How I help people with ADD and ADHD

People with ADD/ADHD are constantly struggling with self-regulation. Whether or not medication is a part of this regulation is a choice that needs to be considered carefully. I help connect clients with knowledgeable psychiatrists and pediatricians who can help them with this decision.

I let them know what I can do for them whether or not they choose the medication. If medication is not used, there are still many things a family can do to help a child or adult learn self-regulation.

How I help families deal with ADD and ADHD

Families with an ADD or ADHD family member need a lot of education.

There is a lot of misinformation out there. And it's complicated -- because ADHD and ADD is a spectrum disorder covering many symptoms.

When a parent brings their child in, nobody can talk to your child and determine if your child has ADHD just like that. It is not a litmus test diagnosis. It's a constellation of different symptoms, expressed uniquely in each child. It confuses parents.

It's a diagnosis based upon history and deduction.

There are other what we call "co-morbid" disorders that children often have, such as depression, bipolar disorder and so forth.

And parents come in and often they had the same symptoms when they were a child but they were not diagnosed. One or the other parent often ends up seeking therapy or medication because they recognize their child's symptoms in themselves.

Every family member needs to accomodate the special child's symptoms, and each family member is often struggling with the same disorder.

Adults don't outgrow the ADD/ADHD, but they have learned to cope and they are more neurologically sophisticated than their children so they can deal with this.

And, there are more and more families with ADD and ADHD. We don't know why.

How I gained experience helping ADD and ADHD families

I have done a lot of work over the years with ADD and ADHD families.

And, my husband and son both have ADHD and we have gained unique expertise coping with it.

Medication for ADD and ADHD -- right or wrong?

It depends upon the age of the child. Pediatricians can often prescribe medication for ADD or ADHD.

If there are other symptoms that co-exist with ADD or ADHD, I'll often refer the client to a child psychiatrist or a psychiatrist who works with adolescents.

Who can be helped the most

It's easiest to help people when symptoms first appear and problems aren't too big. I find that I get a lot of teenagers who are bright, have coped well educationally, but hit middle and high school and start to "drown" in their social and home and school environment. Does this describe your child?

It is very common.

I believe in using a combination of medication and psychotherapy. These kids have more complicated lives as they have gotten into eighth grade or later, with more homework and activities. They do not know how to organize their time, and structure their life.

We work with basic organization skills and coping mechanisms. For the first time, many of the teen-agers get on medication, and it makes a big difference when combined with therapy.