ADHD News — No comments
10
Dec 09

ADHD Depressing State of Affairs for Attention Deficit Disorder Awareness

Over at Google, they have some new(er) features on their search engine that were rolled out this year. Some of them, like the Limit Search to Past Year feature and limiting search results to specific date range, I’ve been using since the day they came out. Others, like the different search "Views" (Related Searched, Wonder Wheel, Timeline) and the ability to add More shopping sites, or list Fewer shopping sites, have gone mostly unnoticed and unused by me.

This morning, however, I was playing around with some of these new Google search options. (Kudos, to Google, by the way, for carefully choosing the way the offer these additional features. Instead of calling them "advanced" or something like that, they are simply called "more options." That makes them much more likely to be checked out and used by non-techie search engine users.) One of the particularly interesting "More Options" that Google now has is the Wonder Wheel.

Google Wonder Wheel, Related Searches, and Suggested Searches

The Wonder Wheel is basically a visual representation of the Related Searches function, which is sort of an extension of the Suggested Searches that has been a feature on the main Google search page for some time now. As you type in your search, the search program tries to guess what it is you might be searching for based on the words you have already entered. This not only saves some potential typing, but it also generates phrases and keywords that are more likely to lead to successful search engine results instead of those far corners of the Internet where ad-filled junk pages await to ambush visitors.

For example, if you are wondering about the latest ADHD medications, you might go to Google.com intending to type in add drugs or something similar. However, as you type in the words, suggestions appear below the search box. Sometimes, this is very helpful, and sometimes not, depending upon what exactly you are searching for. In this case, it is likely to be very useful provided you were looking for something more specific than you intended to type.

google-suggested-search-function Notice that most of the suggested terms are actually for adhd and not add. This is because:

Furthermore, if you were looking for specific information, such as updates about the side effects of ADHD medications, the suggestion will get you to the data you were looking for faster, because you won’t have to sort through all of the webpages that, while about ADD drugs, are not necessarily about their potential side effects.

The Wonder Wheel takes off on this concept by not just showing you longer phrases that might be what you are looking for based upon being an exact match for what you have already typed in, plus additional words or letters, but by displaying related searches that might be more relevant to what you are looking for. Or, more importantly for doing in-depth research or analysis, related topics or searches that might have valuable information about what you are really looking for. This avoids the problem caused when you are searching based on what makes sense to you, but might not match up quite right with the information you are looking for.

Use Google Wonder Wheel to Find More Related Information

When you type a search term into Google and then select More Options –> Wonder Wheel, what you get is a graphical view of other search phrases that might be related to what you are searching for. This image is essentially a "wheel" composed of your original search as the hub, with "spokes" going out to each related search. Depending upon the initial search, there can be a lot of spokes, or just a few.

The best part is that each related spoke can also be clicked on. When you click on one of the related spoke links, the wheel moves with the related topic you clicked on becoming the center of the main wheel and the original wheel and spokes dropping into a secondary place. You can keep repeating this process to get closer and closer to the data you want.

If you start going in the wrong direction you can click on previous wheels. Although only the immediately preceding wheel and spokes are visible, previous hubs are represented by a series of disappearing circles. Each of these circles can be clicked to bring back up that wheel. So, if you know you want to go back three wheels, you can just click the 3rd circle. If you aren’t sure which one you want, hovering the mouse over a circle pops up the name of the search in the center of the hub.

It works remarkably well for numerous topics. It is especially useful for topics you don’t know much about. For example, if you want to search for a Christmas toy for a youngster and you know they want something like a robot hamster, you can search for robot hamster toy, and then use the wheels until you get to the specific Zsu Zsu Hamster thing that is Hot Toy for Christmas 2009. (No, I don’t get it either.)

However, using it to look at topics related to ADHD-ADD is depressing. Results showing "related" searches linked to some of the more unfortunate mental illnesses can lead people with little ADD experience into making some unfounded conclusions about their relationship to ADHD. Even worse, is that no matter how many links on the Wonder Wheel you click, ADHD solutions never appear. There are no links displayed that go to ADHD organization tricks or to ADHD tips for time management or even an ADD exercises. You can’t even get to the ubiquitous ADD Coaching that is so promoted within the community. Instead, you can go off and find out about bipolar disorder. Sigh.

adhd-information-reliable-search-graphic I think that this one seems pretty reasonable. Certainly these would be the most likely concerns of such searches.

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bad-adhd-information-search-results

This one is unfortunate. Looking for tips to manage ADHD? Well, instead, how about suggestions linking ADHD to bipolar disorder and OCD? Maybe, boosting the ADDer’s
self-esteem would be helpful? Hmm…I don’t think those suggestions are making me feel any better.

It isn’t anything to get bent out of shape about, and I know that the nature of Internet searching is that Google search rankings are necessarily geared toward the lowest common denominator of knowledge, but it would be nice to see such a powerful tool at least be able to point toward one or two "positive" websites about ADHD.

Maybe as awareness grows and the fad-ishness of ADD continues to fade, there will be less demand for all things alarmist and conspiracy, and more demand for the answers to ADHD’s challenges. Until then, keep coming back here, or grab the Addessories RSS Feed to have the latest updates come directly to you.

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Technorati Tags: ,,,,ADHD Current Events,ADHD Treatments

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ADD Organization Tips — 6 comments
23
Nov 09

ADD Tips Organization Help for ADHD Calendars and Planner Software

add-adhd-organization-planner-software-graphic Anyone that has been diagnosed with ADD-ADHD has tried numerous organizational strategies already. Many of those ideas are based around the ability to schedule and keep appointments. Often, these organization tips come from sources unrelated to ADD and, thus, unfortunately, often end up ultimately failing to provide any better organization for ADHD individuals. However, that doesn’t mean that all organizing methods are doomed to fail for people with ADD.

Examples of ADHD-ADD Organizational Issues and Strategies

Consider a guy named Jeff. Jeff has ADD. Jeff was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and initially found great relief in finally having a name for the chronic problems he always seemed to be dealing with. As most newly diagnosed people with ADD do, Jeff went through several phases of ADHD once he had been diagnosed. First, he was relieved. Then, he wondered what he could do. Next, he went into research mode. Finally, he moved on to acceptance. (Hopefully, he did not continue onto reluctance, self-pity, or hopelessness.)

Somewhere in the what-to-do phase and research phase, Jeff turned, as many ADDers do at one time or another, to electronic time management gadgets. Electronic organizers, or Personal Information Mangers, also known as PIM, like Palm Pilots or Blackberrys have long seemed like the perfect solution to difficulties with organization and planning, for both adults with ADD and for people without ADHD alike. Since Jeff works in an office environment, he also turned to task manager and planning software installed on his computer, such as Microsoft Outlook.

While, everyone with ADHD responds differently to specific organizational tactics and strategies, there is a frequent hiccup for people with ADD trying to use electronic solutions to organization and planning. That issue is that successfully using organizational software for ADHD or using a  PDA to help with ADD involves several different steps, each of which must be completed successfully for improving organizational skills. Students with ADD and adults with ADD typically have difficulty initiating or completing one of these critical time management steps.

Using Blackberry, Palm Pilots, iPhones, and Computer Software to Help With ADHD-ADD

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to see where the step-by-step organization or steps of time management break down. That leads to frustration. All to often, that frustration ends up causing the entire process to be considered unsuccessful, when in fact, there may be just a single step that needs more focused attention to make the entire process more efficient.

Let’s say that our ADHD worker, Jeff, gets a Blackberry through his company. Most ADDers love trying out new things and Jeff is no exception. Jeff is also a technology buff and good with things like electronics and computers, so he is particularly excited about his new PDA phone. He spends hours setting up his Blackberry and connecting it to the company network and email systems. Ironically, he ends up neglecting other more important, but less interesting tasks. Jeff tells himself that it is all fine, because once he has the Blackberry setup, he will be so much more efficient, that it will be worth any delay caused in getting to important items on his to-do list.

For a few days after Jeff gets his Blackberry programmed with everything he needs to overcome ADHD traits or ADD issues that have plagued him in the past, the Blackberry does as promised. He is more organized, using his time better, and planning and scheduling better. Events are on his calendar and he can see at a glance what he needs to do each day. In short, Jeff feels like he has made a huge stride forward.

Unfortunately, Jeff, like many ADHD-ADD students and adults, has been here before. Often when something is new and novel, the ADD mind pays great attention to it, sometimes too much attention. However, as the newness wears off and the novelty of the new organization tips goes away, something happens. Jeff reverts to old patterns and the Blackberry, new ADD planner, computer software, notebook, note cards, journal, or whatever else is being tried out, fades into the background noise like so many items before it. Soon, Jeff’s Blackberry isn’t helping at all and he decides that the Blackberry is not helping his ADD-ADHD traits. He returns to his old methods, or he seeks out a new "better" way to help manage his time.

Steps For Time Management, Organization, and Planning Success With ADD-ADHD or Not

In order for a time management system, scheduling gadget, or calendar utility to actually help keep Jeff on track for more than a short period of time, he needs to break down the individual steps that go into using the device or program. Then, he can concentrate on which one of the steps is breaking down. Only, then, can he figure out what the real issue is and work on fixing it.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Using ADHD Planners or ADHD Software for Time Management (coming Wednesday…)

Otherwise, Jeff will be back in his bosses office, office supply store, or department store, in six months looking to buy something to help with ADD-ADHD again. And, chances are, if he buys something new, he will use if for a week and it will stop being helpful.

(I’m going to have to re-write this article to sound like the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. That would be fun. – I’m so proud of myself for not doing it right now instead of moving on to the next critical items on my task list!)

News — 2 comments
14
Nov 09

New Article About What Is ADD

I am always curious about new ADHD tips or developments in ADD research or treatments, but I’m also interested in the ever changing perception of ADD-ADHD in the public consciousnesses.

For a while there it seemed as though everyone without any personal or professional experience with ADD-ADHD and its affects thought that is was something phony made up by shrinks to explain away bad behavior by children.

Then, for a while it seemed like EVERYBODY had ADD, or thought they did. That finally seemed to culminate when Britney Spears went crazy and shaved off her hair, then proclaimed that sometimes she was like a kid with ADD even though I’d be she could barely even spell ADD.

The public fascination with ADHD seems to have calmed down as of late. I see far fewer articles in the newspaper and even fewer stories on T.V.  This is good news for the ADHD-ADD community. The less surface-level attention ADD gets, the better.

To test my theory a little bit, and because I know the topic well enough to write about it very quickly, I recently published an article about what is ADHD on another website. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, HubPages is what is known as an article directory, or more derisively as a content mill. In a nutshell, it is a website that allows anyone to sign up for an account and then write articles about whatever they want and publish them on the Internet from the HubPages.com website.

There are several reasons someone would want to do such a thing ranging from pure vanity, all the way through to the purely mercenary function of creating more links to other webpages or websites for the purpose of building up Google reputation, or PageRank, in order to get higher search engine rankings for certain terms.

Anyway, I have an account over there that I started for the mercenary reason, and then sort of evolved into a good place to publish the tons of things I write for which I have no home. Sometimes, the articles are not about the kind of topics that people are willing to pay for and they also don’t fit into the themes or categories of other websites or blogs that I own. (For example, no one reading this blog, which is focused on ADD-ADHD information, would be charmed by an article about Arabian Horse that I posted here just because I didn’t really have anywhere else to put it.)

Thus, HubPages has become my sort of catch-all for any and all articles that I want to put up on the Internet, but otherwise am not willing to find a more traditional publishing location for.

The article I wrote was called simply What Is ADD?

I didn’t put any real effort into linking it or pushing it up in the search engines, although I did do the standard social bookmarking thing to make sure it got index properly in Google and Bing and the other search engines. But, for the most part, I was just curious if ADHD was a hot enough topic these days to drive the curious onlookers from the HubPages community to this particular hub.

So far, the answer would appear to be, that ADD is not a hot topic these days. As I’ve said before, I’m fine with that. I plan to leave it published there as a sort of canary in the coalmine. If all of the sudden, it starts to get lots of traffic, I’ll see it and we’ll know that another wave of looky-loos is coming.

ADD Medication — 6 comments
26
Sep 09

Non-Prescription ADHD ADD Treatments Evaluation

A recent comment reminded me that many people continue to look for alternate ADD treatments or non-prescription ADHD remedies. This is not surprising considering that parent’s are especially concerned for ADHD kids that may be susceptible to some of the worst ADD medication side effects, and also considering that currently available medical treatments for ADD involve some powerful medications.

I never want to discourage someone from trying alternative ADD therapies, or a special diet for ADHD, or homeopathic or herbal supplements to help alleviate ADD symptoms. However, as is unfortunately the case everywhere, there are always some unscrupulous companies and individuals looking to take advantage of the fear that some ADHD people have by selling them overpriced or ineffective ADD medicine.

ADHD Natural Remedies

There are some natural ADD treatments that you can try for both adults with ADD and for ADHD children. None of these items or methods have been scientifically proven to help with ADD symptoms. If they had, you would be getting these treatment tips from your doctor and the medical establishment in general. However, keep in mind that “proof” is a tough standard in science and a very tough standard in medicine.

That being said, there are some ADD treatments that continue to crop up in new research studies or clinical trials. Getting these alternative ADHD treatments approved as clinical proven effective methods for treating ADD symptoms is a long process that can be set back significantly by a single unfavorable finding. These things are worth a try if for no other reason than there is no harm in doing so, and if they do work FOR YOU, then who cares if they are proven to work for everybody.

On the other hand, there are also several so-call natural cures for ADD / ADHD that are either completely unfounded, or are based on long-ago research that was never very promising, or even worse, on a mischaracterization of research, data, or trials that are not about ADD-ADHD at all.

ADD Drug Alternative Treatment Viability

How do you tell the difference between legitimate science that is promising, but not yet proven, and false marketing, fake science, and unsubstantiated claims?

For some ADHD medication alternatives, it takes an ability to wade through dozens or hundreds of pages of dry scientific research papers. It also helps if, while you were cruising through college by doing the minimum and surfing the curve before you even knew you had ADD, you were a Biochemistry major. (Guilty.)

But, for other natural remedies for ADD or herbal supplements, or whatever pills someone sticks in a bottle, you don’t need to get so complicated.

For any alternative therapy that you find to help with adult ADD for kids with ADD, I have two tests that are 99% successful at exposing scams and fraudulent claims. The good news is that these tests work for almost any vitamin formula, herbal extract, supplement, or “proprietary formula” out there.

Top 3 Ways to Spot an ADD Treatment Scam

  1. It Cures Everything – The original Snake Oil salesmen from history used to tout their “cure alls” by saying, “It cures what ails, ya.” What they meant was that it didn’t matter what was wrong with you or what disease you had, their elixir would make it better. Nothing, and I mean nothing, works on everything. Advil works better on certain kinds of pain than Tylenol which works better or worse than Aspirin. If the alternative treatment or natural therapy you are looking at claims to help a lot of unrelated conditions, watch out.
  2. Conspiracy Theories – Any treatment that says, at any time, that claims that it is the victim of “them” keeping it down, is a con. It is the best trick in the book to say that any bad press, any negative information, anything that doesn’t proclaim this great, amazing new treatment as the best thing since sliced bread is nothing more than a smear campaign, because then there can be no rebuttal since it is all just lies. Legitimate pills, treatments, supplements, or diets NEVER claim there is a conspiracy. If “they are out to get us” then run away.
  3. Proprietary Blend – This one is a little trickier than the other two. If you come across #1 or #2, stop researching and just move on to something else. For this one, consider it a strong warning. – Here is the deal. Chemistry is chemistry. It isn’t called dextroamphetamine because some marketing guy thought that was a good name. That is a chemical compound consisting of a certain number of hydrogen atoms, carbon atoms, oxygen atoms, etc. in a specific arrangement. Whether you make it, I make it, or Burger King puts it together if it is dextroamphetamine, then it is the exact same thing, and it will do the exact same thing in your body. In other words, 200 mg Omega-3 DHA in a brown bottle is just as good as 200 mg Omega-3 DHA in a green bottle, no matter what the bottles say. If you are researching a natural ADHD treatment that insists that it is the only one that will work, be very skeptical.
  4. ADD Cure – You don’t cure ADD, you manage it. Cure means that something goes away and doesn’t come back. There is no scientific evidence of any kind, not even the promising, benefit of the down kind, that suggests that ANYTHING, ANYWHERE, is a cure. If it says cure, put it back on the shelf.

What Next for ADHD Treatments?

I’ve been doing some research on Flavay which claims to be an alternative treatment for ADHD and that some parents are turning to as an alternative ADD treatment for their kids. I should have a post up in a day or two with all the details so that you can make an informed decision for yourself.

ADD Medication — 26 comments
20
Aug 09

Vyvanse Side Effects in Plain English

As you know, I started taking Vyvanse a few days ago instead of my usual Adderall (generic) prescription for ADD/ADHD.

As an adult with ADD, I like to know exactly what I am putting in my body and not just taking the recommendation of a doctor or therapist who may, or may not, have the same beliefs and concerns as I do regarding things like medication and their affects on my body.  Therefore, I have been reading up on Vyvanse, including all of the government sanctioned warnings, and the company’s legal disclaimers and comments.

Fortunately, complex analysis and reading detailed technical documents is what I do for a living, so I am able to wade through all of this mumbo-jumbo.  Unfortunately, not everyone is able or willing to do this.  To help out parents of kids with ADD and adults who have ADHD themselves, I have put together a non-scientific, non-technical jargon filled, summary of what the various parts of medical information sheets and side effect warnings typically mean.

Understanding Prescription Information and Medical Jargon

See your Medication Guide or talk to your doctor or pharmacist about any warnings or drug interaction precautions.

Vyvanse Side Effect Summary – Understandable Version

The information presented here is NOT medical advice.

This summary is intended to be used in conjunction with a doctor’s advice.  Discuss all information with your doctor prior to making any changes in your medications or care.

Vyvanse is derived from some of the same components as Adderall.  As such, many of Vyvanse’s side-effects are similar to those of Adderall.

The most common side effects are dry mouth, trouble sleeping, decreased appetite and nausea.

For some people Vyvanse causes weight loss, although like Adderall weight loss, Vyvanse weight loss isn’t really caused by Vyvanse, it is caused by the decreased appetite side effect.

Vyvanse can make it so you don’t feel hungry, and therefore do not eat as often, or as much as you would normally.  Not eating so much is what makes you lose weight, not taking Vyvanse.  In other words, if you eat just as much as you normally would while taking Vyvanse, chances are you will not lose weight.

The other common side effects listed on the medical information sheet are dizziness, irritability,  and upper belly pain.  These side effects are probably actually telling you something else, rather than being straight side effects.

Belly pain is probably a symptom that your stomach doesn’t handle medication well.  Chances are you are also one of the unlucky people who’s stomachs are upset by aspirin or Tylenol as well.  If that is the case, your only choice is to put up with it, or try something else.

For many people, the upset stomach comes from too much acid.  You can try taking your medication with more water than usual, or perhaps with some milk, or with food, unless your doctor or pharmacist says otherwise.

Don’t take your ADD-ADHD meds with orange juice.  OJ speeds up the absorption of some medications including Vyvanse and Adderall.

Maybe You Don’t Have ADD ADHD

As always, consult with your doctor or other practitioner before making any decisions.

If your Vyvanse (or Adderall, or Ritalin) prescription makes you dizzy, lightheaded, buzzy, jumpy, agitated, or skittish, then perhaps your dosage is too high.  Talk with your doctor, psychiatrist, or therapist about trying a lower dose.

If you are already taking a very lose dose, or even the minimum possible dose, there is another possibility you should consider. Maybe you don’t have ADD after all. Here is how to tell if you don’t have ADD ADHD.

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ADD Medication — 3 comments
18
Aug 09

New ADHD Drug Vyvanse Review

I’ve only been taking it for one day, so this is just a first impression.

So far, no side effects, but I’m one of the lucky ones whose bodies tolerate medication pretty well.  The only Adderall side effect I ever had was dry mouth.  I drink so much coffee that constipation never had a chance :)

The one thing I have noticed about Vyvanse is that it doesn’t have the waking power of Adderall.  When I wake up tired and groggy, Adderall is a pretty quick boost of energy and wake-up power.  Vyvanse seems to be missing this.

I was pretty tired yesterday, and it was my day to go 100 MPH with my 3 year-old daughter, so no word yet on its impact on my usual ADD-ADHD symptoms

I’ll check in again about how Vyvanse is working after I’ve been taking it for a few days.

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Technorati Tags: ,,,ADD/ADHD,,

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ADD Medication — 1 comment
17
Aug 09

Vyvanse Prescription ADD-ADHD Drug

add-prescription-graphic Since they stopped giving me antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications and realized that I had ADD-ADHD and not depression and anxiety, I have been taking Adderall generic AKA amphetamine salts.  Today, I start taking Vyvanse at the recommendation of my doc who says that some patients report a "smoother delivery."  Also, I only have to take one pill a day instead of pills 3 times a day.

The generic name of Vyvanse is lisdexamfetamine dimesylate.  I’m no chemist (but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night) but I’m guessing that dexamfetamine part means that this drug bears a lot of resemblance to the old Dexatrim weight-loss pills that worked before they were forced to change their ingredients.

I am typically very suspicious of a doctor who tries to move a patient from an effective generic medication to a brand-name one that is for treating the same thing.  However, in this case, my doc said that I "could" try it if I wanted to because I often report "crashing" late in the evening, especially if I forget my afternoon dose of amphetamine salts.

According to the pharmacist, Vyvanse works by providing just the "most effective" of the amphetamine salts that are present in Adderall.  That salt is bound to another chemical which makes it absorb more slowly into the body.  Theoretically, this also makes Vyvanse harder to "abuse" because of the slow absorption.

Considering the only people who "abuse" Adderall and Ritalin in the first place are either students trying to study better or people trying to lose weight with Adderall, I’m not really sure that it matters how fast it absorbs so long as it still helps you concentrate (isn’t that the point).  And since one of the "common side effects" listed on my drug information sheet says weight loss, I’m guessing the people looking to drop a few pounds the easy way won’t mind either.

Ironically, Vyvanse might actually be cheaper for me even though it is still a brand name ADD drug under patent while my Adderall is a generic ADHD drug.

My insurance plan doesn’t cover Adderall or its generic for adults (anyone over 26 years old).  Apparently, some doctors will prescribe Adderall for their patients to lose weight, so instead of doing its job and monitoring abuse, the HMO just decided to not cover Adderall for anyone, including adults with ADD-ADHD who actually need it.

Vyvanse hasn’t hit the banned for fat reduction list, yet, so it is covered under the brand name co-pay, which ends up making it a bit cheaper.

Just for comparison purposes, my receipt from the Target Pharmacy lists the "Retail Value" of thirty 40 mg Vyvanse pills as $150.99.  It doesn’t show up on the Costco Prescription Price Checker, so I don’t know what it runs there.

Does Vyvanse work?

Is Vyvanse better than Adderall?

I guess I’ll find out soon enough.

I’ll keep you posted.

News — 1 comment
12
Aug 09

New Look – Does This Theme Make My Butt Look Fat?

MCj04348590000[1] Unless you haven’t been here for a while, you might have noticed the new WordPress theme.  It’s still black and white — I don’t want there to be too many distractions :) – but the layout is clearer and a little bit better spaced.

The big thing, and I mean that literally, is the font size.  Holy, cow!

On the preview and test system, I thought it was OK, but reading through the site to verify that everything looks right, I can’t help but wonder if it isn’t a bit too big, distracting even.

Let me know what you think.  As always, comments are encouraged, but if you prefer private communications, that’s find too; drop me a line.

New WordPress Theme

If you know anything about blogs, you probably are already aware that ADDessories is run on WordPress.  The new theme that is being used is called Cleanr.  No, that is not a typo, there is no "e" in the theme name.  I guess that is for branding purposes.

The theme promises clean and clear, and it delivers.  It also mentions BIG.  I just can’t decide if I agree that bigger, as implemented in the theme, is more readable or not.  The good news is that it didn’t break anything.

I have also taken this opportunity to sneak in a couple of unobtrusive (I hope) Google Ads.  My goal for this site is to disseminate real world tips that are usable for adults with ADD / ADHD as well as for teens with ADD / ADHD.  It seems to me that this is the area that is woefully lacking in all of the ADD books and publications out there.

Once you understand what ADD is and how ADHD affects adults and kids then you need to be able to do something about it.  Do something that takes that new found understanding and gives you the power to do what you have always wanted to do.

Hopefully, I’ve started doing that already.

What is coming (sorry about the delays, there are more details to making something than I thought) are custom designed accessories for people with ADHD-ADD.  These accessories are little things really, that just make it a little bit easier to come out where you want to with regards to some of those little things that seem to bite us in the butt each day.

My goal is to make money by selling these accessories, and maybe some eBooks or regular books that help fill in the niche.  Advertising isn’t a main goal, but, I figure it doesn’t hurt, and since I’m not some jerk who is going to program surprise pop-up windows in your face or anything, I thought it would be OK.

Just one thing, though.  I don’t control these ads.  They come from Google and I have no idea what will or will not show up on the site.  They might be the greatest thing since sliced bread, or they might be total scumbag scams.  (I’ll try and get rid of those if I can.)

The point is, I do not endorse any of the websites or products that appear in the ads.  Use your judgment and common sense and read the articles on this site to make the best decisions for you and your family.

– ADDer

ADD Organization Tips — No comments
02
Aug 09

Beware the 'Special Place' Organization Temptation

For people with ADD, organization is a constant challenge.  Nowhere is that more true than with something that they KNOW will be needed later.  Unfortunately, for most people with ADHD, the importance of an item has no bearing on its ability to be stored and retrieved again later.  That leads to special place organization.

Special place organization is when someone, whether and adult with ADD/ADHD, a teenager with ADD or ADHD, or a child with ADD-ADHD, deliberately put something important in a special place.  Inevitably, the special place is chosen for being both safe, someplace unlikely to suffer an accidental throw away, and for being different than the standard location important and semi-important items are put.

When the day comes that the item is needed, it cannot be found.  Sometimes, the person with ADHD won’t even remember that they put it someplace special.  Even more often, the person with ADD will remember that they put it someplace special, but they won’t remember where the special place was!

What follows is a frantic top to bottom search of the house or bedroom, including all of the "usual" places objects are kept.  If the ADDer is lucky, they will stumble upon the item’s special location (and THEN remember that they put it there.)  If not, the object becomes yet another lost item which cannot be found when needed.

The best bet it to avoid the "special" place all together.  Instead, find a way to protect the item and then put it in one of the "usual" spots.  For example, put an important document inside of a page protector, or a receipt inside of a cardboard mailer.  This will make sure that nothing bad happens to the important piece of paper, but when the time comes to find it, it will be easy because it will be right where you always look.

ADHD — 2 comments
25
Jul 09

ADD Planner Update

Our custom add-plannerADD planner is nearly ready.  We’ve ironed out those pesky bugs and soon you’ll be able to preview the planner that was specially designed for people with ADHD/ADD by people with ADD/ADHD.

Check back soon.  (Next week!)

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