Posts Tagged: ADD

ADHD-ADD Tips — No Comments
18
Apr 10

ADHD Kids Will Be Kids

"I’m not really sure I buy into the whole ADD thing," he says, like he’s explaining his views on a new multilevel marketing opportunity.

It’s one of those times when the topic of attention deficit syndrome has come up somehow, and the person speaking isn’t very educated in exactly what is ADD or how ADD symptoms affect kids or adults.

What he really means is that he isn’t sure how much he believes in ADHD. The original term of ADD was replaced by ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity syndrome, because mental health professionals were concerned that attention deficit disorders were being underdiagnosed in children who were then either going untreated, or being treated for the wrong thing. In this sense, my friend is correct. There is no such thing as ADD and therefore, no need to buy into it.

Of course, this is not what he is saying. He means that he isn’t sure that ADHD is not just made up by a bunch of shrinks trying to get rich by giving their equally rich clients an excuse for their child’s behavior. He means that what is really going on is that either there are bad parents or bad kids involved, or that maybe this whole "ADHD thing" is nothing more than kids being kids.

Everyone Gets Distracted Sometimes

"Everybody gets distracted sometimes. Heck, I get distracted all the time when I’m bored or stuck in long meetings."

Ah, yes. The "evidence" that many people cite as proof that ADHD is a sham or, at the very least, an over-diagnosed fad that has too many kids hopped up on Ritalin when they should just be left alone.

I don’t really bother too much with conversations like these anymore. One important ADHD tip is to not take statements like these too much to heart. Some people are uneducated about certain things and proud of it, thank you very much. Talking to them about whether or not ADHD is real is a waste of time. Other people might listen or even take the time to evaluate a rational argument given the right environment. However, knowing when and where that is isn’t easy.

In this case, I decided to try and explain what ADHD really was, how the media distorts ADD, and how a bunch of blowhards wielding faulty logic and ignorance have managed to push a heap of skepticism on the diagnosis of ADHD for children and adults.

Everyone does get distracted. And, yes, it is very common to get distracted or let your mind wander when you are bored or uninterested in something. But, how common is it to get distracted while walking from your bedroom door to the bathroom? How common is it to then also be distracted on the way back?

How common is it to be distracted in the middle of what someone is saying directly to you, no matter how important or how interesting. Even more telling, how common is it to be distracted while YOU are talking. Ever stop talking mid-sentence? Rarely or several times a day?

People with ADHD aren’t just easily distracted by the usual things, they are constantly distracted by things that are not distracting. Often, people with ADHD are distracted by nothing more than their own mind. Being distracted by your own thoughts, the state of varnish on a table, the color of a rug, or the sound of the air conditioning is not a common occurrence. While it may happen on a certain day or in a certain setting for most people, such distractions happen every single day for people with ADHD. In fact, they happen several times a day, every day. Needing a special ADHD planner in order to keep organized is not common.

ADHD isn’t about getting distracted sometimes. ADHD is about getting distracted ALL THE TIME. That there is a difference, is all that you have to buy.

ADHD Research Studies — No Comments
15
Apr 10

Nature Relieves ADHD Symptoms – All Natural "Cure"

natural-adhd-cure-walk-nature-park Recently, we took a quick look at some of the alternative herbal ADHD treatments available. This reminded me to write about another natural ADD treatment research finding that I have seen. A research study about ADHD in children published in August, 2008 concluded that reducing attention deficit symptoms in children was, literally, a walk in the park.

Can ADD Be Cured By Nature?

I have seen this study referenced in numerous places. This medical research into attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is titled Children with attention deficits concentrate better after walk in the park on the National Institute of Health PubMed website. The study suggests that exposure to nature, or as the researchers like to term it, “doses of nature,” might actually help reduce the symptoms of ADD in children. If so, going for a walk might be a really great addition to the arsenal of ADHD tips and tricks.

It is important to note that this research was a very small, single-blind, experiment. Extrapolating its conclusions to the general population of attention deficit disorder people is a stretch. However, there are some interesting findings generated by the research which suggest a possible, free natural treatment for ADHD in children. Similar affects might be found in this natural treatment for ADHD for adults as well.

Researchers studied 17 children aged 7 to 12 years old, who were diagnosed with ADHD. Each child was exposed to three different environments. For each environment, each child was led on the same path for a 20-minute walk. The three environments were:

  • a city park
  • urban “park” with no trees or grass
  • urban pedestrian area

Researchers note that both urban areas are “well-kept” which basically means that no one went for a walk through a dark alley or across a debris filled lot.

The effects on the children’s concentration after the walk through the park were “substantial.”

In fact, the researchers noted that the improvements in the ADHD scoring method used (Cohen’s) were in line with the improvements observed for taking methylphenidate, also known as Ritalin.

In other words, a walk in the park improved these particular children’s concentration just as well as taking a dose of Ritalin would.

Scientists noted that similar results were NOT seen after the walks in the urban park setting, implying that an open area is not the helpful factor, but rather the plants, grass, and trees in the city park. Jumping ahead, one can draw the conclusion that exposure to nature improves ADHD concentration symptoms in children with ADD.

If we’re going to jump that far ahead, we might as well jump all the way to the conclusion that being in nature helps people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, as much a prescription drugs. In fact, for concerned parents looking for a way to help their child’s ADD just enough to help improve their life with a natural ADHD treatment, this might be the first place to start.

Obviously, that is not a fully sound conclusion to take, but it does suggest an idea for personal testing. Try going for a walk in a nature area or park and seeing what, if any, affect it has on your ADHD symptoms. If you do try it, please drop by and share a comment.

To replicate what the researchers did, go for a 20-minute walk in an open area, preferably one with several trees and a natural ground. The park used in the study was grassy, so you can start there, but it might not be necessary.

Does nature seem to improve your ADHD? Have you ever tried going for a walk before a big test or important meeting as a way to improve your focus?

ADD Books — 1 Comment
9
Apr 10

Natural ADHD Cures Do They Really Work?

There are a lot of ideas floating around in the world about how to do things “naturally.” In some ways this is a very good thing. In other ways, it is either unnecessary, or in some cases actually harmful or misleading. Just because somethign is natural doesn’t make it good. Don’t forget, it is natural for a cougar or other wild animal to attack and kill your pet dog or cat if it gets close enough and the predator is hungry. That doesn’t mean that it is something you want to happen.

Metaphysical discussions of nature aside, the world of ADHD treatment and therapy is no exception. For now, we’ll ignore the question about whether or not something is really a “cure” for ADHD. However, traditionally, a cure means that when you stop doing it, whatever you were treating does not come back. Most of the so-called natural attention deficit disorder cures actually require the subject to continue on with the treatment, whether an ADHD diet or otherwise, for pretty much ever. That makes it a therapy, or more accurately, something that alleviates the symptoms.

Natural ADD cures are reported almost everywhere from the Internet, to research reports, to magazines, and even shelves full of books. All of these discussions of natural ADHD cures share one thing in common, the idea that naturally treating ADHD without the use of harsh pharmacological compounds is better than treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder with prescription drugs.

One of the first ADHD tips and tricks most ADDers get after being told that medication isn’t the whole solution is to get more exercise.

True Natural ADHD Cures Real Research

Interestingly enough, SOME of the claims about a natural cure for ADHD are actually grounded in real scientific research that proves that natural treatment of ADHD can have positive effects for children with ADHD and adults with ADHD. Unfortunately, many times practitioners of natural ADHD treatment take modest research findings too far and inflate them to the point where the science no longer backs up their claims.

That being said, what natural ADHD cures really work?

The idea of curing ADHD with a special ADHD diet is a popular one. What exactly the diet consists of varies. Some ADD diets require the elimination of certain foods, while other ADHD diets require eating more of certain foods, and, of course, some Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder diets require some of both. In all cases, however, there is one constant. All ADHD diet treatments proscribe a healthier diet than the average teenager with ADHD or without eats. In fact, most ADHD diets are much more healthy than most all adults and children of all ages currently eat.

What does it mean?

That kind of depends on your perspective.

When it comes to the health of the human body, there are a handful of things that work on EVERYTHING. That is, some lifestyle changes can help relieve the symptoms of virtually any disease, disorder, discomfort, or other ailment to some extent. Changing from bad dietary habits to a good healthy diet will help with just about anything. A person with the worst kind of cancer will feel better to some degree by switching to a healthy diet. So, should it be any surprise that a healthier diet helps affect the symptoms of ADHD in kids and adults?

Other powerful natural cures include exercise, positive mental outlook (laughter is the best medicine), and reducing stress.

Getting more exercise will make ADHD symptoms better in virtually everyone. As a mind-based condition, ADHD responds badly to stress. Many ADDers will tell you that their biggest ADHD symptoms get even worse when they are stressed and worried.

So, do ADHD Diets and ADD Excercise therapies work on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? Yes! Of course, they do.

The question should be, Do they work enough. Just because someone’s Attention Deficit Disorder gets better, doesn’t mean that it is reduced enough. Better is a relative term. When it comes to ADD what matters is whether the ADHD treatment, natural or otherwise, does enough to help the ADDer live the live that they want to live.

In that respect, the jury is out on how well an ADHD Diet works, because that jury is you.

ADHD — 2 Comments
28
Jan 10

ADHD Coping Mechanisms Blaming Yourself or Them

adhd-coping-mechanism-study-school-graphic One of the things that I have consistently found most fascinating since discovering my ADD and the science of ADHD in general, is the concept of coping mechanisms.

All human beings, whether they have attention deficit disorder or not, develop over the course of their lifetime, a set of skills (for lack of a better term) that allows them to get by in life. These skills range from the most basic, like tying your shoe, to much more complicated ones, like initiating and developing a romantic relationship with another person. Coping mechanisms are a specific subset of these life skills. A coping mechanism is a skill or habit that develops in order to compensate for something, whether it is a some sort of shortcoming, some form of emotional discomfort, or simply to take the edge off of life’s many potential disappointments. One common coping mechanism is emotional eating, where a person eats either certain foods, or large amounts of food, in an effort to make themselves feel better.

Common ADD Coping Mechanisms

For adults with ADHD, recognizing and understanding coping mechanisms is an important component of non-medication attention deficit hyperactivity disorder treatment. True coping mechanisms are mental or behavioral in nature, as opposed to functional. In other words, the constant adjustments and refinements we make everyday are not coping mechanism. The habits, skills, and emotional responses we develop over long periods of time are coping mechanisms.

For example, always placing your keys in the same place is a method of doing something, not necessarily a coping mechanism. That is simply an attempt at perfecting the flow of your current lifestyle.  However, being someone who is always compulsive about keeping everything in its assigned location, is a coping mechanism.

Like everyone, people with ADHD have good coping mechanisms, and bad coping mechanisms. Recognizing the good ones provides a starting point for developing new coping techniques or expanding upon already useful coping methods. Recognizing the negative coping mechanisms provides a starting point for lifestyle adjustments that hopefully, lead to the eventual disappearance of said habit. Detecting and adjusting the mental attitude that often accompanies negative coping responses is also a good place to start when it comes to therapy or ADHD coaching.

Blaming Yourself For ADHD or Blame Others?

One of the most intriguing things about common ADHD coping mechanisms is how they may or may not apply to any one person. Even more interesting is how the same mechanism can be flipped upside in some people that have ADHD.

One of the very common coping mechanisms for adults with ADHD is to blame supposed character or personality flaws for certain things. For example, a woman with ADD who can’t seem to do any job beyond answering phones because she is never organized enough for anything more advanced, may eventually take the edge off of such disappointments by laughingly noting that she is, “just a space cadet sometimes.” Unfortunately, this all too common side effect of ADHD, is not only surprisingly effective at blunting the hurt of disappointment, but also at making one resigned to never striving for anything else.

Reading about this coping method, or its variations, in book after book left me skipping chapters and writing off certain advice, because it never really seemed to apply to me. I’ve always been very confident in my abilities, often getting jobs, projects, and responsibilities beyond my current skill level. Fortunately, I’m also quick to learn with either the interest or immediately looming threat of disaster is strong enough. But, I thought, I’ve never really blamed myself.

Ironically, it turns out that I use the blame coping mechanism just as much (or more) than most people with ADHD, the only difference is that I blame other people.

Many ADHD books, including the oft mentioned, Hallowell books, Driven To Distraction and Delivered From Distraction are written by successful individuals who claim to have ADD themselves. In one of the books, Hallowell, who is a successful doctor, describes his thriving medical practice and his extensive work with ADD patients before saying that he, himself, also suffers from ADHD.

As I read that passage soon after being diagnosed with adult ADHD, I couldn’t help rolling my eyes. Hallowell, I figured, was lying in order to boost his credibility in the area of ADD. After all, I thought, he went to medical school, graduated, became a doctor and developed a successful medical practice, just how bad could his ADHD be? Oh, my gosh! Did he have to use sticky notes to keep track of assignments? Oh, the horror!

The truth is, that I despised Hallowell and his success as a doctor and subsequently an author. The reason is that instead of blaming myself, I blame others. When Hallowell, and his “I barely have ADD” colleagues go out and build these big, successful careers, fat bank accounts, and speaking tours, I reasoned, it hurts those of us who REALLY have ADHD.

I’ve thought that way my whole life.

“I’m the smart one. The only reason he is doing better in school is because he studies EVERY NIGHT.”

“I could have started up an Internet business, but I didn’t want to spend every single day working in my basement.”

The tragedy is that until recognizing what I was doing, I took much of it as a badge of honor.

I graduated from High School near the top of my class. I got all A’s except in English where I got B’s. I could have gotten A’s in English, but I never did homework. Literally, NEVER. I did my schoolwork during the class before the class it was due in. So, I did my Algebra homework for second period during my History class at first period. The one thing I couldn’t quite get done like that were long essays. So, every time an English paper was due, I would start it during the class before it was due, but I wouldn’t finish it. I’d have to wrap it up the next day. It was still an A paper, but with the one letter grade penalty for being late, it became a B.

I was proud of that as I left high school. You see, grades or no grades, I was faster, smarter, and better than everyone else. Those kids who left with a 4.0 where the chumps, not me. They were the ones who wasted their free time actually doing homework.

Unfortunately, not recognizing the truth cost me a lot in college where I not only continued the same pattern, but actually expanded it. In high school, attendance was required. Between parents, teachers, and administrators, the path of least resistance was going to class. Coming up with an excuse, sneaking out the door, and then trying to keep my parents from getting a phone call or note about my absence was way more work than just going to classes, so I went.

At college, that was no longer the case. In college, no one called my parents, most professors didn’t know whether you were there or not. The path of least resistance became not going to classes, and I didn’t go. My new pattern became:

  1. Go to class one or two times and get syllabus.
  2. Use syllabus to find exam dates and due dates of essays or projects.
  3. Stop going to class.
  4. Go to the class the day before the exam to get review sheets and any changes about what would be covered.
  5. Hurriedly read through the textbook chapters that would be on the exam.
  6. Take test.
  7. Surf the curve to a B or C.
  8. Start any essay or project the night before it was due. Work on it until it was “good enough.” Surf curve to C.

During my Junior year, I literally attended my Geography class 5 times the entire semester. I got an A.

The only exceptions were the classes where the professor actually took attendance and docked your grade if you missed classes. In every one of those classes, I got an A, because I actually went. Ironically, I seldom paid much attention while I was in the class. I read the student newspaper, worked on other classes’ homework, or just daydreamed. But, looking up at the board and hearing a paragraph here and there was enough to let some of the information sink in. More importantly, it was enough to give me an idea of what the professor felt was important.

For years after graduating, I proudly told anyone who asked that I graduated with a 2.14 GPA, but, I added, I never really went to class or did any of homework. I don’t know if anyone was ever impressed by that. Not that it matters.

The true tragedy is that I didn’t do anything else. There would be some redeeming value in how I spent my 4 years on campus if I had gotten in a 100 day ski season, or spent sunny days hiking, biking, or doing ANYTHING. Instead, I mostly slept in, napped, and messed around on my computer. The only good to come out of it was that in those days, the Internet was a text based Unix system. There were no web browsers, just FTP, vi editor, GREP, UUENCODE, and so on. In the end, I knew a lot about how to use computers, which meant I didn’t have to figure out how to get a job in Chemistry with no professor recommendation (none of them would have recognized me), no summer lab work, and no internships. Instead, I got a job as a computer administrator and quickly became certified in numerous technologies just as the technology bubble started ramping up.

Of course, the blaming cope strategy didn’t go away. I always felt that I should be the project manager or the startup millionaire or whatever, but I never was. The reason was simple, I could have been, but they just worked harder, tried harder, or refused to give up. Not me. Those suckers.

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These days, I try not to blame others for their success, nor assume that I would be twice as successful under the “slightly different” circumstances of me actually busting my butt to make something happen. But, like most attitudes developed over decades, it can be hard to keep up, and even harder to see when it is happening.

ADHD News — No Comments
8
Jan 10

ADHD Women Affected Differently? ADD Media Story Suggests Women's Symptoms Different Than Men's

adhd-different-women-symptoms-msn-article-graphic Haven’t really had a chance to dive into it yet, but a front page story on MSN today displays the title "ADHD Affects Women Differently: What to Look For and How to Fix It" We’ll talk about everything that is wrong with that title later. (Often, in journalism, an editor writes the titles based on a cursory review of the article instead of the author.)

Do women have different ADHD symptoms than men do? It isn’t an unrealistic question. However, based on my quick scan of the first page, the author of this article may be barking up the wrong tree. It seems that the contention here will be that since women aren’t as likely as men to have hyperactivity as a trait of their ADD, their symptoms are therefore different than the ADHD symptoms that men have.

There are actually several types of ADD-ADHD. The three primary classifications are:

  1. ADHD with Hyperactivity (This is considered the "standard" ADD by the uninformed.)
  2. Passive Type ADHD (ADD without Hyperactivity, among other things.)
  3. Hybrid ADHD (A combination of the two types of ADD above.)

I don’t want to judge something until I’ve had time to fully read it and digest exactly what the text says, but on first glance, it appears that this article heads down the path to declaring that Women’s ADHD is different, when in fact, the type of ADD symptoms described as being most common in women are really nothing more than the clearly defined Passive ADD.

The other element of the article looks to be about how Passive ADHD (or "women’s ADHD) may be missed more often because of the missing hyperactivity symptom. This, unfortunately, is 100% accurate. I have the passive type (I’m also happen to be male) of ADD and mine went undiagnosed for years. Not only was it never picked up on during the childhood or school years, but it took over a year after seeking help as an adult during which time I was given medications for both depression and anxiety (neither of which did much of anything for me.) So, at least that information may be helpful for the public at large.

If you are interested in reading the MSN ADHD Affecting Women Different article, it is linked up there at the top of the article.

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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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 Organization Tips — No Comments
2
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!)

ADD Organization Tips — No Comments
28
May 09

Improve Your ADD/ADHD Organizational System With Expiration Dates

add-filing-sytem-picture One of the most interesting things about ADD is the defense mechanisms that develop in the people who have it.  Add to the fact that there are many different types of ADD/ADHD and differing levels of severity to the different experiences everyone has depending on friends, family, environment, socio-economic standing, and so on, and you get a million different ways to handle the little inconveniences that crop up due to ADD.

However, despite the unique nature of how people cope with the curve balls life throws at them, there are some themes that emerge as common actions or reactions for certain groups of people.  One of those common defenses is keeping everything just in case something is important.

Packrat Defense Syndrome

Having been burned one time too many by not having the right piece of paperwork or having accidentally thrown away something that was actually important, many ADDers respond by keeping virtually EVERYTHING, just in case.  I like to call this Packrat Defense Syndrome.  (I like to name my own things :)

Packrat Defense Syndrome, or PDS, works because IF the need ever arises, then the person will undoubtedly still have whatever scrap of paper, receipt, contract, box, packaging material, or whatever.  There is usually a question of just where the necessary item resides, but for a big enough issue, it is worth digging through a very big pile.  The trouble is, that PDS leads, by necessity to either very complicated organization or conversely, disorganization.

The average household generates an amazing amount of records that either can be important, or seem important each and every month.  From form-letter type notices sent by companies, to cancelled checks, to bills, to insurance statements, bank statements, brokerage statements, and all manner of receipts, it all quickly adds up to a large amount of stuff.  So much, that it can quickly overwhelm a filing cabinet and numerous file boxes.  The only solution is to start organizing the organization. 

Boxes with serial numbers consisting of month-day-year and then a 01, 02, 03, etc. to designate months with more than one box, all stacked vertically in storage by year, is just one example I’ve seen.  Some resort to electronic systems, scanning nearly every piece of paper to cross their desk.  Again, complicated spreadsheets or databases or tagging systems are necessary to keep track of it all.

In other cases, closets stuffed to the ceiling with piles and boxes of papers and other records virtually define pack rat.  Finding something in there requires time and effort to dig it out.  Generally, the amount of time and effort required must correspond favorably to the nature of the need, or the ADDer decides it isn’t worth it and just takes the hit like they didn’t have whatever is needed instead.

The Expiration Solution

One solution that has worked wonders for those with PDS is to stage your organization with expiration dates.

Whether very organized or not organized at all, a large amount of any paperwork or records lose their potential to be important over time.  For example, receipts and packaging kept just in case it was necessary to return something lose their value after the window to return it expires.  Leases, rental agreements, and even contracts stop being valuable after their termination date. 

Unfortunately, with PDS, there is no purging of records and thus, even though the system has become overwhelmed, it must continuously expand rapidly.

Expiration dates can make a huge difference.  Try taking a single filing box and marking it with a date 90 days from when it gets filled and you put the lid on it.  For non-organized types, any box with or without a lid will do.  Just throw something on top of the box so nothing else gets added once you write the date on the box. 

When that date arrives, pull the box out and go through it piece by piece.  As you do, you will come across things that you no longer need.  In fact, you might even wonder why you saved it to begin with.  Things like ATM receipts, directions to a party that you’ve already been to, and so on can all be shredded or recycled.  Other things will still need to be kept.  Just make 3 piles, Keep It, Shred It, Recycle/Toss It. 

When you are finished, put the Keep It pile back in the box and cross out the date.  Write in the date 180 days from the current date.  After another six months, even more of that pile will have lost all purpose and you can further winnow the stock.  Repeat the process.  Anything remains after this second sorting can enter your permanent organization system, whether it’s the closet or the numbered filing cabinets.  Either way, you’ll find that your system grows at a much slower rate and your organization will be that much better.

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