Edge Foundation Blog

Do you know a high school student who is struggling?

Living with ADHD can be frustrating - for the students that have it and the adults who care about them. While every high school student is learning important skills that will help them be successful in school and life, the ADHD student has to work much harder to learn these same skills.

The added challenge of high school is that students are also moving away from accepting help from their parents, and may be embarrassed to let others know they are struggling with basic skills such as studying, remembering things or keeping track of time. Many times they mask these struggles with “poor attitude.” Added to the challenge are adults who see these behaviors as a failing of character–just not caring or just not trying hard enough–when there are actually fundamental neurological issues contributing to the problems.

Help is here!

At the Edge Foundation, we believe that coaching can mean the difference between success and failure for high school students with ADHD. An ADHD coach works with the student to help make the most of his or her strengths and overcome the challenges. An Edge Coach is not a doctor or teacher but rather a skilled specialist who works with your student to help your student learn and practice important skills that will last a lifetime. A coach gets to know each student’s individual strengths and finds ways to help your student succeed academically, socially, and in all areas of life.

After your student is matched with an Edge Coach, they set up weekly sessions to talk about how school and personal life is going. The coach helps the student find strategies to stay organized, utilize time well, and stay on track in class. The coach can help remind the student to make good choices and take care of him or herself emotionally and physically. ADHD coaches can also help students improve relationships with friends, peers, teachers, and family members.

The end result is a student who has increased capabilities, confidence and sense of self!

Sign up today!

Why not sign up today to get more information?  It doesn’t cost anything to check it out.

For students under 18 years of age, parents will participate in all phases of the application process. For students 18 years and older, it is expected that the student take the initiative for selecting his or her own coach and that the parents take a supportive but secondary role.

If you know a student who is struggling, an ADHD coach can make all the difference in the world. Pass the word. ADHD doesn’t have to be a disability that holds you back from living a fully accomplished and successful life.

Every week we post stories, information and tips about living with ADHD.  Most of them also talk about how an ADHD coach can help you acheive your full potential.  We thought this week that perhaps hearing from two students who have benefitted from having an ADHD coach might give you a different perspective on how an ADHD coach can really work.

The first student talks about how a coach helped him set an keep his goals.

audio interview 1

The second student shares how a coach helped her change the whole way she viewed herself.  She went from feeling like she was always a day late and a dollar short to a view of herself as a successful, competent person.

audio interview 2

We hope that after you hear these stories, you’ll feel inspired to sign up to talk to an Edge coach.  There’s no obligation.  But why not take the first step to finding out more today?  All you have to lose is your old self image.

One of the things that many ADHD publications advise at this time of year is to start the year off by letting your professors or teachers know about your 504 accommodations. Accommodations are alterations made in the classroom that students with a disability have the right to receive via a 504 plan.  Preferential seating and taking tests in smaller groups are often on the recommended accommodation list for ADHD students.

Getting accommodations can be helpful, but they don’t address the real issues of ADHD.  Let’s step back a minute and look at what makes a student successful.  Successful students usually have four main qualities that help them achieve their goals:

• Sticking with things even when the going gets tough (a.k.a. perseverance),
• Ability to delay gratification and focus on the big picture,
• Time management and organizational skills, and
• Striking the right balance between fun and work.

These qualities, which are also known as your brain’s executive functions, are actually the hallmarks of ADHD. Students with ADHD can’t depend on these skills because these are exactly the skills they are weakest in.  Getting more time on your tests isn’t going to help you with getting organized. And preferential seating won’t solve impulsivity or time management.

For most with ADHD the problem is not so much in knowing what to do, but in getting it done.  If you have ADHD and are reading this, it’s likely that you’ve already tried countless organizational systems, have been nagged-to-death by caring, but overprotective parents, and feel frustrated with yourself because you know what to do, you just can’t seem to follow through.

ADHD coaching works with your strengths to accommodate your weaknesses

There is growing evidence, both research and anecdotal, that coaching helps students learn to plan, prioritize, and persist (i.e. follow the plan). It helps students develop self determination and self confidence and reduces anxiety and feeling overwhelmed. Through being coached, students learn how to coach themselves, and actually strengthen their executive functioning skills - something that no other intervention does.

It’s not too late to get started with an Edge coach. Because many coaches work on the phone, you can “take your coach with you” wherever you go. Starting early in the school year is smart because it is surprisingly easy for students with ADHD to fall behind without even realizing it. Failing classes is a big waste of money and not a good way to start your college career.

Want to learn more?  Sign up to speak to an Edge coach today and see if you don’t find you are more on top of things than you ever dreamed possible.

Edge has set up an audio feedback line so you can tell us how we are doing.

Just call (214) 615-6505, enter extension 2908, and start talking. We are currently seeking stories to post on the Edge Foundation website. So if you have a story about how Edge or an Edge coach has helped you, please give us a call. Please understand that when you leave a message on the line, you are giving us permission to quote you. However, it’s just your voice on the line, and your name will not be attributed to your recording. Thanks for sharing your stories with Edge.

Going to college when you have ADHD is challenging.  It’s nice to see that people are starting to talk about it. Two recent articles, 18 Critical Factors For Successful Post-Secondary Transition by Joan Azarava, and Learning Disabilities: Stepping Up to the Challenge in the New York Times, both give good advice about how to make the move to living away from home and adapting to the rigors of a more challenging academic environment.

ADHD students don’t need tutors as much as they need coaches

What struck us at the Edge Foundation, however, is that neither article mentioned personal coaching.  High school students have built-in structure and accountability living under their parent’s watchful eye.  In the free-wheeling life of college, however, students face a set of very predictable challenges.  Challenges that going to the tutoring center or getting extended time on their tests will not address.

As Edge Foundation founding board member, Dr. Patricia Quinn points out,  ”While most colleges provide services for students with disabilities, these programs often are not a good match for students with ADHD. While some students with ADHD may need tutoring because they have gaps in their academic skills, or note takers because they have trouble listening in a large lecture, these services do not address the basic problems students with ADHD experience in forming routines and developing a schedule to keep up with their work.” Coaching Students with ADHD: Issues and Answers (Quinn, Ratey, and Maitland, 2000)

For most college students with ADHD the problems are not so much in knowing what to do, but in getting it done. As one student said, “I know how to plan. My problem is very simple; I just don’t follow my plans. I need help making sure that I do what I say I am going to do instead of procrastinating and getting sidetracked by other things.”

ADHD college survival skills are not taught in the learning center

Ms. Azarva rightfully points out the need for students to learn how to persevere, delay gratification, and set up organizational systems that work for them. “The sooner you work on these three things, the easier college will be.”

However, these are exactly the things students with ADHD are weakest in. These skills are not taught at the learning center. These skills are best taught by a personal coach who thoroughly understands ADHD.

Most colleges don’t offer personal coaches

There are over 4000 colleges and universities in the U.S. Of these, only a few dozen offer personal coaching to their students. Yet more and more are finding that personal coaching is the critical piece that’s been missing for their ADHD students. One Director of Student Services found that he and his staff were spending most of their time helping students with ADHD manage themselves and their academics. When he learned about the effectiveness of ADHD coaching techniques, he did his research, got a grant, and put his entire staff through training. That community college is one of the very few colleges or universities nationwide that provide personal coaching for their students with ADHD. If you work with an Edge Coach, your options of where to go to college and have access to coaching open up considerably.

Find a ADHD coach now, so you are ready to go in the fall

One of the nice things about Edge Coaches is they all work on the phone. This takes transportation right out of the equation. You can start working with your coach over the summer and, because you don’t meet in an office, you can “take your coach with you” when you go off to school. You get to your appointments just by picking up the phone, so there’s no commute and you can easily fit your appointments into your schedule. And, by virtue of a phone/email relationship, you stay in much closer touch with your coach than you would if you had to go to an office. This extra contact can make all the difference in being able to stay on top of things.

Think about getting started even before you leave for college. Those first few weeks are guaranteed to be overwhelming, and your coach can help you stay on track. The numbers show that in college it’s surprisingly easy for students with ADHD to fall behind. Getting your first term grades and finding you’ve tanked is a Christmas present no one wants to get. So, start thinking now about getting ready for the fall.  Look into getting an Edge Coach to help you keep it all together.

Dear Coach,
“Help!  I just got back from Spring Break and my project is due - I forgot all about it!”
Signed,  Cringing

Dear Cringing,

Well, hope you were having fun on Spring Break at least, because the time between now and when that project is due isn’t going to be any fun at all. You are just going to have to buckle down, put aside every extraneous activity, and just do it.

How an ADHD Coach can help

The issue here is not how can a coach help you deal with an emergency - like forgetting all about a major project until just before it’s due.  It is how a coach can help you avoid ending up in emergency situations in the first place. Wouldn’t that be nice!

One of the characteristics of ADHD is a tendency to shoot from the hip, or the “ready, fire, aim” syndrome. A coach works with you over time to develop better planning and self-management skills; skills that will help you manage your time and your things so you’re on top of your work and the rest of your life and not overwhelmed and behind all the time.

Getting back on track:

That being said, if you find yourself in a time pinch and are feeling overwhelmed, try this:

Assess your time:

• Get two 8.5×11 pieces of paper.
• Use the first page to sketch out a calendar for the upcoming days: columns for the days and rows for the hours. Mark them appropriately.
• Block out on your calendar plan all your classes and other necessary time commitments.
• Block out when you’ll be sleeping and eating.
• On the second page, list all the other things you have to get done.

Prioritize:

• Give the things that have big consequences for not getting them done the higher priority. Give the other things lower priority. You can even let them fall off the list for now.
• Break your project into smaller bits:
• Divide up the time that’s left on your calendar for the high priority things on your list. For a paper, for instance, block off a portion of the time to do/finish the research, a portion of the time to brainstorm and/or write a draft, and a portion of the time to produce the final draft and hand it in.
• If it looks like you have extra hours left on your calendar plan, look to the next higher priority tasks and start scheduling them until you run out of hours in the day.

Stick to your plan!

• Keep the plan with you 24/7. Put it in your agenda, or your flip phone.
• Keep checking your plan.  Stick to it to the best of your ability. If it’s 1:00 pm and your plan says you should be done with lunch and working on the draft, go work on the draft. Remember, it is an emergency plan to get you through a tough spot. One way or another, it will be over soon.

Then sign up for an Edge Coach

Once you’ve met your deadline, get yourself a coach. Your coach will help you plan better so that next time you won’t get into this pickle. By working with a coach, you can stay on top of your work and have fun too!

If you’ve recently received an ADHD diagnosis, you’ve probably spent a lot of time looking at web sites, books and videos to learn more about ADHD.   There is a lot of information, and misinformation, about ADHD on the web.  We’d like to help simplify that step in your journey by providing a list of top recommended books and videos in the field.

You may not be aware that the Edge Foundation board and advisory boad has consisted of some of the leading experts on ADHD (ex Nancy Ratey, Dr. Patricia Quinn and Dr. Ned Hallowell).  So you can trust that the resources we list are accurate and based on sound scientific evidence.

ADHD Coach can help sift through it all

One of the things an ADHD coach can help you with is sifting through all of the resources out there.  A good coach has read most of the books, received substantial training and keeps up with the latest therapeutic and scientific studies.    Sign-up today and a coach will contact you within the next business day to get started with your personal action plan.

ADHD Management by Russell Barkley

If you are interested viewing a long, but comprehensive, video about ADHD Management, check out this one.  Dr. Russell Barkley is one of the leading scientists studying ADHD today.  He is Professor of Psychiatry at Medical University of South Carolina and Suny Upstate Medical University and has written numerous books on the topic.

Ever wonder how ADHD coaching works?  We’ve put together these two videos to give you some insight into the ADHD coaching process.

ADHD Coaching FAQs

The first video answers some of the commonly asked questions about ADHD coaching.  If you still have questions we didn’t answer, please leave them in the comments section.  We want to hear from you!

ADHD Coaching Demonstration

The second video is a short demo of what a coaching session might look like. It gives you an idea of some of the topics you might cover with a coach each week.

Got a question you’d like to see answered? Leave it in the comments and let us know how we can help you keep your edge!

Over the past several months, we’ve been focusing on anxiety and ADHD.

In January we introduced the topic of ADHD and anxiety with a report of how common forms of anxiety are much more common in people who have ADHD than the general population.  We also gave you a list of physical and psychological symptoms associated with anxiety.    Last month, we outlined the 4 most common axiety disorders associated with ADHD.  Remember half (52%) of adults with ADHD will experience general anxiety disorder during their lifetimes.

This month we’ll teach you a few things you can do to control anxiety.  Of course we need to start by saying that if your anxiety feels overwhelming or gets worse over time, you should begin by seeking the help of a professional, who might possibly prescribe therapy and/or medication.  There are, however,  easy, everyday things you can do to help control anxiety without taking another pill - that you can start right now!

1. Exercise
2. Eat right
3. Get enough sleep
4. Practice relaxation

Exercise Exercise Exercise

If you’re a regular Edge Foundation subscriber, you’ll have seen our review of John Ratey’s book, Spark: the revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain.

In it Ratey explains that regular exercise alone can dramatically reduce symptoms of anxiety:

• Exercise releases neurochemicals that help you feel better (serotonin, the “feel good” neurochemical, and GABA, an important inhibitory neurochemical that basically gives the command to “stand down”. )
• Exercise helps relax your body, reducing the resting tension of your muscles and thus interrupting the anxiety feedback loop to your brain.
• Exercise teaches you that you have control over the symptoms of racing heart, sweating, and elevated breathing. That feeling this way physically is not the same thing as a panic attack.
• Exercise even helps you unlearn the habit of anxiety.

Diet

We are going to sound like your mother, but she was right.  Be sure to remember to eat regular meals.  You may be able to get by and skip a meal with a little help from caffeine or sugar, but did you know that both of these foods can mimic the sensation of an anxiety attack - and actually trigger one!

Sleep

Irregular sleep habits can actually increase your anxiety symptoms!  Stress and anxiety may cause the body to produce a “no sleep” signal in the brain that heightens arousal and makes sleep difficult. This alerting effect is a cause of more anxiety and may set in motion a cycle of sleeplessness and stress.

Sleep is such a big issue for many people with ADHD that we are planning a future post on the topic.  In the meantime, there is a lot of information on the web about sleep, sleep problems, and how to develop better sleep patterns. Here are a few places to start.

• http://www.sleepfoundation.org
• http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/understanding_sleep.htm
• http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih3/sleep/guide/info-sleep.htm

Relax Your Mind

Take a time out and pause to let your mind and body relax. When you are stressing, do something distracting and fun. Take a deep breath.  Or fill your mind with a challenging task like a Sudoku or crossword puzzle and you won’t have room to think about your anxiety

Relax Your Body

Relax your body and your mind will follow - we call this the relaxation response.   Relax your body and your

• heart rate decreases
• breathing becomes slower and deeper
• blood pressure drops or stabilizes
• muscles relax
• and your anxiety level decreases

Did we mention exercise?

Exercise can be a great way to release tension in your body.  There are non-strenuous ways to invite your body to relax as well.

• yoga
• medication
• relaxation excecises
• biofeedback
• and don’t forget to breathe.

Anxiety is a real and serious problem, but you don’t have to let it put you on the sidelines or eat you up inside.  It just takes self-awareness that your anxiety is getting the best of you and self-discipline to take steps every day to keep your anxiety at bay.  An ADHD coach can help you figure out which techniques are best for you and put a plan in place to help you stay on top of your anxiety.

Have you found any of these everyday habits have helped your anxiety levels?  Please share your experience in the comments.  We’d love to hear from you.

Editor’s note:  This week we are introducing a new column, Stories from the Edge:  Real stories about how an ADHD coach helps.  Today’s post is written by Kelsey Peterson, a junior at Parson’s School of Design.

I knew from a young age that I had a learning disability.  Growing up with a dad who also had a learning disability was the best wish I could have asked for.  Ever since I was diagnosed, my dad stepped in and took control of getting me the best help he could to help me overcome my disability and stay on track with my classmates. 

My friends have always been very important to me.

Staying in my class with my friends was a huge motivation.  In order to not be held back in grade school, my dad helped me get outside tutoring and inside school assistance.  I knew I had to work twice as hard as my friends in school, but it was worth it to be able to sit in class with them. 

It was hard getting constantly tested and going to tutoring every day after school.  When I graduated from grade school I had to go to a special school for children with dyslexia.  I wasn’t happy about it because all my friends went to another school which I didn’t get accepted to. 

For a year at the dyslexia school I worked hard to be the best in my class and I met with my tutor every day.  At the end of that year I applied to Explorer West Middle School (where my friends were) and got accepted!  My hard work paid off, but it wasn’t over…

I still had to work extra hard to stay in 7th grade with my friends.  High school was the same but I got through with my friends.  When I got accepted to Parsons the New School of Design in New York City for college, I knew the hard work wouldn’t stop. 

My dad set me up with an ADHD coach to help me stay on track.

My coach helped me from getting  overwhelmed by the new school, the new city and the struggles that I was about to encounter.  With my ADHD coach I learned time management -  so I could get all my homework done and have fun with my friends.  My coach helped me plan my days and long term projects so they weren’t so daunting.  My freshman year of college I got all A’s and made friends for life.

Why I love the Edge Foundation.

When my dad was thinking about starting a new project and asked me for some suggestions, I thought back on all he had done for me.  From day one of my diagnoses he knew what to do -  he found the best help for me and helped me every step of the way without question.  I told him that I didn’t think all parents were as good as he was with dealing with children with disabilities and he should help other kids fulfill their full potentials.  He went on to found the Edge Foundation.

Looking ahead… Dyslexia and ADHD are not obstacles!

Now I’m a junior at Parsons and I’m majoring in architecture.  I love school and work with my coach to manage and overcome the struggles I still deal with as a person with dyslexia and ADD.  I plan to share some of what I’ve learned with you, so that you can see you aren’t working hard alone, and it does pay off!