Learn to Unwrap the Gifts of ADD

Beginning Wednesday, April 16, registration will open for a free teleseminar called "Unwrapping the Gift of ADD." The 8-part seminar takes place via conference calls at the end of April, each lasting about one hour.

"In an effort to bring parents of kids & teens with ADD/ADHD, and adults with ADD/ADHD the best ways to unwrap the gift of ADD, we've pulled together 8 top ADD/ADHD experts to share with you the best strategies and tactics to do this..."

Traits of ADD/ADHD like impulsivity and inattentiveness have positive aspects that few parents or kids ever hear about. Drs. Edward Hallowell and Kenny Handelman have developed this seminar based on their report "Find the Genius in ADD" as part of their ongoing efforts to eliminate the stigma associated with ADD and ADHD. Source: PR Web

What will your ADD child be doing this summer? Talisman offers summer camps for children with ADHD other special needs.

The Creative Energy Behind ADHD

Most parents of children with ADHD want desperately to find a silver lining in the cloud of misbehavior, trouble at school, and relational tension. Adults who had ADHD as children offer some of the best encouragement, especially those who have enjoyed unusual success.

"Ty Pennington [of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition] says the negative messages from school can be overwhelming for a child with ADHD... Ty says his life turned after he started medication in his teens and gained maturity and the freedom to develop his creativity. Now, as a TV host, he gets paid for the kind of behaviors that got him in trouble at school."

Kinko's founder Paul Orfalea also has ADHD and says the struggles he faced as a child helped him endure the criticisms he faced when he wanted to start his own business. What started in a modest storefront grew to 1,200 stores and was acquired in 2004 by FedEx. Source: American Psychological Association

There's Genius in ADD

Drs. Edward Hallowell and Kenny Handelman think that ADD/ADHD is often viewed too negatively. To try and combat some of the negativity, they've compiled a special report titled "Find the Genius in ADD."

"'After witnessing so many examples of people taking their 'disorder' and turning it into strengths and success, we decided to create this special report to point people in the right direction,' says Dr. Handelman. 'Although people may feel negative after being diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, there is reason for hope.'"

By pointing out the positives of how an ADHD mind works, Drs. Hallowell and Handelman hope people will begin to realize that traits of ADHD can be strengths if they're nurtured properly. Source: PR Web

Likened to the benefits of ADHD, child with high functioning Autism or Asperger's Syndrome are often dubbed "Little Professors". Learn about Asperger's at YourLittleProfessor.com.

Hyper-focus Not All Bad

Beth Hering's son has ADHD. As a result, though he struggles to focus on some things, he's able to hyper-focus on others. The current object of his hyper-focus is Bigfoot.

"Sometimes the hyper-focusing will grate on my nerves. I am asked at least 10 times per week whether or not I think Bigfoot is real... But hyper-focusing also can have benefits. Need to write sentences using spelling words? Tell him to make them related to Bigfoot and you'll get paragraphs."

Hering believes it will come in handy in college, too, once he finds a subject that truly interests him. Who knows, he may determine to find a cure for cancer. Or he may actually find Bigfoot one day. Read more at ParentCenter.com.

Worried that your child's ADHD diagnosis will prevent them from attending college? Don't be! Cedars Academy offers a post-secondary curriculum that helps children with ADHD transition from high school to college. Learn more at http://www.cedarsacademy.com/cedars-plus.html.

Youth Achievement Award

Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities is a non-profit organization that was started in 2000 to support and encourage children with learning disabilities or ADHD and their parents. Every year, they offer a Youth Achievement Award for which kids can be nominated.

"This $1,000 award recognizing the strengths and accomplishments of young people with learning disabilities and ADHD will be given to a student 19 or younger who has demonstrated initiative, talent, and determination resulting in a notable accomplishment in any field – including art, music, science, math, athletics or community service.”

Young people who have received the award in the past have overcome problems caused by dyslexia, ADHD, emotional traumas and more.

Learn more about how you can help your child with learning disabilities at LearningDisabilitiesInfo.com.

I'm Not Anti-Ritalin, I'm Pro-ADD

Ben Goldfard didn't know growing up that he had ADD. He knew that staying focused was a struggle and that his mind often jumped from one topic to another, but it wasn't until he was a husband and father that he was actually diagnosed. He offers his tongue-in-cheek opinion of the benefits of not using medication to "control" his ADD.

"With some mentoring, mind-mapping, and push-ups, I have turned my ADD into effective multi-tasking. I can't speak for everyone, because it would take too long, but for me, Ritalin would have been a chemical straight jacket. It would have closed the window of opportunity to attain above-average success..."

Though he's not suggesting that people with ADD throw away their medication, Goldfard is challenging people to view ADD and ADHD not as disabilities, but as blessings.

ADHD & Me

Blake Taylor, a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley, has just published a book about his experiences as someone with ADHD. His hope is that the book will encourage others, and help them view ADHD not as a curse, but as a gift.

"There are so many wonderful qualities that come along with ADHD: intelligence, high energy, the ability to accomplish a lot, creativity, passion for a cause, innovativeness, trustworthiness, etc. But the trick is: you have to learn how to live with it and harness it."

Blake offers many tips in his book, all based on his own life and learning to live with ADHD. He admits that living with ADHD isn't always easy, but he believes that the benefits outweigh the challenges.

Learn about teen drug use and how you can help your child at Adolescent-Substance-Abuse.com.

Improvements Follow ADHD Treatments

The Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry recently published four studies that reviewed the long-term benefits of ADHD treatments. In the initial studies, children were given one of three treatments; medication, medication and behavioral therapy, or behavioral therapy only.

"Ratings from both family members and teachers favored the combination treatment, and careful medication management was more successful than medication provided through usual community care sources."

Another study showed that children differed in their response to ADHD medication, with some showing improvement even into the third year of follow-up and others showing little response to medication at all. Read more at HealthDay.com.