough to tell me about his experience of living away from home for the first time and what life has been like for him at the lovely Paul Smith's College--an even more gorgeous campus with another excellent, specialized program. (If nothing else, Zack has high aesthetic standards in living arrangements.)

Just to put his growth into perspective: Zack used to have literally debilitating tics and OCD symptoms; now he gives admissions presentations for his college and has interned two summers in a row at Marvel Comics in NYC.


Me: Hey Zack, thanks for letting me interview you.  I want to help parents get some insight about what it's like for kids today to leave the safety of their families and how they can best adjust.  Can you tell us about your experience moving away from home for the first time?

Zack: The move at the beginning was hard, but my family always reminded me that they were only a phone call away.  I was only a junior in high school, remember. It would have been worse if it hadn't been for my mother urging me to keep busy. As I have come to realize, my transition was incredibly smooth due to my involvement with school activities. Whether it was participating in events or joining clubs, I kept myself busy.  That way I had less time to over-think being away from home. So my suggestion for you parents is to encourage your child to get involved with campus life. Not only does it keep them busy, but that’s where they find their friends and people who have similar interests, and ultimately their support system.

Me: Even though you lived away from home for a couple years in high school, I'm sure the transition to dorm living was another change yet again because of the increased freedom. How would you describe dorm life?

Zack: Dorm life is dorm life. Everyone tells you to not succumb to peer pressure but that ain’t so easy. I just recommend you let your child find things out for themselves and live the college stuff.  I found real-life experience, trial-and-error, to be a better deterrent than my parents telling me I couldn't do this or that. Personally I love dorm life, and now I am a Head Resident Assistant for 5 buildings on my campus! In the dorms I found a group of people that I now call my second family, and I am incredibly thankful for the chance to have lived with such a wondrous array of people.

(Continued on December 24th)

Blog by a freshman about her daily college experience

Today is your lucky day.  Today you don't have to listen to me jabber on about, well, anything!  I merely wanted to take this chance to direct you toward another blog:

Year One: A College Blog (by Ruby)

This blog is described as "an inside look at the life of a first-year college student and her experiences in her first year of college."  Despite the redundant description, I think this blog is a fantastic opportunity to peer into the thought process of a young person living independently for the first time, trying to navigate all of the freedoms and responsibilities of her new life.  Such insight is priceless.

Enjoy, and I'll see you again on Monday.

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:

• "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

You can find many other articles, websites and blogs about the upside of ADD/ADHD if you're interested in reading more.  It just might help change your perspective!

For general ADD/ADHD support on the web, try the following sites:

• CHADD
• ADDitude Magazine
• 4 ADHD
• ADD in School
• Attention Deficit Disorder Association

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:

• 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

I work with a whole school full of kids who fit this profile, and in all honesty, it describes many of the adults I know. (You could probably say the same.)  But I think we're all pretty well-versed in what ADD is, so my real emphasis here today is "My child has ADD/ADHD, now what?" or maybe even "So what?"  It all depends on your perspective.


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.

Togetherness = a chance to learn about each other

When I think of Thanksgiving, I think of two things: 1) the awesome traditional meal that I look forward to all year and 2) how people travel great distances to join their families in celebration--for better or worse.

Whether your family gathering for Thanksgiving is joyous or a source of dread all year long, it is inevitably a study in interpersonal dynamics. And this intense period of togetherness with your child and the rest of the family just might be the scenario that makes you thoroughly aware of how different today's teens are from those of any generation past.

It's not just the grumpy, age-old "What's wrong with kids today?" thing. They truly are the products of growing up in a very different world than what their predecessors experienced, and when you look at them from that perspective, their differences actually make sense.

In an effort to shed light on some of the fundamental changes in adolescent life, I offer you this article by Ron Taffel, Ph.D., chairman of the board of the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy in New York. The first half is full of pertinent, thought-provoking information for parents while the second half approaches the subject from a therapeutic perspective.

The Divided Self: Inside the World of 21st Century Teens

Enjoy, and I wish you the best Thanksgiving possible!