Autism and other Learning Disabilities

I know this is a blog about ADHD, but I saw this video by What You Ought To Know, and I was really impressed with it. ADHD is typically accompanied by learning disabilities, and I have a brother with Down Syndrome, so this is a very sensitive topic for me. I was very pleased to have found a video that emphasizes that people with Learning Disabilities (LD) are not dumb. My little brother is only three and already knows the entire alphabet. Retarded? I think not!

Similarly, people with ADHD are not lazy, stupid, or crazy (I borrowed that from an actual book:  You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?! by Kate Kelly). Instead, as Jed pointed out in the video, people with ADHD have their brains mapped differently from everybody else. It's not as drastically obvious as it is with people with Autism, so it frequently seems like the person with ADHD just isn't trying hard enough, isn't interested, or isn't all that smart. But I can assure you, that isn't the case. Take me, for instance. Last time I checked, my IQ was somewhere around 120 (I'm not sure how accurate that was, since it was using free online IQ tests). But, despite this, I still struggle to keep up in school. Why? It's not because I don't get the material. In fact, I usually get the material faster than my classmates. The problem is that I have trouble paying attention, and I frequently forget about assignments that are due. My ADHD also makes it difficult for me to fall asleep, and, once I am asleep, I have difficulty waking up. This interferes with my schooling as well, especially when I have a 7:45 a.m. class.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the next time you meet someone with an LD, please refrain from using labels such as retarded, dumb, stupid, lazy, etc. Nine times out of ten you don't know the person well enough to give them such a label. Remember:  "I am 100% original. No label needed."

ADHD Study Helps

I apologize for slacking off on my blogging these past few months. When you're a full-time student taking seventeen credits of upper-level classes, with ADHD on top of that...you get the picture. I've also been struggling to get my ADHD and my sleeping schedule under control, and my classes suffered because I was in the middle of switching medications. I'm finally getting things stabilized, and now I'm back!

Conventional study habits and ADHD do not mix. I'm sure many of you have struggled with this. Sitting for long periods of time staring at a textbook, listening to a boring hour-long lecture...not very ADHD friendly. Now that I've almost finished my Bachelor's degree, I'm finally figuring out tricks to help me focus in class and at home.

In class, I've learned that I have to take notes--not for future study, but to keep me focused on what is being said. I've found that in especially boring lectures it helps if I doodle or fiddle with something, especially if there is nothing worth taking notes on. I've also found it easier to listen if I'm not actually looking at the teacher. It's strange, but true:  when I'm looking at the teacher, I start to focus on their movements and forget to pay attention to their words. Another thing I've discovered is that I have the easiest time paying attention when the teacher uses a lot of visual aids and is very interactive.

At home I learned that I focus better if I have my headphones in with music running in the background. It can't be new music; when it's music I've listened to ten million times I can tune it out so that it becomes white noise. New music, especially new music with lyrics, doesn't work because I end up paying attention to the lyrics. I also do better if I study for twenty minutes and play for twenty minutes, and repeat that. I focus a lot better this way because I have something to look forward to, and it gives me some variety so that I don't zone out while I'm studying.

I've heard that color-coding things is really helpful for people with ADHD, like having a color-coded calendar or schedule. I haven't taken the time to do that, but I'm sure it would work really well. I've found that using colored highlighters when I'm marking up a textbook makes it a lot easier for me than just using a pencil.

Now I have to add a little disclaimer here. These are the things that I have found that help me. Just like no two people have the exact same ADHD, no two people have the exact same strategy to help them. You might find that none of my study helps work for you. To help with that, my next post will consist of recommended study helps given by ADHD experts.

Good luck in your studies!

EDIT: I just realized that I never fulfilled my promise for my next post. I'll write it eventually... If I ever get to it. (>>)

ADHD Health Check

So as I was doing research for the last post, I stumbled upon this Health Check assessment for people with ADHD on WebMD.com, a site designed to provide information about different medical issues and such. I tried it, and I think it's worth taking a look at. It gives you a detailed analysis on your knowledge of ADHD and your overall well-being.

Dealing with Stress

Stress. Everybody gets it, right? So what's the big deal? Besides the health implications stress has on most people, stress can have a detrimental impact on people who are already dealing with ADHD. "Stress exerts a strong negative influence on the functioning of adults with [ADHD]. Times of high stress, including periods of increased demands, fatigue, illness, conflict, or frustration, tend to be periods in which the symptoms of [ADHD] worsen. During periods of stress, the [ADHD] adult is likely to be less organized, more absentminded, less efficient, and more prone to error and temper outbursts. In times of low stress, the functioning of [ADHD] adults tends to improve. A good place to begin reducing the stress in your life is with a 'stress assessment.'" (Adventures in Fast Forward:  Life, Love, and Work for the ADD Adult by Kathleen G. Nadeau, page 63).

"Your focus needs more focus."

I can't focus on anything today. I've found myself spacing out in the middle of a conversation, even though normally I'd be really interested in the topic. I can hardly concentrate on this post. My focus needs more focus, to quote Mr. Han from The Karate Kid remake. I suppose that's what I get for letting my medicine run out.

What Time Is It???

The other day I was talking to a fellow ADHDer, and we noticed that we have something in common:  neither of us have a good grasp of time (time? what's that?). We found that we both can never judge how much time it takes us to get ready for something, and so we are frequently late because we don't know when we should start getting ready.

I got thinking about this, and started wondering about it. Are people with ADHD always late because they're always procrastinating? Or is the root of the problem simply that they can't tell time? I dug up my copy of Adventures in Fast Forward:  Life, Love, and Work for the ADD Adult by Kathleen G. Nadeau and found the section on time management. This is what I found under "chronic lateness":

I'm not random...

So I saw this photo on firstcovers.com, and thought this was a perfect description for all of us ADHDers. We aren't random, we just think too fast for the normal brain!!