Welcome to One Small Step for Parents! Our goal is to help you find the right resources, support and information that is needed to make informed choices. Without the proper tools we, as parents and adults, don't know what will help our situation or what works and doesn't work. Here at One Small Step, we have done our best to take the guesswork and confusion out of the equation by supplying tools, resources and online support.

Monday, March 15, 2010

More ADHD Information Links

As promised, here are more information links for ADHD and its attendant disabilities. What information we have on this and other related disorders is growing daily, due to research and parental stories.
Some of these sites may seem familiar in their content, however, sometimes it is just a matter of connecting or the rewording of info that helps us to find the solutions we are been searching for.
This list of articles outline different approaches to treatment, as well as help for parents.

Articles

My ADHD/ODD/OCD Son Refuses to Respond to Discipline, and Consequences Don't Mean Anything - Please Help Me!
If I had been told that I would be the mother of a wonderful, smart, handsome boy, I would have been thrilled and excited with my new role.
If I had been told that this same wonderful, smart, handsome boy would also have ADHD/ODD, Anxiety Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, I would have run screaming for the hills!

ADHD Alternative Treatments: Physical Exercise
Everybody knows that exercise is good for our bodies, but did you know that it is also good for our minds? Recent studies have found that regular exercise can play a significant role in relieving the symptoms of ADHD, and many doctors now consider regular exercise to be an important part of any alternative treatment program for ADHD.

Help for Parents of ADHD Children
For most children attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a behavioral disorder that tends to lead children to act without thinking. Approximately 8 to 10 percent of school-aged children are affected by ADHD, and it typically affects boys more than girls. Typically, the parent, school, or day-care provider notices behaviors that are linked to ADHD such as:

Adult ADHD
ADHD in adults is a serious condition. Many people do not realize that adults can suffer from this disorder because they think people with ADHD have to be loud, hyperactive, tons of energy, impulsive people. However, the fact is that this is not just something kids suffer from, in fact, it is not like kids that have ADHD just grow out of it. This is not just a phase, and often times the symptoms of ADHD get worse in adults than it was for kids.

ADHD Alternative Treatments: Sleep
Everybody knows that a bad night's sleep is likely to leave you moody, irritable, and bouncing between exhaustion and hyperactivity the next day. What is less well known is the fact that many of the symptoms of sleep deprivation are very similar to the symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

ADHD Alternative Treatments: Nature Therapy
There are a number of natural and behavioral treatments for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
One treatment that has been receiving a lot of attention in recent years is "nature therapy." Nature therapy is simply the use of natural settings and outdoor activities in treating a variety of mental disorders, including ADHD and ADD.

ADD/ADHD & Drug Free Treatment Options
When having a discussion about ADHD or ADD treatment, its important to understand what defines these ailments. Living with ADD means that your brain can't correctly control attention, making it hard to resist impulses and complete monotonous tasks. About one quarter of children with ADD, or attention deficit disorder, also have restlessness leading to ADHD. Even a seemingly calm child can still be diagnosed with attention deficit issues.

Adult ADHD
(a different article from the previous link)
Many only associate ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) with children, but did  you know that a large percentage of individuals who experience symptoms as a child will find that they are carried well into adulthood? Sometimes even while their old symptoms start to decline, new symptoms will begin to appear that are primarily dominant in adult ADHD.

ADHD Medication Guide

In general, side effects of the stimulants most commonly found in ADHD drugs can include a decreased appetite, headaches, stomachaches, trouble getting to sleep, jitteriness, and social withdrawal. Other side effects which may be an early indicator that the dosage is too high (or that the individual is overly-sensitive to the medicine) include becoming overly focused or even appearing to be more dull/sedative than usual.

ADHD Information Links

There is a lot of information on the web about ADHD and its attendant disabilities. When I was looking for help it seemed nearly impossible to find a website or blog that fit my circumstances, and the amount of different websites and articles was overwhelming.
While I know that being informed is crucial to helping your child, being overwhelmed by the glut of information all over the web isn't going to do much for your perseverance!
My aim for this blog is to gather as many articles, websites and resources as possible in one area.

So, to help you in your search for information, I am providing links to as many relevant sites as I can. If you happen to know of any that I have missed (and this will be an ongoing posting as I find more,) please email me and I will include your link in this post.

I hope these prove helpful to you, I know many of them helped me.

ADHD Articles on HubPages

Living With an ADHD/ODD Child

If you are viewing this, you might be attracted by the idyllic picture of my son and me. I have to admit, we do portray a warm, loving family unit, but looks can be deceiving. We only achieve familial bliss half the time. The other half of the time is spent arguing, cajoling, manipulating, yelling, (yes yelling) slamming doors, growling...well you get the picture.

My Son's Elementary Education - Finding the Right School
In my previous post, I introduced you to my son, who has ADHD, ODD, Anxiety Disorder, and some Post Traumatic Stress. (Believe me that's a lot for a child to handle, never mind the parents.)

How To Cope With Your Child's ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder)
This is for the parents who live with this disability, day in, and day out. If they are lucky, maybe they catch a break on the weekend, (depending on whether you are a single parent) if not, then unless a good friend, family member or paid respite worker steps in and shoulders some of the responsibility, there is no break. 

ADHD/ADD And Their Co-disorders

As a parent, teacher, caregiver of a child with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) we know the arduous task of caring for, raising, and teaching them. 

Symptoms of ADD and ADHD

Because anyone can display the following symptoms at one time or another, especially children, the criteria for diagnosing ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is very specific. 

The Truth About Over Medicating ADHD Children

This is likely the most controversial topic when it comes to the ADD/ADHD subject. So what's the controversy over medicating children with ADD or ADHD?

Testing for ADHD

 There is no single medical, neurological, or attentional test that can reliably identify ADHD. But, by monitoring patterns of behavior , and taking a series of tests can help t identify this mental disorder. The particular combination of tests selected to test you for ADHD will depend on your clinician, but will likely include assessments of personality and problem solving styles, current fears and concerns, and intellectual functioning.