FOCUS+ 11/8/10 Meeting Summary

For the November FOCUS+ meeting we led off by introducing ourselves to a few new attendees and briefly discussing our personal experiences either as people with ADHD or as parents of children with ADHD (or frequently, as both). One of the common themes that emerged from our discussion was how ADHD rarely exists as a single diagnosis; most people with ADHD have additional diagnoses ranging from anxiety or depression to learning disabilities, personality disorders, etc.

We also discussed the reasons we participate in groups like FOCUS+:

1. The opportunity to discuss our experiences with other people who understand them. People without personal experience with ADHD often make the mistake of wanting to either offer us pity or to try to "fix" our situations. We certainly don't want pity and the reality is that our situations aren't "fixable" ones, but instead are situations that must be managed over time.


2. The chance to hear some success stories; one group member mentioned a daughter with ADHD who is currently attending Purdue University (not exactly an easy college to get into) while another mentioned a child with ADHD who has become a successful attorney. Other successes mentioned that were equally important, if a tad less dramatic, were stories of picking up more substitute teaching work in recent weeks following a job loss earlier in the year and having tremendous success with a "personal coach" and a very positive experience at an artist training "retreat."


3. The chance to remove some of the shame or stigma that is too often associated with ADHD.


4. The chance to use one's own experience to help someone else.


5. The chance to learn yet one more piece of information to help with finding better ways to manage ADHD.

We discussed some of the terminology surrounding ADHD:

1. ADD vs. ADHD: ADD refers to Attention Deficit Disorder, where an individual has difficulty with sustaining focus, paying attention to detail, etc.; while ADHD refers to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, where an individual has difficulty with hyperactivity -- constant fidgeting, impulsivity, etc. The DSM IV (the official book listing recognized mental diagnoses) currently recognizes three types of ADHD: ADD (difficulty with focus but not with hyperactivity), ADHD (difficulty with hyperactivity but not with focus) and Combined (difficulty with both).


2. We talked about how ADHD could be characterized in different ways:


3. A challenge or deficit -- not unlike challenges/deficits faced by people with visual impairments, mobility impairments, etc.. As with a person with impaired vision, a person with ADHD needs to find alternative ways to accomplish tasks that work around his or her impairment. A blind person might use Braille or a text-to-speech program on a computer to read; a person with ADHD might use special organizing strategies and low-distraction environments to study new material and work effectively.


4. Could ADHD be considered a "gift", like the gift of exceptional musical or artistic abilities? ADHD definitely alters how a person perceives and processes information, and in some situations that unusual perspective can be beneficial -- think of how the comedian Robin Williams does "stream-of-consciousness" ad-lib comedy on stage. But a "gift" generally implies additional abilities in one area without sacrificing abilities in other areas...ADHD definitely brings those sacrifices with it as well. So is ADHD a gift? Yes.....if you keep in mind that the God-awful, super-ugly sweater that your great aunt gave you for Christmas that you're now forced to wear to school on Monday is also a "gift".

Finally, we had two "comics" make the rounds: the first was an inspirational message about letting your inner light shine:



The second, aimed more at the sarcastic members of the group (like yours truly) was a graph representing how the urge to procrastinate ought to be vs. how it actually is:



Finally, we discussed our extra-special, super-guest-presenter for our next meeting on 12/14/10: Me. I'll be sharing some highlights from a seminar I attended in October called "The Very Best Treatment for ADHD and the Processing Disorders" that was presented by David Nowell, Ph.D.. Is this a case of me just parroting what some smart guy said? Absolutely. Is it blatant, shameless plagiarism? You betcha. But it's also really good material and I am sharing it with the author's knowledge and approval. I think you'll enjoy it. Hey, it's got a picture of a pretty girl in it as well as a drawing of Elmer Fudd. Seriously, you gonna pass on a free meeting with snacks and a PowerPoint presentation with that kind of zazz in it? See you on the 14th.



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October 12 Meeting Summary

Hi everyone, here's my summary of our 10/12 meeting. You can download the handouts from the meeting by clicking here.

Our meeting started off with a brief review of Dr. Mason's presentation on ADHD & Executive Brain Function. We noted that in addition to the "hardware" issues with our brains caused by ADHD that negatively impact things like planning, time management, etc., there is a second "learned behavior" challenge as well, especially regarding the "activation" (starting an activity) executive function:

Since many people with ADHD often fail to complete a given task, or they fail to complete it with a level of quality and timeliness that justifies the effort they put into it, there is a tendency to think "Why bother starting this in the first place if I'm either not going to finish it or I'm not going to do it acceptably well?"

This led us into a discussion of what it means to do something "acceptably well," especially when many of us strive to be perfectionists much of the time.

Definitions varied a bit, but the point we agreed on was the old addage, "Don't let 'perfect' get in the way of 'good enough.'" Better to start and complete a task with a merely adequate result than to (a) not start it in the first place or (b) not finish it because one got hung up on a perfectionist detail. Similarly, we discussed the importance of allowing ourselves some satisfaction for the "good enough" result even if we may have hoped for more.

We also talked about the balance that must be maintained between being ambitious ("Let one's reach exceed one's grasp") and pragmatic (a B average in night college courses is actually pretty respectable for a person who's juggling school, a family and a full-time job all at once).

We discussed the importance of recognizing changes in our circumstances -- a job we may have done very well when younger, healthier and with fewer competing responsibilities (kids, mortgage, ailing parents, etc.) may be overwhelming when we face it with those additional factors at play.

This brought up some ideas for how to managed that "carrying capacity" challenge:

• When possible, approach these challenges with full awareness of your circumstances. It might be wiser to postpone pursuing a goal, or pursuing it in a less aggressive manner, until you have fewer competing demands affecting you, e.g. after your kids are older and more independent.
• Recognize the total cost of reaching for the very ambitious goal: is getting straight A's in that night class worth it if it means being constantly stressed and seeing your relationship with your family become strained? Might straight B's but a healthier personal/family life be a more satisfying situation?
• Ask for help.

We also talked about maintaining self-esteem when facing difficult - and sometimes overwhelming - challenges. Two quotes pretty well summarized this discussion:

Finally, we talked about the idea of taking "smart risks." We defined a smart risk as:

• A risk where the reward is worthwhile
• Arisk where the cost of failure is acceptable
• A risk where you've researched it as well as possible to make sure you're comfortable about the potential rewards and costs and also the nature and amount of effort it will require.

Next month: Exercise & ADHD

(Spoiler alert: exercise helps to manage ADHD symptoms. Also, at the end of the movie "The Sixth Sense" you find out that Bruce Willis was really a ghost. But the odds are you figured both of these things out already...)

See you on Tuesday, November 9!

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Interesting Article: "Do You Have Adult ADHD?"

From Parade Magazine

http://www.parade.com/health/2010/09/26-adult-adhd.html

Future FOCUS+ Topics: October 12....and beyond...

Hi all,

Our next FOCUS+ meeting will be on Tuesday, October 12. While the agenda is still being tweaked, here are the ideas/activities we're trying to pull together:

• A follow-up review and discussion about Dr. Mason's presentation on ADHD & Executive Function (see the 9/21 blog entry for a summary if you missed it). Both Ruth and I (Ed, your humble webmaster) were particularly intrigued by Dr. Mason's remarks about the challenges of "emotional engagement" in a task to help get and sustain focus on an activity. Maybe you were particularly interested in one of the other aspects of his presentation??
• Our usual open, all-ADHD-related-things-considered group discussion of whatever issues, questions or concerns you might want to share with the group regarding your personal experiences.

We're also looking at the following ideas for subsequent meetings. As always, your input regarding these ideas, and any other ideas you may have, is strongly encouraged.

• November: Activity & Movement for ADHD (Spoiler Alert: Exercise really helps with managing ADHD symptoms! But there's a lot more to this topic as well.)
• December: ADHD and the Processing Disorders

Two other quick notes:

• The Parent to Parent (P2P) classes originally scheduled for this fall have been cancelled due to the low # of people who signed up this time. P2P will be offered again in the spring (March/April 2011).
• Please note the survey that I just added to the upper right portion of the Blog page. Are you a Facebook Fanatic? A Twitter, um, Twanatic? Would you be more likely to track and participate in the FOCUS+ blog if it was based in Facebook? Would you be more likely to track and participate in the FOCUS+ blog if new blog postings were announced via Twitter and/or Facebook?

What are the topics you're most interested in discussing or learning more about? What was your reaction to Dr. Mason's presentation? Do you have any questions you'd like us to pass along to the scheduled November and December presenters you'd like to pass along prior to the meetings?

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9/14 Meeting Handouts Now Available!

The following handouts were shared at the September 14 FOCUS+ meeting and can be downloaded here:

• 25 Things to Love about ADD

• Facts About ADHD

• Snappy Comebacks to ADD Doubters

• You Know YOu Have ADD When...

• You Know Your Child Has ADD When...
  
  

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FOCUS+ 9/14/10 Meeting Notes

The FOCUS+ Group celebrated its 5th anniversary and National ADHD Awareness Week at our 9/14/10 meeting.

In addition to door prizes, a review of past FOCUS+ presenters and a terrific spread of food *and* custom coffee drinks, the group listened to Dr. Oren Mason discuss ADHD and Executive Brain Function.

• There are a broad range of "executive functions" of the human brain, but eight of them are the ones most frequently and profoundly impacted by ADHD:
o Activation
o Timeliness
o Planning
o Attention
o Effort
o Emotional Control
o Memory and
o Action.

• When describing impairments to executive functions of the brain, there are six terms that are frequently use:
o Absent - When the executive function is simply missing; this does not occur with ADHD
o Diminished - Happens in people with ADHD, but not consistently, e.g. difficulty with Attention in some situations but not others.
o Crescendo - Where the effect on an executive function increases as the day goes on
o Decrescendo - Executive function actually improves with sustained use (rare)
o Erratic - Shows no logic or pattern; with ADHD a pattern can usually be identified
o Infuriating but Predictable? -- That's ADHD!

The following is a *very* abridged summary of Dr. Mason's remarks...he was able to get into far greater detail than we can relate here. Hopefully this will generate some questions and new thinking within our group, however.

Dr. Mason made the following analogy to describe the impact of altered executive function in people with ADHD in comparison to people without ADHD:

A "normal" person who needs to run errands has a brain that works like a Vespa scooter...he/she can easily stop, start again, regulate their speed and change directions at will.

A person with ADHD is trying to run those same errands on a rocket-sled; it's extremely fast from Point A to Point B, but it's very difficult to stop/turn/restart/speed up/slow down.

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Special 5th Anniversary FOCUS+ Meeting Tuesday, September 14

The 7th Annual NATIONAL ADHD Awareness Week is September 13-17!

Come and Celebrate with us!!

The next FOCUS+ meeting on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, will be fun and informative!! We will be celebrating FOCUS+ 5th anniversary (WOW! ), as well as National ADHD Awareness Week.

Mark you calendar, so you won't FORGET!! SEPTEMBER 14!!

Our special guest will be the author of the recently published book,

Reaching for a New Potential : a Life Guide for Adults with ADD, From a Fellow Traveler.

Dr. Oren Mason, of Attention MD, will present ADHD and Executive Function.

We will be looking for YOU!! Help us launch the beginning of our sixth year with a bang! Let me know if you would like to bring some goodies!!