Navigating ADHD

Do you know what makes a great teacher? A genuine love of children and all they can teach us! Great teachers are 100% invested in helping children in their classrooms grow and develop. I was sitting in a meeting earlier today and I saw a teacher who sat back and listened intensely so she could learn more about a particular child in her classroom.

Now that ADHD awareness month is over and hopefully you have a better understanding of what ADHD is and isn’t, you can begin to delve into the specifics of how ADHD affects your child. Hyperactivity is a common misunderstood trait of ADHD. The constant motion and incessant speech can be viewed as misbehaving, but hyperactivity isn’t a choice. It is hardwired and part of the diagnosis of ADHD. Hyperactivity can be viewed as excessive energy and can manifest in many ways. A hyperactive child may jump around, is in constant quick motion and may even fall out of his/her chair.

As ADHD Awareness week drew to a close it made us think more about how far ADHD education has come and about how much further we still need to go. Educating others is so important as there is so much confusion as to what ADHD is and isn't. Stop and think about your own ADHD awareness. What do you know about ADHD? If you are impacted by an ADHD diagnosis when did you begin to learn more about ADHD? Was it through your own diagnosis or through a diagnosis of your child or loved one?

School Success!
As we approach mid October school is in full swing and routines are beginning to take consistent shape. Children and adolescents typically start the year off strong, with great motivation and every intention of succeeding at their schoolwork. However, ADHD is all about extremes and intensity. Intensity to succeed and sometimes an extreme lack of motivation when the novelty of a new adventure wears off!

The Many Faces of ADHD

Watching your child struggle in school when you know how smart and wonderful he or she is can truly be heartbreaking.  The most important thing you can do for your child is stay consistent with your expectations and to not lose an ounce of faith that she will succeed.  Your child needs to know that you believe in her, even though she is having a hard time or is even repeating patterns that are only giving her difficulty.  Children with ADHD are often bored in school, miss important information, assignments and deadlines because of attentional challenges and then feel terrible

We are happy to share our latest publication!  Take a look at our favorite treatment options at http://www.howtolearn.com/2011/03/a-multimodal-approach-for-adhd-success

One of our philosophies at Navigating ADHD is to always look at the “flip side” traits of ADHD.  I was reminded of this recently while working with a wildly imaginative, bright young boy during an art therapy session.