I walked around the house today with a role of scotch tape and brightly colored notes. It is the latest countermeasure to jog the memories of the ADHD and FAS children in the house. Living with several children who require constant reminders to stay on task or even to begin a task can wear a person down after 14 years of foster care and adoption. Yes, we all go through training in dealing with special needs adopted children. However, I am not sure that we are ever completely prepared for the reality of 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for years and years.

In... more

This is kinda cool – Ty Pennington, host of Extreme Makeover is going to host ADHD Experts On Call, a one-day event sponsored by Shire. Pennington will host the live one-hour webcast from 12:00-1:00 pm next Wednesday, September 19. The rest of the day (8 am to midnight) a toll-free number is available for talking with “ADHD Experts”.

Keep in mind that Shire is a pharmaceutical company, hence the ADHD “solutions” will likely include medications. Shire manufactures Adderall and Daytrana, including “the patch” –... more

Children with ADHD or learning differences can be easily distracted, especially when completing task that they consider boring, like school. Children who intend to graduate or live an independent life must learn their core subjects. How can they learn if their ADHD prevents them from completing their homework?

Here are some of the things we have done to help our children with ADHD and FAS concentrate. We set the kitchen timer, this sounds simple and... more

Lane signed up for his first online college class and it started on Tuesday. He seems to have been in a state of confusion ever since. He kept signing onto the blackboard and not seeing any assignments. Then he would tell me that he didn’t have any assignments and log off. Finally, yesterday I told him that I needed to look at it.

When I followed some logical links, I found the syllabus, the class agenda, and the assignments. I showed him where they were located and told him to get started, assuming all was well. His next excuse, he didn’t know how to do the assignments... more

The real cost of having a child with ADHD doesn’t have anything to do with the doctor’s appointments or trying various ADHD medications and alternatives. It has to do with the damage to your home and possessions from your child’s inability to sustain attention. I’m not implying that the ADHD child is naughty, just careless.

Our son is only 14, but the costs are beginning to rise. He will take driver’s training this month, and then I imagine he can begin destroying automobiles. Actually, he is an excellent driver. He drives the tractor, the backhoe, and... more

As odd as it sounds, doctors and researchers are discovering that young children diagnosed with ADHD who also have sleep problems (likely brought on by not being able to breathe correctly while sleeping, due to enlarged tonsils) can benefit from tonsillectomies. A study out of the University of Michigan showed that 50% of the children with ADHD and sleep-disordered breathing in their study improved to the point where they no longer had ADHD.

This article... more

MRI scans and DNA research revealed that children with the version of the dopamine D4 receptor gene, 7-repeat variant, with ADHD started out with the thinnest cortex areas of the brain. This area of the brain is important for controlling attention (right orbitofrontal and posterior parieto-occipital). However, 3-D MRI scans revealed that teenagers with this variant and ADHD ended up with normal thickness in the areas on the right side of the brain’s outer mantle, or cortex, resulting in clinical improvement by age 16.... more

Our son, Lane, just returned from an excited week of tracking wolves in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on the North County Trail. Sometimes, because of his ADHD, organized events can be frustrating for him. He sees himself as a capable and intelligent individual with the right to express his opinion and... more

Do you know a person who catches hummingbirds? My son with ADHD has caught two hummingbirds in the last week. Yet he can barely sit through school. Like so many children with ADHD, he seems to have ants in his pants and a chatterbox that rarely quits.

However, his ADHD doesn’t seem to get in the way of doing what he really loves. What he really loves is hunting, fishing, searching for snakes and other critters, and just being outside. In fact, he has displayed incredible patience waiting hours for a fish to bite or a deer... more

All week this week I’ve been dropping Kay off very early in the morning for her 36-hour Driver’s Ed course. Kay turned 16 in May, but won’t have had her learner’s permit the required 12 months until mid-July. At that time she can make an appointment and take her exam for her driver’s license.

The procedure is much more stringent than when I was 16. We live in a major metropolitan area in a state that has (thankfully) decided to put some restrictions and requirements on learning to drive. The course she’s taking is now mandated by law (or at least part of... more