Ready for the New School Year?

One of the best ideas for getting back into the school groove is to stay mentally sharp, even outside of school.  If you haven’t already, use these last days of summer to read, access a local library, engage in a science project at home or visit a museum for a fun history lesson.  Did you know that kids who don’t write during the summer have to relearn to write (and spell) when school starts? Take some time for family activities that can double as practice for handwriting and spelling. Here are a few ideas:

• Together, write a few sentences about what you’ve done that day or week.
• Write letters to friends or relatives
• Encourage kids to write thank you notes
• Suggest your child keep a journal

Get your child into the back-to-school routine. During the summer, staying up late and sleeping in are the norm. But as the start of school draws near, our kids NEED to find that routine. 

Start making the shift three weeks before the first day of school.  Start going to bed 15 minutes earlier, and then get up 15 minutes earlier in the morning.  When school is two weeks away, have your child go to bed 30 minutes earlier at night and get up thirty minutes earlier in the morning. When your child is about to start school in a week, have him go to bed an hour earlier at night and get up an hour earlier in the morning.  In time, your child will be less resistant to the early morning wake-up calls to get ready for school.

In addition, start moving the morning prep work to the evenings.  Before bed work together to select clothing, including shoes and socks, and have them laid out the night before. By the time school starts it has become part of the bedtime process.  Hair accessories, backpacks zipped and ready, and lunches made will help to reduce chaos and will minimize lost items in the harried morning routine.

Organize your family’s time. As appointments and daily schedules for the year form, take note of them and write them down. Use brightly colored sticky notes, or different colored markers for different family members.  Make it fun!  Pull out the stickers! Be sure to keep it posted in a prominent place.  Then, make a habit of checking it twice a day – in the morning and at night. Teach this habit to all of your family members.

Emphasize the positive. Kids pick up on your attitude. Identify what excites your child and focus on that. Talk to each other about the school year coming up, all of the exciting things and even some of the scary things. Encourage. Encourage. Encourage. Remind your child that you are there to help whenever help is needed (be sure to say this... don’t assume they already know). It is easier to handle stress from outside sources – like school – when you know someone is on your side.

Adapted by Denise Boline, Business Manager

Original: Laura Oliver of Aurora Health Care

Knock Out Avoidance…with a One-Two Punch

by Jen Zobel Bieber

The challenge:  How to do the things we avoid.

One strategy: Consider the Combination Approach.  Pair the loathsome task with a pleasant or neutral undertaking you do every day.

This tip came by way of a dental hygienist who recommends flossing in the shower.  She has found that patients who consistently forget or resist flossing by the sink are more likely to carry through with it in the comfort of a warm shower. 

Over time, once the mind forms an association, the neutral or pleasant task triggers us to remember to do the pesky task, too. 

Using the Combination Approach, one of my clients now associates boiling water with sorting the mail.  Whenever she puts water on the stove to boil for dinner, she sorts the mail.  By the time the pasta is al dente, the junk mail has been tossed.

Can you think of something that you wish you could get in the habit of doing, but just can’t seem to do with any consistency?  The Combination Approach is worth a shot.  To make the strategy work even better, keep reminders of the association close at hand.  For instance, keep dental floss in the shower by the shampoo.  Keep the vitamins you resist taking next to your morning coffee mugs.  Keep the book you want to read in the bathroom.  Keep your iPad on top of the treadmill that you wished you used more. 

Another client who struggled with starting a morning exercise routine now keeps his running shoes by the dog’s leash.  It took him a week to begin to associate taking the dog out with fitting in his own 15-minute run around the block. 

Of course, it takes initial consistency for this strategy to work.  We’re all too familiar with experiencing two or three days of good results followed by a return to the same old patterns.  With the Combination Approach, it will likely take several weeks of repetition for the mind to form a lasting association and for a new, useful habit to take hold.  That’s where a personal coach (or friend, co-worker, or family member) comes in handy, providing a means to frequently check-in, share progress, retool what isn’t working, and celebrate success.

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Jen Zobel Bieber is a certified personal coach who specializes in working with adults with ADD/ADHD.  She helps clients achieve long-held personal and professional goals while managing the practical nuts & bolts of everyday.  Learn more about Jen at her Hallowell Profile or her personal site.

Developing Habits

by Christine Robinson

Did you know that it takes at least 7 weeks to effectively form a habit in an adult?  When an activity becomes habitual it usually requires less of our memory and effort.  Habits must work with your lifestyle and your personal body clock.  If you are mentally exhausted after a long day at work, it probably would not be best to pay your monthly bills at 9 pm.  However, if you are a "morning person" it may be better to work tasks into your schedule like this at 7 am.  We can work together to make a daily, weekly and monthly schedule that makes sense for you.

ADD stress can often be self-induced i.e. misplacing keys or cellphone, forgetting to pay "that bill," or missing an important meeting.  Forming habits can stop the chaos!

Forming Habits = Less Stress + Being More Effective

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Christine Robinson, M.Ed. is a certified ADHD Coach and Educational Consultant at the Hallowell Center NYC.  Christine received her Bachelor's Degree from Clark University in both Psychology and English and her Master's Degree in Education from Fitchburg State University. She is a certified teacher who also has over 20 years of sales and management experience and is a certified Educational Consultant. Christine focuses on coaching teens and adults with organizational and time management challenges along with those making business or personal transitions who are seeking optimal performance in their lives. She has helped many families navigate the IEP process through Special Education to seek appropriate services and school placement and also performs classroom observations.

 

Parenting Wheel of Life

by Cindy Goldrich, M.Ed

As parent, there are many different roles you play in your children’s lives.  The Parenting Wheel of Life is a straightforward and easy to use tool to help you explore the concept of “balance” in your life.  How satisfied are you with your success with each role you play?

Below are two samples of Wheels that represent some of the different aspects of parenting.  Complete the wheel to discover what areas of your parenting you feel successful in and what areas you want to enhance for your whole family’s balance.

You can look at either one and rank your level of satisfaction with each life area by drawing a line from the center, which represents NOT SATISFIED, to the outer edge, which represents VERY SATISFIED.  Feel free to change or add to these to reflect your life’s concerns

The new perimeter represents your Wheel of Life.

How Bumpy is Your Ride?

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Cindy Goldrich is a Certified ADHD Coach specializing in parenting children and teens with ADHD.  She received her Master’s in Education in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University, Teachers College.  She received her ADHD Coach Certification from the Institute for the Advancement of AD/HD Coaching.  Additionally she is a Certified Mentor for Think:Kids, formally The Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) Institute dedicated to understanding and helping challenging children and adolescents.  

Prodigy or Pathology?

by Steven Geanopulos, DC

The traits many of us have that may be interpreted as ADHD can be the very same traits that give us some of the most successful and creative people in society. There is no shortage of examples of those with ADHD who have succeeded at the highest levels, Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Michael Jordan, Mozart, Einstein, Bill Gates to name a few. These are examples where the traits of ADHD found in a healthy body and mind can give us a prodigy.

All too often however, when those very same traits are found in a not so healthy body and mind or when there is a specific health problem, we may see where ADHD traits can lead to pathology. This is happening at an alarming rate for many reasons. We can safely say that the world has, over the last 30 years, dramatically changed and continues to do so in a way that makes having ADHD traits more and more difficult to deal with and the likelihood of expressing pathology greater and greater. 

There are many health problems that can give us the negative signs and symptoms of ADHD. They include conditions that can be traced to genetics, health problems with mom while in utero (ie. Thyroid disorders), undiagnosed birth trauma, concussion, repeated mild concussions experienced in many of our most common sports, dysglycemia (metabolic syndrome, pre-diabetes, diabetes), PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), chemical exposure, undiagnosed food sensitivities and autoimmunity, psychiatric disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, OCD, to name just a few.

If it is discovered that one of the above mentioned health conditions are present it could dramatically impact symptoms you may be feeling related to ADHD and may certainly impact your response to treatment. If you are treating ADHD only and not addressing conditions that may be causing the problems then you are only treating the symptoms.

Only a comprehensive wellness assessment and exam that looks at your physical chemical and mental health and history can reveal many of the above mentioned concerns. Fortunately many of them listed can be addressed with a natural approach so that we may reduce our dependence on medication or eliminate it altogether. 

The next several posts will address these concerns. The next post will focus on Thyroid health and ADHD.

College Support Group

College... Take 2?

A Support Group for College-age Young Adults struggling with school

Facilitated by Jane Burbank, LCSW-R

• How can I feel more independent when I have to "depend" on my pants?
• I feel, sad, anxious, isolated. and lonely - how do I begin to make new friends?
• How do I deal with everyone else's expectations of what I should do with the rest of my life when I don't have a clue myself?

Mondays from 12:30 to 2

Fee: $150* 

* sliding fee scale available

Coaching for 21st Century Teens

Coaching for 21^st Century Teens

Christina Young, M.Ed

Teen and Tween Coach

21^st century teens navigate a uniquely challenging world.  Teens face the ever increasing pressures of academic achievement, the widespread impact and influence of media, and social networks that stream 24-7. These pressures contribute to high levels of teen anxiety, depression, and burn-out. They can make it even more challenging to learn how to implement effective accommodations for learning differences and ADHD. 

Having literal and figurative space to feel quiet and grounded is essential for higher level thinking that is reflective, creative, and productive.  Yet, 21^st century teens experience the many important transitions from middle school through college amidst the constant chatter of academic and social competition.  21^st century teens have had access to mobile technology their entire lives. At its best, that technology provides access to global information and ideas.  At its worst, it reinforces every negative thought and fear.

Teens strive for independence at the same time that they are faced with increased academic, social, and emotional demands.  That means parents with the best of intentions often have a hard time connecting with their teen when it may be most needed.  Working with a personal coach allows for objective, supportive feedback that holds teens accountable for their actions. If frequent fights over scheduling and completing tasks disrupt your home, working with a coach can help both your teen and your parent-teen relationship. 

Just as an athletic coach helps teens develop the physical and mental fitness to compete at their optimal performance, a personal coach helps teens develop the self-awareness, confidence, and self-esteem to set and achieve meaningful goals, internalize organization and motivation, and make healthy personal and social decisions.

As a teen coach, I work to provide the space to discuss the challenges teens face, create an action plan, and increase communication within the family. In the absence of such a space, teens often turn to peers or the media to inform their decisions.

Parents can empower their teens and strengthen their parent-teen relationship by thoughtfully engaging in coaching conversations at home using the following tips:

• Share your concerns with your teen without assumptions or judgment.  Ask you teen how they  cope with the challenges they faces every day.
• Empathize with the pressure your teen faces.  Remain clear about your expectations regarding personal and social decisions without judging peers who have made decisions you believe are unhealthy and/or unsafe.  Ask your teen how they could respond to those pressures in a healthy/safe way.
• Listen to your teen. Give them the space to talk through a challenge and potential actions without giving unsolicited advice. Instead of evaluating their proposed actions, ask, “How do you think that will go?”
• Try again. These conversations are challenging and require thoughtful reflection from both parent and teen.  Focus on short, intentional conversations and follow up another time.