You may have received a diagnosis of ADHD from a professional, sat in a meeting regarding your child’s diagnosis and realized that you have the same qualities, or you read about ADHD and knew that this is your story.

By Judith E. Lipson, M.A., LPC

I’ve never liked the term ADHD. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder focuses only on the negative aspects of this group of traits. But, since the term provides a meaningful shortcut in discussions about educational settings, employment, and other conversations, I use it.

When working with clients, or presenting to parents and professionals, I focus on the qualities of ADHD. These can include difficulty with:

• Time management
• Organization
• Attention to details
• Following directions

• Driving – directions, impulsivity or inattentiveness
• Self-esteem and motivation
• Writing – organization of thoughts, fine motor challenges
• Reading – light sensitivity, avoidance
• Anxiety

Consider also the gifts that come with ADHD. You are often intelligent inventors, entrepreneurs, and creative original thinkers excelling in non-traditional learning or work environments. You have compassion, live in the present and easily inter-connect with others. You see the big picture and motivate others with your enthusiasm and energy.

Some adults notice that their ADHD, which was a significant challenge in school, is no longer much of a problem. These individuals have usually found a job where movement is allowed, spontaneity and novelty are frequent, and detail work is at a minimum.

Others experience ADHD significantly impacting their life and find the need to take medication during their adult years. Some adults take it daily while others have determined with their physicians that the only time they need ADHD medication is when they have a very detail-oriented activity to complete.

With or without medication, it is important to use strategies that correspond to your gifts. Here are a number of strategies that adults have found helpful. Remember that you might wish to personalize them for your style.

USE A CALENDAR (paper or digital) to keep track of your appointments and deadlines. Carry it with you at all times.

TO-DO LISTS I used to carry a small pad of paper to list and check off items. In today’s digital world there are many free apps for smartphones to assist you. Since I forget to look at them, I now use the “all-day” portion of my iPhone calendar to list these specific tasks on the day that I’m most likely, or most need, to complete them. I use the calendar’s specific time slots for appointments.

ACKNOWLEDGE COMPLETION of your to-do items for personal reinforcement. I place an X in front of each to-do item to confirm its completion.

LONG TERM PROJECTS Chunk these into manageable tasks. I find it helpful to not only put in the due dates, but also to note the day I will tackle each project/task.

SET ALERTS If you are going to need an hour to arrive at your destination, be sure that your alert notifies you sufficiently in advance of departure time. It’s also wise to set an additional alert the day (or hours) prior as reminder.

ALARMS Set multiple alarms, possibly across the room. There are also vibrating-pillow alarm clocks. You might awaken a half hour prior to your get-up time to take your ADHD medication; then when the real alarm goes off it is easier to engage the day.

ORGANIZATION and CLEAN UP

• The entire project does not need to be completed in one attempt.
• Begin at a specific section like your desk surface or kitchen countertop, or start in a corner and move around the perimeter of the room.
• Instead of saving stacks of magazines to read later or keep for reference, access articles and information from the web.
• Use a dark bag for garbage. A clear or different color can be used to collect items for donation. Everything else gets put away.
• Use totes, buckets, crates, etc. to store groups of items together.
• Provide visibility for what you use often.
• If you are a collector limit items to a specific area/bucket. No room for new items? Sell or donate.
• Give yourself an incentive for each completed task.

Life with ADHD means you have likely experienced a number of incidents that led you to feel less than others. School, social events, family, and bullying can make you believe that you don’t fit the expectation and must not be okay. This is not true!!

Honor who you are, display your gifts to the world, and present yourself confidently to the younger generation and your peers. It’s time to be proud of Who You Really Are.

Judy Lipson is a Licensed Professional Counselor and educational strategist in West Bloomfield, MI. She helps clients of all ages who have learning difficulties; work or school related anxiety; ADHD; Asperger’s Syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorders; and those who wish to Remember and Become Who You Really Are. Contact Judy at 248.568.8665 and judylipson@spiralwisdom.net, and visit www. SpiralWisdom.net for more information.

This article is for informational purposes and is not meant to replace medical care.

Are you frustrated because your child avoids writing or writes poorly?

By Judith E. Lipson, M.A., LPC

Your child is not lazy! Children (and adults) who are poor writers may have difficulty with fine motor control or processing and organization. The following will give you tips on how to identify the potential source(s) of the writing difficulties and provide strategies for improvement.

Fine Motor

Evaluation: Ask your child to copy or write something for you.

• Grip: Does your child hold the writing instrument unconventionally?
• Pressure: Some children apply so much pressure that they tear the paper. They may grip tightly with a downward pressure to avoid an unsteady hand. Others apply very little pressure and the words may be hard to see.
• Tracing: If your child re-traces over letters and words, this may be a symptom of perfectionism or an obsessive-compulsive quality.

The Problem:  The child tires easily and quickly. Frustration and avoidance increase.

Solutions:

• Many kids successfully develop their own grip. If your child is young, you can encourage a correct grip on the pencil. If s/he has a lot of difficulty, consider a consultation with a physician, early childhood educator or occupational therapist. If your child is older, acceptance is probably best.
• Computer, netbook, Alphasmart, etc. TIP: use a flash drive or email to access work from different school and home computers.
• Allow the child to dictate.
• Oral assessments.
• Require fewer questions or math problems.

Visual Memory/Visual Motor

Evaluation: Ask your child to copy from a paper and from “the board” (place something vertically at a distance).

• Spacing and margins: Are the words placed properly on the line with proper side margins? Also look at spacing and letter size.
• Does your child copy a letter, a word or a phrase at a time?

The Problem: Your child can’t hold what needs to be written in his/her visual memory. This results in poor spelling and the inability to simultaneously hear and comprehend the information.

Solutions:

• Avoid writing on white paper.
• Reduce the amount to be copied.
• Provide this child with a copy of notes so that they don’t have to copy from the board or a book.
• Encourage the use of the computer for proper spacing and spelling suggestions.
• Promote assessments based on the mastery of information, not the process of lettering.
• Have your child’s vision evaluated by a developmental optometrist to determine if the eyes are working together properly.
• Have the child screened for Irlen Sensitivity.

Processing/Internal Organization

Evaluation: Ask your child to create a story in writing and then verbally. Compare their ease and the quality of the product.

The Problem:

• A disconnection between ideas and the expression of thoughts while writing.
• The child doesn’t know how to start.
• Poor self esteem – your child doesn’t expect success.
• The brain creates ideas faster than they can be expressed.
• If your child has difficulty expressing it verbally, there may be an expressive language difficulty – speak to your teacher to see if an evaluation by the Speech and Language Therapist is suggested.)

Solutions:

• Be encouraging!
• Initially, have the child respond orally while you scribe (preferably on the computer). Continue until the child trusts his/her own abilities.
• Brainstorm ideas (practice may be necessary).
• Start in the middle (especially on a computer) and build the story outward. Now organize the paper and see if there are ideas that can be expanded and reworded. Then correct punctuation, spelling and grammar.
• Provide counseling to address self-esteem, motivation and perfectionism.

Keep expectations reasonable and reachable. Encourage your child by praising efforts in all activities, not just school endeavors. While your child may not find ease in writing, s/he has other gifts and strengths. Focus on these. Over time, writing typically improves. If you need assistance, request the help of a teacher, tutor or specialist.

Judy Lipson is a Licensed Professional Counselor and educational strategist in West Bloomfield. She helps clients of all ages who have learning difficulties; work or school related anxiety; ADHD; Asperger’s Syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorders; and those who wish to Remember and Become Who You Really Are. Contact Judy at 248.568.8665 and judylipson@spiralwisdom.net, and visit www. SpiralWisdom.net for more information.

Published in Metro You Magazine, October 2011

Come with me on an informative journey to learn about learning disabilities. You will learn how to recognize a possible learning disability in your child, as well as strategies to make the challenges easier (whether or not there is a certified learning disability).

For a child to have a learning disability there must be a discrepancy (difference) between their IQ Score (intelligence) and their achievement scores (academic levels). School districts use different discrepancy scores.

There are 7 areas of learning disabilities and a person can have a learning disability in one or more of these areas.

Oral Expression is how well the child speaks their thoughts or how clearly they make the letter sounds. If this is the only problem, then the child is Speech and Language Impaired (SLI) rather than LD. A speech and language therapist can offer ideas that you can do with your child at home.

Listening Comprehension is the child’s ability to understand words and ideas and remember oral directions. (Listening and follow-through are frequent complaints for children with ADHD, but this may not be a learning disability.)

• Give only 1 or 2 oral directions at a time
• Pair a verbal direction with words or a picture
• Make a list for morning, after school, and evening routines
• Include pictures on the list (let the child help to select)

Written Expression is expressing oneself in writing. Often these children express themselves well verbally, but when asked to write, don’t know how to begin. They also may have difficulty with run-on sentences. Some children’s writing is to the point and they don’t know how to expand their writing. Written expression often includes fine motor coordination and difficulty copying from the board or a book.

• Eliminate or minimize the amount that needs to be copied (provide a set of notes)
• Allow them to write on a computer
• Have them dictate to you
• Provide oral tests
• Have the child brainstorm ideas, then write the essay (start in the middle if needed), then correct grammar and lastly punctuation

Reading Skills (decoding) and Reading Comprehension can occur together or a child might have just one. A learning disability in reading skills can include choppy reading, monotone reading, reversing letters, skipping lines, rereading words.

• Eliminate bright lights
• Use a plain ruler to place under the line they’re reading
• Read to them (books on tape, etc)
• Avoid scantron tests (which use fill-in-the-bubble answer sheets)
• Use colored paper to reduce the glare
• Allow extra time
• See an Irlen screener (www.irlen.com); use colored overlays
• Consider having your child’s vision tested by a Developmental Optometrist to determine if the eyes are working together properly
• Test for phonological difficulties – this is the ability to hear and manipulate sounds without seeing the lettersPlay rhyming games with your child; a specialist can share more ideas

Some children who are poor readers can have excellent comprehension. A learning disability in reading comprehension is when the child has difficulty with “higher level thinking” – analysis, synthesis, categorizing etc.

• Use pictures, your child’s interest areas and what they already understand to teach new concepts
• Offer lots of review
• Specialized tutoring is usually best for this difficulty

Math Skills is completing math problems. It is important that children understand the concepts of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Yet, children with learning disabilities rarely find success memorizing math facts.

• Use blocks and other three-dimensional objects to teach math facts and concepts
• Memorize facts in small chunks and review often
• Use a calculator
• Older children often need a math tutor (don’t wait until too many math concepts are missed)

Math Comprehension includes time, money, measurement and word problems.

• Use the child’s interest areas to help them understand the concepts
• A math tutor or specialist in learning disabilities may be needed

I hope that this information helps you to understand learning disabilities and to navigate your children’s challenges. If after reading this information you suspect that your child has a learning disability, contact your child’s teacher or counselor. You can contact me, or another specialist, if you are looking for strategies for your child’s specific needs, want information about Irlen, or are looking for guidance while navigating the world of IEPs, evaluations and meetings.

Judy Lipson is a Licensed Professional Counselor and educational strategist in West Bloomfield. She helps clients of all ages who have learning difficulties; work or school related anxiety; ADHD; Asperger’s Syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorders; and those who wish to Remember and Become Who You Really Are. Contact Judy at 248.568.8665 and judylipson@spiralwisdom.net, and visit www. SpiralWisdom.net for more information.

Published in Metro You Magazine, March 2011