Edge Foundation Blog

Last week we featured the first installment of an important article on ADHD medication abuse written by Edge Foundation Executive Director, Robert Tudisco and first publishedin Attention Magazine.  Our second part gets into the nitty gritty:  What’s it mean to you.

Key Facts:

• 34 percent of students polled admitted to taking stimulant medications without a prescription; in juniors and seniors, the percentage can be as high as 80 percent.
• Possessing stimulant medications without a prescription is essentially the same as possessing any other controlled substance
• Students who face challenges based upon the symptoms of their ADHD do not take medications to gain an advantage, but do so in order to have the ability to function in a school setting

What do parents and students need to keep in mind about ADHD medication?

Students: Be smart with your medications

• Remember that your ADHD medications are a controlled substance.  Possession of these medications without a prescription is illegal.
• Safeguard your medication from theft on campus.  It is an important tool to management of your ADHD symptoms and it should be there when you need it.
• A gift is a sale.  In the eyes of the law, giving a controlled substance to someone who does not have the legal or medical authority to possess it is the same as selling it.
• Don’t share your medication with others.  Giving controlled substances to your friends is not only illegal, but can cause them harm if they are not being supervised by a doctor.
• Follow your medication plan.  Changing your plan without consulting your doctor can have medical consequences and can create a surplus of pills that can lead to trouble. If you don’t feel that you need to take your meds on the schedule prescribed, tell your doctor and modify the plan with his or her guidance.
• Have local resources.  If you are away at school, have your prescribingdoctor coordinate with a doctor located near your school to address any issues that may come up or emergencies.

Parents:  Protect your child—prevent diversion

• Get the facts and avoid the myths associated with ADHD medication from your doctor.
• Educate your child about his or her medication, the laws that govern its use, and how it can interact with other substances.
• Speak with your child about respecting the purpose of the medication and using it only for its prescribed and intended purpose.
• Stress the importance of reporting any side effects to you and your treating physician.
• Consult with your child’s doctor and develop a solid medication plan that will work at home and school. Revisit that plan if and when your child goes away to college.
• Make sure your child understands that he or she is taking what is considered a controlled substance that is illegal to all others.
• Make sure that the school is aware of the medication that your child is taking, even if it is not dispensed by school medical personnel.  This is especially important if your child is away at college.
• Make sure your child understands the need to keep medication safeguarded inside its prescription container at all times.
• Provide your prescribing physician’s contact information to the school along with the prescription information itself in the event that any emergencies arise.

Other articles you might find of interest about ADHD medication:

Is ADHD Over Medicated?

Is Ritalin Good for You?

Do you protect you ADHD medications from theft?  Have you ever had any stolen?  Let us know your experience in the comments.

If you are attending college, you probably don’t realize that just a few short years ago gambling was not part of everyday American life.  Today gambling is as common as alcohol in college life.  There are gambling opportunities everywhere:   Vegas vacations targeting the spring break crowd, state-run lottery tickets at every corner store, Native-run casinos just up the road, slot games can be joined from every computer, and dorm room card games are a Friday night ritual.

Gambling isn’t that big a deal, right?

Wrong!  Most people don’t think of gambling as being that much of a problem, so it gets little attention.  But did you know that nearly 10% of college students qualify as problem gamblers?  That’s a higher number than for adults!

Think you don’t know anyone with a gambling problem, think again.  Statistics show that at least 1 person sitting around the 10 person table at your seminar has a gambling problem or 30 people in that lecture hall are spending too much money on gaming.

ADHD and Gambling:  a bad combination

Students with ADHD are especially at risk for developing a gambling addiction. In fact ADHD students have an even higher rate of problem gambling than other college students – as many as 19% (nearly 1 in 5) college students with ADHD have a problem with gambling.

Researchers are still teasing out why this is the case.  But if you have lived with ADHD it’s pretty easy to make the connection between problem gambling and ADHD.  Impulse control is a hallmark of ADHD, and impulse control is a hallmark of addiction.  Gambling is also exciting and can feed the ADHD brain’s craving for stimulus and excitement.

Researchers have found that there are strong associations between ADHD and addictive behavior, including substance abuse, alcoholism, and nicotine dependence.

Do you have a gambling problem?

The National Council on Problem Gambling offers this checklist:

10  Questions About Gambling Behavior

1. You have often gambled longer than you had planned.
2. You have often gambled until your last dollar was gone.
3. Thoughts of gambling have caused you to lose sleep.
4. You have used your income or savings to gamble while letting bills go unpaid.
5. You have made repeated, unsuccessful attempts to stop gambling.
6. You have broken the law or considered breaking the law to finance your gambling.
7. You have borrowed money to finance your gambling.
8. You have felt depressed or suicidal because of your gambling losses.
9. You have been remorseful after gambling.
10. You have gambled to get money to meet your financial obligations.

If you or someone you know answers “Yes” to any of these questions, consider seeking assistance from a professional regarding this gambling behavior by calling the National Problem Gambling HelpLine Network (800.522.4700) toll free and confidential throughout the U.S.

Facts sited in this post are primarily drawn from these two excellent research reports on ADHD and college gambling:

http://www.camh.net/egambling/issue2/clinic/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2775442/

Last August, Edge interviewed Dr. Patricia Quinn regarding her work with girls and ADHD.  Dr. Quinn, an Edge Foundation board member, has published four books about the special ADHD challenges that women and girls face that are different men and boys.  Some of those challenges include:

• Under diagnosis due to symptoms that don’t echo the male standard for ADHD
• Hyperactivity presenting as talkativeness and emotional behavior instead of the classic “propelled by a motor.”
• Greater disorganization, depression and anxiety than boys.

This fall Dr. Quinn will publish a new book, 100 Questions and Answers about ADHD in Women and Girls.  We thought this would be a good time to ask her a few questions of our own.

Edge: Is there anything about the challenges ADHD girls and women face that has emerged for you since our last interview?

Dr. Quinn: I think we have seen more in the way of confirming the development of eating disorders in girls with ADHD.

Edge: What, if anything, is unique about diagnosing ADHD girls with eating disorders than is different from other girls?

Dr. Quinn: Well first, the symptom of impulsivity seems to be a significant factor in the development of eating disorders in girls with ADHD. Poor self-esteem may also play a role, but one does not see the impaired body image seen in girls with eating disorders in general.  Girls with ADHD may binge and develop bulimia, but not because of a desire for thinness, but rather because of mindless or impulsive eating. Women with ADHD often report that they eat to feel better or for stimulation.

Edge: What should parents do when they suspect their daughter with ADHD has an eating disorder?

Dr. Quinn: Parents of these girls should pursue a complete assessment with an eating disorder specialist trained to realize that ADHD may be part of the picture. Girls will need to be treated for their ADHD symptoms (inattention and impulsivity) in order to be able to follow a program to address their disordered eating. Stimulants not only treat the symptoms of ADHD, but, according to some experts, may actually decrease the urge to binge.

Edge: Is there anything else you want people to know about girls and ADHD?

Dr. Quinn: Girls tend to suffer silently for many years, and as a result develop poor self-esteem early on. In addition, many develop anxiety because of their untreated ADHD symptoms. Their symptoms seem to sneak up and ambush them and they worry that this will happen again. So, they get anxious or develop compensatory strategies. They may worry and begin checking to see if they have a test they have forgotten about, or a book they forgot to bring home from school.

They can even develop obsessive compulsive personality disorders where they try to control one aspect of their life to the exclusion of others.  I have seen girls with ADHD become perfectionists to compensate for their symptoms. They spend a great amount of time and energy trying to compensate until it all gets too much for them and they get depressed or just give up.  It is, therefore, important to treat ADHD in girls even if they seem to be doing well academically and holding it all together because they may be doing so at a great cost.

I also want to send the overall message that the disorder does not remit but continues to cause significant problems and functional impairments particularly in girls with the inattentive type ADD.

Edge: What would you say, then to parents who are hoping their daughter will just “outgrow it?”

Dr. Quinn: ADHD is a chronic, life-long disorder. Symptoms may be less impairing as we learn to live with them and develop strategies and a life style to better cope. However, girls who demonstrate the most success are those that have adopted a multi-pronged approach to treating the disorder including, medication, therapy and appropriate treatment goals early on. ADHD coaching, like the Edge Foundation offers, can be an important component in learning compensatory strategies and behaviors.  Girls who as adolescents continue to have significant functional impairments are those who are usually not taking medication even though they have briefly made use of other services in and outside of school. These, however, may not be enough.

Edge: What are some of the most common questions you are asked about women and girls who have ADHD?

DR. Quinn: I am constantly asked why girls and women aren’t diagnosed as early as boys. I think this is because girls are not identified by teachers or others. Often teachers are comparing girls’ behaviors to those of boys rather than the performance of other girls. Mothers may be more likely to compare their daughter’s behavior to that of other girls thus may be more reliable at referring their daughters for an evaluation.  Girls are less disruptive and don’t call attention to themselves, so they don’t get referred. In addition girls and women work hard to compensate for their symptoms and to not let others know the problems that they are having.

Edge: Do women’s hormones have any impact on how medication levels need to be prescribed over time? For instance, does going through puberty or menopause mean medication levels need to be adjusted during those periods?

Dr. Quinn: When hormone levels decrease in menopause many women report that their ADHD symptoms increase and that their medications don’t seem to be as effective as previously.  It is often necessary to increase the dose of medications at this time. In addition, I find that during puberty symptoms often worsen in girls with ADHD. A medication dose that worked previously may no longer be effective during this time.

Edge: You’ve been a long-standing champion for women and girls who have ADHD, do you see the rest of the medical profession catching up in awareness or is there still a lot of ground to cover until females with ADHD receive equal medical treatment?

Dr. Quinn: I think that overall the medical profession is doing a better job at recognizing and treating girls with ADHD.  The problem seems to be with educating teachers and school systems about the disorder in females.

Readers:  Do you have a question about ADHD in girls?  Let us know in the comments and we’ll do our best to get you an answer.

Going off to college and becoming independent is difficult for everyone. There’s so much to be learned about being out on one’s own. It’s a very exciting time and most kids are pretty excited to turn 18 and are eager to take on a new level of responsibility. If you have ADHD there are two very important legal changes to pay special attention to when you turn 18:

• IDEA disability protections change
• FERPA (Family education Rights and Privacy Act) transfers privacy rights from your parent to you

Legal protections and disabilities in college

The laws that protect students with disabilities are not the same when you move on to college and graduate school. Before you graduate from high school, if you have a disability such as ADHD you are protected under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA). You also are protected under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504). IDEA includes a concept known as “Child Find”. Child Find makes school districts responsible to seek out, evaluate and provide services for students with special needs.

When you turn 18 (or leave high school), the only protections that remain are those found in Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). IDEA and Child Find no longer applies. While still guaranteeing that you can’t be discriminated against based upon your disabilities, it is now up to you to come forward, provide documentation of your disability, and request appropriate accommodations.

In college, therefore, a working knowledge of the law, an understanding of your disability and an ability to communicate your needs to your school and instructors is crucial. Unfortunately you may not be prepared for this new advocacy responsibility because you haven’t had a chance to take a meaningful part in the advocacy process during high school. Why? Many parents have tried to protect you by taking the position that your disability should be a closely guarded secret to keep from the rest of the world. Other parents may not have involved you, their child, in working with the school, identifying your own needs and seeking services.

FERPA and Privacy Rights

Another legal area that changes with the move to college is your right to privacy. The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was enacted to ensure that parents have access to their children’s educational records and to protect the privacy of students by limiting access to these records without parental consent. Both the access to your records and the restriction of that access is controlled by parents while you are underage. The privacy rights conferred by FERPA, however, automatically transfer to you when you turn 18 or you begin attending a post secondary institution, at any age. (The only exception being when you are still declared a dependent for tax purposes.)

When you become an adult or leave high school, you have control over the access to your educational records and not your parents. This sounds great, right? But if your parents have been in charge of advocating for you with your school, they will no longer be able to help you without you being directly involved. And unless you’ve already been involved with advocating for yourself you may not know where to start or even which records to access.

What can you do now to become a better advocate for yourself?

• Educate yourself on the law. A great site to find out more about the American Disabilities Act and its impact on you is Wright’s Law. http://wrightslaw.com/info/sec504.index.htm And stop back here at the Edge blog next week where we’ll go over a list of disability related terms you should be familiar with.
• If you are still in high school, get involved. Ask to see your 504 plan or IEP. Talk with your parents about what they’ve learned about what works and what doesn’t for advocating for you.
  Get copies of your evaluations and review them with your parents before you go to college so you have documentation ready when you need proof.
• Find out who the contact person in your school is before you attend. If you can’t figure it out, ask for help. A coach can be a great resource for helping you figure out how to navigate the system and to learn to advocate yourself. You don’t have to do it all by yourself!

Editor’s Note:  This month we are pleased to publish a guest post by Kathleen Nadeau, Ph.D.  Nationally recognized psychologist, Kathleen G. Nadeau, Ph.D., has many years helping children, teens and adults to learn better planning and organizational skills.   Dr. Nadeau is the brains behind, Skoach, an integrated online time management and task planning tool.

Figure out why you procrastinate, then match your strategy to motivate accordingly.

Procrastination can be caused by several things. You may procrastinate because you don’t enjoy a task. You may procrastinate because a task is large and challenging to organize. Or, you may procrastinate because you aren’t sure how to accomplish the task.

1. Procrastination due to dislike of an activity

If you procrastinate because you don’t like a task, look for ways to increase task appeal such as:

* Make it into a game, and keep score.
* Make it into a game, competing with others.
* Listen to upbeat music while doing it. Schedule a reward immediately after you complete it.

2. Procrastination due to overwhelm

If you’re avoiding a task because it is lengthy and overwhelming, then “divide and conquer”:

* Break the large task into separate, short-term segments.
* Then check off each segment as an accomplished short-term task.

3. Procrastination due to inertia

If you procrastinate because you have difficulty initiating a task, create something to react to. Tasks that can be reacted to are easier to begin than those that you must initiate yourself.

* Work on the task with others – then you can react to their questions, emails, etc.
* Establish a deadline with your supervisor.

4. Procrastination due to lack of organization

Sometimes we procrastinate on beginning a large project because we haven’t organized the task and don’t know where to start. If you can’t seem to get a project organized:

* Think through the task.
* Talk with your supervisor or collaborators to plan it.
* Break the larger task into do-able segments.
* Create a list of resources and supplies needed to accomplish the task.
* Create a timeline for the task.
* Then schedule the first segment of the task.
* Create an email or text reminder for this segment.

5. Procrastination on difficult tasks

Not all tasks can be made easy, but if you find a task particularly difficult, you must analyze how it can become easier.

* Do you need help?
* More training?
* More practice?
* More assistance from other?
* Analyze what is making the task so difficult, and then get the help you need to succeed.

6. Procrastination at certain times of day

More challenging tasks should be done at whatever time of day you seem to feel more focused and energetic. Take note of your daily rhythms, and then try to schedule the most avoided tasks for the time of day when you’ll have more energy to tackle them.

Problem-solve and apply your solution

To combat patterns of procrastination, select a task that you keep putting off. Then look at the list of possible solutions above and choose one that you think is most likely to be helpful.

Pick one (or more) of these solutions, and keep track over the next few weeks. Are you getting things done on a consistent basis? If so, keep up the good work! Your new solutions will soon become habits that require very little effort to maintain.

Final note for severe or chronic procrastinators
Some people seem to have a generally low level of motivation and tend to put off all tasks that take energy or effort. These people are classic “couch potatoes” that would rather do “nothing” than anything at all. If you fall into the couch potato category, you may actually struggle with chronic, low level depression.

Others are couch potatoes due to chronic sleep deprivation, poor nutrition, or poor physical fitness. If you feel as if everything is too much trouble, then get a medical check-up to see if depression or some other health problem is playing a role in always putting things off.

ADHD, Depression and Why it Matters

ADHD and Depression II: Types of Depression

ADHD Depression Busting Tool Kit

Editor’s Note: Last night my daughter sat with me and talked to me about how frustrating she was that day having ADHD. She had just made another impulsive boo-boo and was being really hard on herself. I know from talking to successful people with ADHD that feeling discouraged sometimes is part of the package.

We talked about writing down the times that ADHD has been an asset for her so she can remember them on days like these. Like the time she was quick to notice her brother left his favorate sweatshirt behind, or when her out of the box thinking creates a new way of seeing a problem that didn’t seem to have an answer.

And here at Edge, we thought it would be inspriring to hear from other students who have found success using an ADHD coach. You know we are sold on coaching as a powerful way to channel your ADHD for success.

We encourage each of our readers to share their success stories in the comments. Our stories together can remind us all to keep our focus on what is possible in those moments we are discouraged.

Getting organized with ADHD coaching

ADHD coaching really helped me organize. I think it helped me the most in setting goals and making sure I got those goals done in a good way, in a motivational way. Before [I had an ADHD coach] all of my goals and all of my assignments were jumbled up in my head. Coaching helped me systemically put them into a schedule. - College Student

Learning strategies that get results

I’m already reviewing for exams a couple of weeks before I have them. I got this from coaching. Coaching has helped me see things more from a planning perspective – planning ahead and starting early helps make things much easier. I feel much less stressed now about exams, and things are much more doable. So now it is not just like memorizing everything right before an exam and then forgetting it, but doing reading as I go along so that I am actually learning the material when I review it a couple of weeks before a test. - College Student

I still look back and wonder how I was able to get through it. My grades were low, but it was not because I didn’t understand the material. It was simply because I was very disorganized and didn’t know how to study effectively. I lost assignments, I wasted endless hours “studying”, and I nearly drove my parents insane. Then, my mom called an ADHD coach. All it took was a 30-minute call once a week – just 30 minutes! We laid down plans and schedules to get myself back on track. My grades improved tenfold and best of all, I virtually eliminated my problem with missing assignments. With every call, I became better – my study skills improved, my organization was practically flawless, and my self-confidence and ability to motivate myself became fine-tuned. I truly can’t attribute my recent success to anyone but my coach. – High School Student

Astonishing your parents

ADHD Coaching has helped increase my overall organization abilities. It helped me get my room more organized ed. It’s still clean weeks after I did the major clean-up! My folks won’t even believe it when they come see me! And I’m also sleeping more. That’s helping a lot. - College Student

Reaching for the stars

I’m setting higher standards now because, coming into college, my expectations were, ‘Oh yeah; 3.6, 3.7 gpa, no big deal. Because, just coming from high school, that’s just the way everything worked… Now I’m thinking about the bigger picture and what I need to do to get into a good graduate school, and stuff like that. - College Student

ADHD coaching stops the last minute scramble

Grades weren’t really an issue for me ever, but the way I go about getting my grades is better… because of the going through on a daily basis, not waiting until the last minute. - College Student

Hearing more positive feedback

People have commented, ‘Wow, you’re really producing this semester,’ or, ‘Wow, you’re -‘ I don’t want to brag, but – ‘further ahead than everyone else,’ or whatever. I might not have heard [comments like this] last semester. – College Student

Giving perspective – you are not alone

I would say [to my coach], ‘Look, I’m having this problem, right?’ Or we’d be like, ‘Here’s a goal. Why aren’t I reaching that goal?’ ‘Oh, it’s because of this problem.’ And then you know what he’ll say, ‘Well, some people like yourself with ADD, they would try x, y, and z.’ And I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s really helpful to know what other people kind of like me in similar situations are doing and how they solve their similar problems.’ – College Student

An ADHD coach is an angel on your shoulder

Besides the benefits, I think the relationship. Developing a relationship is very helpful in keeping you; it’s almost like developing a relationship with an angel on your shoulder or something. It’s just kind of nice to have a good relationship with someone that can help you. - College Student

Reduces stress

Some people feel less stressed after they’ve sort of planned out what they’re going to do about something they are stressed about. Because it takes away the question of, ‘Oh, how am I going to do this? Oh, this is how I’m going to do it. I feel less stressed about it because I know I can get it done.’ – College Student

[Now I'm] in control, not of myself but of my daily life and of the situation; daily experience. Probably less stressed and more confident in my abilities to get the things done that I need to get done, again, in a timely manner. - College Student

An ADHD coach builds your confidence

I was going to say, ‘Confident. Everything is doable.’ [Smiling] Yeah. - College Student

Learning skills to last a lifetime

I was able to compensate until I reached grad school where I hit a wall and began to struggle with classes, scheduling, organization, and school/life balance. I [was] doing well academically but performed poorly in the field – showing up unprepared and missing deadlines. Sometimes the ADD habit of speaking-before-thinking got me in hot water. At home things were a disaster: it seemed impossible for me to keep up with life tasks like laundry, dishes and cleaning while working and studying. [Medication, therapy and academic accomodationns] didn’t address time management and didn’t help my social issues, disorganization, or the home/life balance disrupted by ADD. Before I started coaching, I was afraid I’d fail out of grad school. After a few months of coaching, both my Dean and my advisor congratulated me on my improvements. I’m actually getting honors in my evaluations, which is much more than I’d ever hoped for. I am also learning skills like time management and home/life/work balance, which will help me for the rest of my life. - Grad Student

Feel more in control of your life with an ADHD coach

I became noticeably more organized [with the help of my ADHD coach]. I went from constantly missing homework assignments my first three years of high school to missing no homework assignments my senior year. I could easily find worksheets and packets in folders instead of looking around in my backpack or my room. I got into my first choice college. I believe the study and organization skills I learned with my coach have helped immensely in my first semester of college. I now feel more in control of my schoolwork and grades. - College Student

Share your success

Now it’s your turn.  We hope you’ll share your success stories in the comment section!

For a more in depth success story read One ADHD College Student’s Success Story

College is a critical time for students with ADHD. Finding new strategies that work with ADHD is the key to success. We are pleased to announce that a new resource for college students is now available, free of charge! ADHD and College Success is an invaluable resource, jam-packed with ideas, tips, and encouragement to help college students with ADHD succeed.

Included in the whitepaper are 60 practical solutions for typical ADHD challenges. Highlights include:

• Using creative ways, like music, to keep yourself on schedule
• Working with your urge to procrastinate, not against it
• How to study smarter, not harder
• How to use fidgeting to stay focused
• 4 student qualities for success

Everything you need to know about ADHD, college, and living your dreams. Download your FREE copy at the bottom of this link today!

Editor’s Note: This week’s post was written by Award-winning Professional Organizer,
Judith Kolberg.

The first step to effective note taking is focused listening

Maybe it’s the school season, or that its “conference season”; whatever the reason, taking note and note taking is on the agenda. Note taking is no small task.

• It starts with taking note — listening intently to the talking-head and getting a grasp on what is said.
• Then it involves writing down both the most pertinent ideas and the relevant details and ignoring extraneous material.
• Finally, good note-taking results in actually using the notes in the appropriate context.

Inattention and distractibility make note taking hard for everyone

Even people without ADHD find it difficult to take note and note-take. Inattention, which makes the ADHD brain struggle to focus long and hard enough to get information into the brain in the first place, and distractibility, which moves attention away from the task at hand, conspire to make taking note really tough. And figuring out as you listen and write what is important and what is not is also challenging.

Note taking Tips for the ADHD Student

• Don’t look: Consider not looking at the speaker, but instead looking down at the paper or your laptop or whatever it is you are taking notes on. Sometimes knocking out some of the visual of looking at the speaker, can reduce distractions.
• Use the handouts! These days, most speakers and teachers give handouts with the central concepts already on them. Write on the handouts. Use highlighting. Add your own comments or thoughts. Since you did not create the handouts, you have to put your own imprint on them so they live and breathe and work for you.
• Share notes with a friend: Let someone else handle the details; go for the main concepts and ideas. You can often get the details from someone else’s notes, an audio recording, or a written transcript.
• Use shorthand: Develop a simple short hand but be certain you understand it! You might write the word “details” like this “dtails”. The letter “t” can stand in for “the”. A long phrase that is repeated, like “note-taking” can be written out once, and thereafter written as “n/t”.
• Try Mind Maps: Consider taking notes graphically by using mind maps. Click here for more information.
  Consider using note-taking software. Click here for more information.

Using Your Notes Effectively

Just a word about using your notes: separate your notes out by topic or subject and you’ll be able to utilize them better. Say you went to a conference on ADHD and took notes about medication and on memory and on ADHD humor. Separate them, make the topic prominent, and stick your notes where they will be used next. For instance, put the medication notes in a file to bring to your next doctor appointment to discuss with your doctor. In your calendar, on the date of the doctor appointment write “bring notes”. The notes on memory might just be for your own edification so call then “Don’t Forget” and file them under “ADHD”. Maybe you’ll want to use the ADHD humor notes in your next presentation. Stick the notes in with your presentation material. In other words, put notes where they are most likely next to be utilized.

Have you ever tried recording important lectures? Do you have your own shorthand? Have you ever asked someone to share notes with you? Let us know what note taking strategies have worked for you.

Last week we shared Mark Katz’s inspiring talk about resiliency from CHADD’s regional conference in Anaheim.  This week we’d like to highlight comments presented by our founder, Neil Peterson, at the same event. College success was the focus of Neil’s presentation.  He covered four key points:

1. 18 year old is really not 18
2. There is an option of not going to college right away
3. The process that we’ve set up in our colleges is still daunting and students need help navigating that process.
4. Get a coach.

An 18 year old with ADHD is really much younger developmentally

Experts remind us that an 18 year old with ADHD is really more like 15 or 16 year old developmentally.  What this means is even though our kids are entering college as adults at 18, they really aren’t ready to learn self-advocacy skills their peers are expected to.  Neil encouraged parents and educators to remember that ADHD youth are often not mature enough to handle the independence that comes when they lose the scaffolding of their parents and home.

A gap year can help students catch up with their peers developmentally.

Neil could see his daughter wasn’t ready for the “free flowing” college dorm situation so help keep her out of school for a year.  A structured gap year that provides experiences and opportunities for your

Getting accommodations is difficult

While we’ve made a lot of progress in serving disabled students in college it’s a daunting process to qualify for services and then inform each of your college professors that you need accommodations.  Neil recommends that parents need to teach their children how to self-advocate for these services if they haven’t done so already.

An ADHD coach can help you keep on track

Neil Peterson is a very successful entrepreneur and former CEO.  His favorite analogy about why a coach makes sense is “If a coach is good enough for a CEO, its good enough for a struggling 18 year old.”  He should know, he uses a coach himself to stay on track.  For Neil’s daughter, Kelsey, an ADHD coach is invaluable in helping her break down the steps of getting her assignments done, setting and following through with commitments to herself, and planning, prioritizing and staying on task.

Do you agree with Neil and other ADHD experts that an 18 year old with ADHD isn’t really 18 developmentally?  Let us know!

Editor:  We are honored to have had Dr. Patricia Quinn involved with the Edge Foundation since our founding.  Dr. Quinn is a leading ADHD expert who has worked with, written about and provided training in the field of ADHD for more than 30 years.  This month we are pleased to be talking with her about one of her primary concerns:  girls with ADHD.

Key ideas:

• Many girls with ADHD are left undiagnosed because their symptoms look different than boys.
• Hyperactivity in girls can appear as being hyper-talkative or hyper-reactive (more emotional).
• ADHD girls have greater problems with disorganization than boys.
• Depression and anxiety are symptoms to watch for in older girls with ADHD.
• ADHD coaching can help girls with ADHD learn what works to be successful in school and in life.

Edge: Thank you for all you’ve done on behalf of people with ADHD over the last 30 years.  What are the ADHD projects you are most excited about these days?

Dr. Patricia Quinn:   I can honestly say that working with young girls with ADHD, helping them understand the disorder and learn to live happy, productive lives is very close to my heart.  My most recent book, Attention, Girls!  A Guide to Learn All about Your ADHD, is special because it focuses on the lives of girls ages 7 to 13 years.

I also feel passionately about my work with college students with ADHD most of whom are newly diagnosed and struggling to stay in school.  When I get a call from someone who has just earned his law degree, and he says that he couldn’t have done it without my help when he was in college, it makes my day!

Edge: Girls have had a history of being under-diagnosed with ADHD in part because their symptoms can look very different from boys who have ADHD.  Can you speak to that a little bit?

Dr. Patricia Quinn: Boys with ADHD are easy to spot in the classroom, and are much more likely to be referred for an evaluation.

• Most questionnaires used to screen children for ADHD emphasize items that describe these boys, items about hyperactivity, impulsivity and defiant behavior.
• Only those few girls who are like these boys with ADHD are sent for assessment.
• The ratio of children referred to clinics for ADHD evaluations continues to be about four or five boys for each girl.

What we are beginning to realize is that there are many girls left undiagnosed because their symptoms look different.  One big difference is that girls are less rebellious, less defiant, and generally less “difficult” than boys.  Sadly, they lose out due to their good behavior.  It’s the squeaky wheel that gets oiled.  When a boy is causing frequent discipline problems, either at home or in the classroom, he will quickly be referred for treatment.  Parents and teachers alike want quick relief from their constant challenges.  Girls with ADHD are more compliant, and are not as easy to spot.  Often they are left to drift along from one school year to the next, never working up to their potential and suffering silently.

Edge: So you are saying girls have the same symptoms as boys, they are just less rebellious?

Dr. Patricia Quinn: Basically there are core symptoms of ADHD that are critical to the diagnosis.  These include problems with attention and hyperactivity/impulsivity.  In general, girls usually have more problems with attention.  However, girls can also have hyperactivity, but it manifests in different ways.  For example, girls with ADHD can be hyper-reactive rather than hyperactive.  They are more emotionally labile with tantrums, slamming doors, etc.  Instead, of running around and being motorically hyperactive and disruptive like boys with ADHD, they can be hyper-talkative.  In addition to problems with attention, girls have problems with disorganization and, after puberty, have greater incidence of coexisting depression and anxiety.

Edge: Is there any advice you can offer to high school or college age young women to help them work with their ADHD to be successful?

Dr. Patricia Quinn: To successfully deal with and manage both ADHD symptoms and their lives, girls with ADHD must accurately assess their strengths, as well as weaknesses, and develop a plan for going forward.  For many girls, this means facing and shouting down the shame, low self-regard and those self-defeating scripts they have in their heads that tell them how terrible they are.  In addition, they need to develop a plan, building on their strengths, to deal with time management, disorganization and the other issues that get in the way of their success.

High school is the perfect time to begin developing strategies to deal with their ADHD symptoms.  However, teens do not need to face these challenges alone.  Family members, teachers, therapists and ADHD coaches are there to help.  By enrolling the aid of a coach early on, the girl with ADHD can learn what works for her and what she needs to do to be successful in college and life beyond.

6/2010 Editor’s Note:  For more about ADHD and Girls, check out the latest interview with Dr. Quinn.