Camp RamapoDec 23, 2016I recently got a brochure in the mail from Camp Ramapo. I'm not really familiar with them, so don't consider this an endorsement. You'll have to do your due diligence. But I think I'm comfortable endorsing the concept. It is a "traditional summer camp experience for children with social, emotional, or learning challenges." So I thought this was an opportunity to address the issue of social/emotional development. This is not my wheelhouse. I am the first one to admit this. Outside of the problems that my impulsivity caused, I never had social problems. more than any average kid. But, I see it more and more with some of my clients, but even more so with the kids of the parents in my support group. I don't really have expertise in this area. But the pattern that I see is that the traditional remedies like social groups, lunch groups, etc. don't always seem to be effective for some ADHD kids. My guess is that this is primarily because of two factors. The first is that anger that many ADHD kids experience is not conducive to such a group. Second, these groups usually are composed of kids of different social levels with different social issues. Often the ADHD kids are resentful about being in a group with kids on the spectrum etc. And their attentional issues make it very difficult to be patient about other kids issues if they don't look like their own. Anyway the reason I decide to post on this is because the camp brochure got me thinking about how much better a social "group" would work better for these types of kids if the group was a whole camp, where some self selection could occur and where the learning could happen in the context of fun. It might also be a welcome and productive break from the acrimony that can develop in the household especially during the school year. As for this particular camp, I was surprised that it started at age six. I thought that was pretty cool. I went to culinary school one town away from Rhinebeck. It is beautiful there and only about a 4 hour drive. Might be worth looking into for kids with social emotional stuff in addition to the ADHD. There are more and more of these camps popping up as there is more recognition of the need. Feel free to send me an email if you know of one that you have had a great personal experience. Standard Disclaimer: In an effort to foil my own perfectionist tendencies, I do not edit my posts much. if at all. Please and typos, mistakes, grammatical errors, or awkward phrasing. I focus on getting my content down. An imperfect post completed is better than a perfect post that goes unposted.
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Stuff you should know podcast - computer addictionDec 18, 2016http://www.stuffyoushouldknow.com/podcasts/computer-addiction.htm I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts the other day and got the distinct feeling that the topic was skirting around a topic that I discuss with my clients all the time: stimulation seeking behaviors. The whole podcast is interesting. But, I made a note that about 30 minutes in was a particularly relevant portion. Unfortunately, I can’t remember what it was or why it was so relevant… I was driving at the time. So, I’m grateful that I accessed any of my mental note on the topic.
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Medication JournalNov 18, 2016Quick tip. When you are trying new medications for anything it is a really good idea to keep a brief but rigorous journal of the dates, names, dosages, effects, side effects, etc. The average human being has a hard time remembering this stuff. It is especially tough for those of us with aDHD. But this is tremendously helpful data for you and your doctor. It will help you get where you need to be now and may be a valuable resource in the future, when if will be even harder to remember the details. Don’t make it into a complicated process or you are likely to do it. Develop your own code or shorthand. Set an alarm to do it daily at a time when you feel attentive. In addition to start dates, changes keep daily records. I suggest that you track the following on a daily basis: -Time taken -When it seems to wear off (if applicable) -Mood -Attention -Any other effects good or bad -Summary of your behavior Standard Disclaimer: In an effort to foil my own perfectionist tendencies, I do not edit my posts much… if at all. Please and typos, mistakes, grammatical errors, or awkward phrasing. I focus on getting my content down. An imperfect post completed is better than a perfect post that goes unposted.
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The "hierarchy of suck"Dec 14, 2016This is a concept that I named several years ago and very much comes under the heading of understanding your own behavior... Why is it that we do what we do? Sometimes it is simply that we chose the task that sucks the least. I always think of the college kid who doesn't do laundry for the first 6 weeks of school because it's so boring and tedious. But then when it's time to study for midterms, suddenly that's a great time to do laundry. This kid will then spend all day doing laundry and may even clean his/her room. And it's not that those things aren't in need of being done and won't help his/her ability to focus in that environment, but let's be honest. He or she is really avoiding studying because laundry is now not at that top of the "hierarchy of suck." Studying is. Laundry if finally the lesser of two evils.
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"It's the end of the world as we know it... and I feel fine?"Nov 9, 2016
As ADHDers we can get very "stuck" when something goes wrong, goes very well, scares, excites us, or gets in our head. That thing can become a roadblock that may seem insurmountable. I think it is a valuable life skill to learn to put those extreme thoughts and feelings "in a box." There will be a time and a place to address them, but they can't become a roadblock to the rest of our lives. I learned this lesson from a fantastic chef I used to work for named Carmen Qualiata. I was working for him at The Vault at the time... maybe 13 years ago. One day I got a call from my mom who told me that my grandfather had fallen and broken his neck. He was 92 at the time, I believe. When I got to work I told Carmen what had happened and let him know that I was pretty shaken up. He absolutely had sympathy for me, but I also let me know that managing situations like this was what being an adult was all about. We all have our day to day baggage. It's our job to leave it at the door and still do the job we have to do. I would say today falls in that category for me. I certainly don't "feel fine." But at the same time, I have to. So I'm going to check my baggage at the door and dive in to my work and my family. That's all I can do, right?
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Daily Schedule, as of 5:20pmOct 30, 20165:20 is the end of my day. And, you can see that I added a few more things on the bottom right of the list and managed to get them done. I actually had more than 20 minutes to relax at the end of the day having gotten everything done. Again, the point is not that I ended up getting everything done. That hardly ever happens. The point is that I managed to be productive from the minute I got out of bed through my whole day and got so much more done than if I hadn't made the schedule. And it felt so good at the end of the day to look at my To Do List and see all this stuff crossed off and know that the rest of my week was going to be so much easier as a result.
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