My Blog: ADHD Since 1978-


Adapt and overcome & Fitness Tip #1

I’m pretty sure that’s the motto of the Navy Seals. I feel like we’ve all had to be special forces in one way or another in the past few years, especially as ADHDers. I’ve been adapting with my blog but not fast enough. As the peaks and valleys of the pandemic have rolled through, I’ve gone through times of pure survival and times of limited thriving. As I look back over my last few post, I looks like I did some straightforward topics but had the time to do some lengthy writing… then a month or so off. My goal…

Read More

The power of persistence and calm

Quick nugget today. I haven’t written much about my task management system, 10 steps to a badass To Do List because I consider it kind of a proprietary system that, once upon a time, pre pandemic, I was writing a book about. But there is one To Do List adjacent topic I want to discuss today, as it has cropped up in my life heavily in the last few weeks. Whatever your system is for keeping track of the things you need to get done, or if you don’t have a system, those things probably cause you anxiety when there…

Read More

Back in survive mode?

It looks like I haven’t posted since December 22nd. And, I will admit that that seems like a lifetime ago. This third wave, third variant, third winter, third strike, whatever you want to call it, has been hard on many of us. I’m not doing great. My clients aren’t doing great. My kids aren’t doing great. My friends aren’t doing great. I really hope you are. But if you are, know that you are the outlyer. I’ve stopped playing the drums and stopped posting blog entries. That’s one important thing from each half of my life that I just haven’t…

Read More

Why MIND MAPS are the bomb!

It is no secret that ADHDers often have trouble with writing. But, as with most aspects of ADHD there is an element of counterintuitiveness with this struggle. Because this writing affliction strikes our population equally regardless of how well spoken and articulate we are. If you don’t understand how we’re wired, it will seem very strange that so many of us can speak clearly and articulately but when it comes to expressing our thoughts in writing we seem to lose our minds, get anxious, and can’t keep a linear train of thought. So what’s this all about? Since I have…

Read More

Don’t compare yourself to…

  One of the biggest mental traps my clients fall into is comparing themselves to…   …to everyone and everything.   To celebrities. To other moms. To neighbors. To friends. To colleagues. To more wealthy people. To the Cleavers. To the Greatest Generation. To some Platonic ideal. To perfection.   None of it is worth it. Your experience is your own. It is unique. Own it. Love it. Work on yourself. Especially this time of year, be grateful for what you have and feel free to strive for more. But meet yourself where you are and work from there because…

Read More

“To err is human; to forgive, divine.” Especially one’s self.

I added the last part. And, I’ll get to that. But I always thought that the first part was Shakespeare. Turns out, not so. It was most notably used by Alexander Pope, English poet and essayist in the early 18th century. But it roots may go back as for as Plutarch. (Thanks Gramarist.com.) But leave it to an ADHDer to start his post with a digression. My kids are pharmacologically… complicated. I do the Dr.’s appointments and run point on the meds, partly because being the “primary parent” is my role in the family and partly because that’s kind of…

Read More

Science can be frustrating, right? But we need it more than ever!

I just turned 43. So maybe I’m just getting old. Maybe my brain plasticity is decreasing. Although… They used to say that adults had no brain plasticity. Now they say we do, just less than kids. They long ago figured out that the universe was expanding. I’m taking their word for it. Of course, I also took their word for the fact that it was expanding but slowing down. Now they tell me that the rate of expansion is increasing. Okay. Doesn’t really affect my life either way. So I’m going to roll with it. But it can get a…

Read More

Halloween schedule

  As my faithful 28 readers know, I like to post schedules once in a while as a demo for my clients. Scheduling is one of the main skills we work on in coaching. After we learn to keep track of our tasks with the To Do List, we work on managing those tasks in time by using a daily schedule.   I’ve written much in the past about how and why I post schedules that an objective observer would deem a staggering success. I’ve also written about why I post schedules that have, to be kind, not at all…

Read More

The Now & Not Now of ADHD

  I’ve been writing a lot about mindfulness lately because I think it is so important for us ADHDers. And, yes, we can talk about meditation, yoga, certain forms of exercise, breathing, and countless other forms of mindfulness. But what do we really mean by mindfulness? To me, what we are talking about is being present in the moment.   This is one of those areas where ADHDers are mystifying to the rest of the world because we are one of two things that happen to be diametrically opposed. Many of us are going a mile a minute and are…

Read More

Accommodations – extended time on assigments

It is a pretty standard accomodation to allow students with learning, processing, and attention issues extended time on tests and quizzes. But many school systems fight the idea of giving extended time for homework assignments. This has always driven my crazy. When talking with a student client yesterday I was finally able to fully articulate why this stance is insane. Generally, school will give students with accomodations time and a half. Of course that seems pretty arbitrary to me. But let’s assume it takes a kid 1.5 times as long to finish a test. Why wouldn’t you then assume that…

Read More

Natural Healthy Concepts

It’s been a busy week and I’ve written some epic posts lately. So just a quick tip for this week. I’m not a big supplement guy. The vast majority of supplements just haven’t been proven to be effective. I would strongly encourage you to only take supplements that are doctor recommended and have a robust evidence base behind their use, particularly when it comes to your kids. But, when it comes to younger kids, supplements that are proven to work can be a great way to treat certain issues for a period of time, until the kids get a little…

Read More

Dads parenting and suffering in silence

  Kind of a dramatic title, huh? Well, this is a follow up to my post from July 20th. Apparently I’ve been marinating on that topic and have more to say. Would it be cliche to admit that I figured some stuff out in therapy this week? Maybe less so if it was family therapy? Well, cliche or not, it’s true. And, I’m actually going to quote our family therapist, who is great, but who will remain anonymous. Because she apparently did some marinating on our session and sent me an email afterward that really put into focus what I…

Read More