Category: Resources

2021 Virtual International Conference on ADHD

It’s not too late to sign up for THE conference on ADHD which provides practical, research-based information for people with ADHD as well as the professionals who work with them. The conference is virtual and runs from November 4 – November 6, 2021.

The first day of the conference, Thursday, November 4, features 20 ADHD Professionals Institute sessions. The general conference runs Friday, November 5 – Saturday, November 6 which includes:

  • 60 general conference sessions
  • Non-session activities
  • Peer-to-peer sessions
  • Networking opportunities
  • Talent show – and much more!

Here is a code for a 10% discount at the general conference compliments of the ADHD Coaches Organization, of which I am a Board Member. Note that the session recordings are available for two weeks following the conference at no extra charge.

Hope to “see” you there!

ADHD Awareness Month 2021

October is ADHD Awareness Month, a whole month devoted to all things ADHD: what ADHD is (and what it isn’t), how it shows up in youth and adults, and the wide variety of supports available once you know that ADHD and Executive Function challenges are part of the picture.

As the director of the ADHD Awareness Month Coalition, I am thrilled to be involved in the dissemination of reliable information to assist adults and children to live well with ADHD. Check out www.ADHDAwarenessMonth.org which is focusing this year on five different topics of interest:

  • ADHD relationships and communication
  • Comprehensive treatment plans for ADHD
  • ADHD parenting
  • ADHD and co-occurring conditions
  • Diagnosis of ADHD in children and adults

ADHD Awareness Month is excited to feature short video interviews with top ADHD professionals as they share their understanding and expertise:

  • Melissa Orlov
  • Prof. Samuele Cortese
  • Dulce Torres
  • Dr. J. Faye Dixon
  • Dr. Thomas E. Brown

“I don’t want to make it seem as though pills are the answer to everything because they’re not. It’s also very important to have somebody who understands these things to be able to talk with the person and assess what things might be addressed by medication most effectively, and what things just need to be talked about and thought about and understood, and getting support for it.”  ~ Dr. Thomas E. Brown

New video posts will be added weekly, so keep checking back on the www.ADHDAwarenessMonth.org website for experts’ videos, questions and answers about ADHD, myths and facts, as well as ADHD Art, ADHD Memes and ADHD Stories submitted by the public.

Submissions received by 11:59 pm ET on October 28, 2021 will be entered into a random drawing for prizes from Ready Rocker, ADHD Coaches Organization (ACO), Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) and Children and Adults with ADHD (CHADD).

If you haven’t done so already, sign up for the ADHD Awareness Month mailing list that will keep you informed of updated content and resources during October – and all year long!

Researching ADHD Can Be Like Drinking From A Fire Hose

October is ADHD Awareness Month, a wonderful opportunity to get – and share – reliable information about ADHD for yourself, your child or someone else you care about. The problem is that if you do an internet search for “ADHD”, you get a whole host of websites to visit, options to try, research to consider, and people to consult – it’s like drinking out of a fire hose!

Where do you start? Start with the basics. Even if you’ve been dealing with your own ADHD or that of a family member for a while, it’s vital to keep up to date with research, treatment options, and resources! For a great foundation in ADHD, the following websites are wonderful places to learn or update knowledge about how to live well with ADHD.

Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) is a leading resource on ADHD that provides support, training, education and advocacy for children and adults living with ADHD, their families, educators, as well as healthcare professionals.

  • In addition to the helpful in-person meetings that CHADD supports around the country and the Ask the Experts and CHADD webinars that it hosts, I love having access to some of the best information on the web related to ADHD. Check out the numerous fact sheets and infographics with general ADHD information as well as specific information for adults, parents and educators.

Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) is the leading organization for adults with ADHD which provides information, resources and networking opportunities to help adults with ADHD lead better lives.

  • It is powerful to be around people who “get” you, who have walked in your shoes and are accepting and nonjudgmental. One aspect of ADDA membership that I love is the opportunity to be part of Virtual Support and Work Groups and Virtual Workshops with people who truly understand the challenges and have great ideas for moving forward!

Understood is an organization for parents of children 3-20 who struggle with learning and attention issues, which gives parents information, expert advice, resources and a community.

  • One of my favorite things on this website is the series of simulations called Through Your Child’s Eyes that help parents (and others) experience what it might be like to have reading, writing, attention, math or organizational challenges.

The Annual International Conference on ADHD will be held November 7-9, 2019 in Philadelphia. Representatives from CHADD, ADDA and the ADHD Coaches Organization (ACO) work together to put on a not-to-miss conference that stimulates the mind and nurtures the soul.

  • At this conference, you will have the opportunity to be inspired by the experts, add to your repertoire of skills and strategies, as well as be in the company of a large group of people who understand – and celebrate – ADHD!

As you prepare for October’s ADHD Awareness Month as an adult or a family member of someone with ADHD, start with reliable, evidence-based information and think about how you might share that information in your schools, your workplace, around the dinner table, or on social media!

And, of course, if you want to learn more about ADHD coaching in person in San Diego or virtually via the phone or internet, contact us. We would be delighted to help you develop the skills, tools and strategies to thrive with ADHD!

 

Shining a Light on ADHD Myths and Facts

If you have ADHD, it’s more than irritating to hear people repeat ADHD myths that you know are just not true.

I invite you to join the ADHD Awareness Month Coalition and international ADHD organizations as we focus on the 2019 ADHD Awareness theme, ADHD Myths and Facts. This year we hope to dispel the harmful stories that perpetuate stigma and that prevent people affected by ADHD to seek assessment, get appropriate treatment or share reliable information about ADHD.

This year we will be focus on the most common ADHD myths such as ADHD is caused by bad parenting and ADHD is over-diagnosed and share fact sheets written by ADHD researchers and experts to provide much-needed information to dispel the myths.

How can you be part of this year’s ADHD Awareness endeavors?

If you are curious about how ADHD coaching or consulting might be helpful to you or someone you know, contact me at 858-484-4749 or Info@FocusForEffectiveness.com. I am happy to share resources in San Diego or online.

 

October’s ADHD Awareness Month – Setting the Record Straight

It’s astonishing that although ADHD has long been recognized as a real brain-based medical disorder, we can still hear people say things like, “ADHD is just a manufactured ‘disease’ promoted by Big Pharma” or “Yeah, everybody has a little bit of ADD” or “People with ADHD just need to get motivated and try harder.”

During October of every year we celebrate ADHD Awareness Month, an opportunity to dispel the myths and share the facts about ADHD. This year’s theme is “Setting the Record Straight” and there are a number of ways you can get involved:

  • Submit a video for the ADHD Awareness Month Video Contest in one of four submission categories: Family, Child, Adult and Professional. Submissions will be accepted through Wednesday, October 10, 2018 at 11:59pm ET. Voting will begin on October 12 and winners will be announced on October 30, 2018. For more contest rules and submission details, go to the ADHD Awareness Month website.
  • Check out the wonderful ADHD stories or share your own in about 150 words – what do you want the world to know about ADHD?
  • Check out the creative ADHD Art or share your own representing what ADHD looks or feels like.
  • Submit your ideas for the ADHD Awareness Month Meme Contest. The contest opens on October 1, 2018.
  • Sign up for the 2018 International Conference on ADHD to be held in St. Louis, MO from November 8 – 11, 2018

Unless people live with ADHD themselves or know someone who does, it’s easy to buy into the myths. When we share information about ADHD and our experience with it, more people are given the opportunity to truly understand the challenges and the possibilities with ADHD.

Please help us set the record straight by sharing information about the contests and the website resources with family, friends and colleagues.

The mission of the ADHD Awareness Month Coalition is to educate the public about ADHD. The coalition members include the ADHD Coaches Organization (ACO), Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA), and Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD).

Happy ADHD Awareness Month – Knowing is Better!

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October 1 is the beginning of ADHD Awareness Month. This year’s theme is “Knowing Is Better.” It’s always better to know what is getting in the way so that you can take positive steps toward managing ADHD.

Despite the prevalent “Squirrel!” jokes, ADHD is no laughing matter as it affects 9.5% of children in the United States and 4.4% of U.S. adults. Research has shown that ADHD contributes to problems in school, lost productivity at work, challenges with relationships, and problems with the law, among other things. But a lot can be done to reduce the symptoms of ADHD and improve functioning – and awareness is the first step.

October is your opportunity to share what you know about ADHD and rebut many of the myths that have negatively affected children, youth and adults with ADHD.

Below are some actions that you can take to help yourself or others learn more about ADHD:

As we raise awareness, more people can get the assistance they need to live happier and more rewarding lives.

 

 

ADHD Coaches Organization International Conference

Sarah D. Wright and Roxanne Fouche will join other coaches from around the world at the ADHD Coaches Organization International Conference to be held from May 1 – May 3, 2015.

In addition to connecting with colleagues and enjoying the information shared by the keynote speakers, Dr. Ari Tuckman and Jodi Sleeper-Triplett, Sarah and Roxanne will be making presentations of their own. ÂSarah will present “ADHD Coaching Matters: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Evolution, Evidence, Effectiveness, and Best Practices of ADHD Coaching” and Roxanne will co-present “From Strengths Spotting to Strengths Building: A Toolkit for ADHD Coaches” with Mindy Schwarz Katz.

It’s an honor to be selected to speak at any conference, but particularly gratifying to be in a position to contribute to the ADHD coaching profession at the ACO Conference. Future posts will share some of the highlights of the conference for both ADHD coaches and those who work with them.

Lead With Your Strengths

You build a life on your talents and strengths – what is good and right about you – not on your weaknesses, however skillfully they might be corrected. Dr. Edward Hallowell, Delivered From Distraction

Can you name your personal strengths? When asked that question, most people stumble for an answer. A 2001 study in the U.K found that only about 1/3 of the people can identify their own strengths. We can safely assume that the numbers are greatly reduced for people with ADHD.

It’s frustrating to have one’s ADHD weaknesses and challenges come to mind much more easily than one’s strengths and gifts. It’s no wonder, really, as ADHD challenges seem to be ever present, somehow overshadowing the strengths that we bring to the world.

Advantages of Using Strengths

Despite people’s perhaps natural tendency to orient toward weaknesses, we know through research that people who use their strengths are happier, more confident, have higher levels of self-esteem, have more energy and vitality, experience less stress, are more resilient, are more likely to achieve their goals, perform better – and are more engaged – at work, as well as being more effective at developing themselves and growing as individuals. (A. Linley, J. Willars and R. Biswas-Diener, The Strengths Book)

It Starts With Awareness

To a certain extent, focusing on the negative is a survival technique ~ we need to be aware of the lion that is about to pounce. However, after a lifetime of frequent frustration and challenges, focusing on the negative can become a habit. Fortunately, we can change habits that don’t serve us – and it starts with awareness.

Identify Your Strengths

So how do you move forward? The first step is to identify your strengths; you can do so by taking the free 15-minute VIA Survey. Taking the survey will move you toward recognizing, appreciating and remembering your strengths so you can build on them for more and more success.

If we can be of assistance as you identify and use your strengths in new and different ways, contact us at info@FocusForEffectiveness.com.

Happy ADHD Awareness Month!

October is ADHD Awareness Month, a whole month of ADHD activities and information! According to the website, www.ADHDAwarenessMonth.org, the mission of ADHD Awareness Month is “to educate the public about ADHD by disseminating reliable information based on the evidence of science and peer-reviewed research.” For great information about ADHD, including an adult self-test for ADHD, stories about ADHD, a list of events (some of which are online), blogs, resources, and posters to share, go to www.ADHDAwarenessMonth.org.

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The information on the ADHD Awareness Month website was compiled by a coalition of organizations dedicated to assisting those with ADHD, including ADDA (Attention Deficit Disorder Association, which focuses on adult issues, www.add.org), ACO (ADHD Coaches Organization, www.adhdcoaches.org), CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, www.chadd.org), ADDitude magazine (www.additudemag.com) and the National Resource Center on AD/HD, a program of CHADD (www.help4adhd.org).

During this month of raising awareness of ADHD, we can all share information with those who don’t seem to “get” ADHD. In addition, you might spend time this month increasing awareness of how your own ADHD strengths and challenges – or those of someone you know – affect work and home life. The first step in moving forward is focusing awareness on what is, and is not, working. The next step, of course, is making a plan to address those things that you would like to change.

So what do you notice about your own ADHD? We’d love to read your comments. And if we can be of help as you pinpoint how ADHD impacts you and what strategies, tools and habits you might use to live effectively with ADHD, contact us at info@FocusForEffectiveness.com.