1. The brain has plasticity which means that the brain is constantly being rewired, and exercise can help improve the wiring.
2. Exercise can improve our potential to process information.
3. A 2007 study in Germany found that people can learn vocabulary words 20% faster after exercise.
4. Exercise can improve attention by increasing important brain chemicals and Dr. Ratey recommends it for anyone with ADHD.

Convinced that exercise can help with your ADHD symptoms?  If not, PLEASE go read more about Dr. Ratey’s work and the impact of exercise on our brains.  If you are convinced, how will you incorporate exercise into your daily life?  As adults we talk a lot about “kids these days” and their lack of exercise.  Unfortunately, it isn’t just kids though – we as adults have too much screen time as well.  By exercising just 30 minutes per day, 4 days per week, we can make a positive difference in our brains.

Here are some ideas to get you started with your exercise:

• Go for a 30-minute walk – break it into two 15-minute blocks to get started
• Run for one mile – walk for part it if needed!
• Take a yoga class
• Attend a dance class – imagine the focus you could develop taking ballet!
• Check out the martial arts
• Ride a stationery or regular bike
• Play soccer or basketball with the kids

What do you think?  How will you work exercise into your routine?

Okay, I’m not able to change the clocks, but by implementing some of the tips below, you can create more productive hours in your day.

Plan

Start by planning your day. If you know what you need to accomplish and identify when you can accomplish it, you increase your odds of getting it done. Don’t feel like you have time to plan?  Start with 5 minutes for your daily planning. Even just a small amount of planning can really help.

Track Work Time

After you plan your day, estimate how much time each task will take.  This is a great double-check on your planning. If you have planned 16 hours worth of activities into your workday, chances are, you cannot get it all done.  No one could!  It is a sign that you need to prioritize what gets done and take a few things off the list.

The most powerful part can be when you go back at the end of each task and note how much time each one actually took you to complete. You can develop more accuracy in your plan and become more realistic in the future.

Prioritized “To Do” List

Use a prioritized “to do” list instead of giving every activity equal weight. During your weekly planning time, take a minute to assign a priority to each task. This will help to ensure you don’t waste time on low priority tasks

Limit your Time Spent on Email

Email uses a lot of time.  To control the amount of time you spend, consider checking your email only a few times each day. If you check your mail each time you get a new message, you time transitioning between your current task and checking that email. You’ll spend less time on email if you check it in chunks of time.  I do this and spend about 50% less time on email than previously.

What do you think?  Can you add more productive hours to your day?

For some additional help, listen to my radio show on Holiday Stress…

PS – Remember to leave your comments over at the Attention Deficit Disorder Association!

Students

Self advocacy for ADHD can begin in elementary school, but it will look different as students progress through school, with their needs and with their own comfort level.  It is important to remember that while your child is a minor, you need to be their main advocate and self advocacy does not change that role for parents in my view.

Elementary School

If your child is in elementary school, you can encourage self advocacy by having them talk to their teachers about smaller issues or needs.  For example, if your child is confused about a new math concept, start by having your child talk to his teacher about it instead of emailing the teacher right away.  Your child might forget to ask the teacher.  If you are concerned that this might happen, you could call or email the teacher to let him know that your child will be asking him a question the next day.  I have found that teachers appreciate this approach and can help to prompt the child .

Middle School

When your child reaches middle school or junior high, there are more ways that you can build on the self advocacy skills you started building in elementary school.

• If your child uses email, she can send an email to her teacher instead of it coming from you.  Encourage her to review the emails with you before sending them so you can discuss the best way to communicate her needs.
• Talk to your child before an IEP or 504 meeting.  Review what is currently being provided or requested and find out what he would like to see added or even deleted.  Perhaps something that was previously put in place does not seem necessary any more.  You still make the final decisions here, but involving your child in these discussions can be empowering.
• Some experts recommend having your child attend the actual IEP or 504 meeting.  I am hoping to interview someone for a future article on this topic so stay tuned.

High School

The high school years are, of course, a significant transition time for teens.  This is true for self advocacy with ADHD as well.  Continue helping your child to build on the self advocacy skills from elementary and middle school.  If your teen is nervous to talk with adults about her interests and needs, it will be helpful to have these conversations before reaching college.  Practicing these conversations earlier in life can improve both skill and confidence going forward.

• Guidance counselors can be great resources for your student to talk with about their needs.  The counselors may even be able to suggest ways of working with certain teachers.
• Coaches often work with teens to help them role play different ways to self advocate with teachers, counselors and even their own parents.  This practice can be valuable for students especially if the concept of self advocacy is new to them.
• If your child is planning to attend college, visit the disability services office during your campus visits.

College Students

In college, students have less outside structure and less parental involvement than they did in high school.  While this is a natural progression, it is also a legal one since college students are typically no longer minors.

• The first step that college students can take is to contact the disability services office on their campus.  If they aren’t sure how to contact the office at their school, they can do an internet search for “disability services” and the name of their school.
• Your child can talk to professors and teaching assistants about the support they need.  Even with accommodations from the disability services office, conversation with professors and teaching assistants will ensure a common understanding among everyone.
• Encourage your child to learn about their personal learning style and how they can maximize your strengths in school.

Adults

Adults with ADHD also need to self advocate for themselves.  I am not talking about whether you decide to disclose an ADHD diagnosis to an employer.  That is a highly personal decision that is dependent on many different factors including your personal preferences, your employer and your supervisor.  With self advocacy, I encourage adults with ADHD to clearly identify specific needs that they want to ensure are met in the course of their work.

• One aspect of self advocacy for adults is to choose work that is interesting to them and that keeps them motivated.
• Another is to identify the supports that they need to be successful in their work.  If regular check-ins with your supervisor will be useful for you, then ask her if you can schedule regular meetings.  They can be as short as 15 minutes and can help you stay on track with priorities.
• When you have identified something that you would like to implement at work, think through how you would implement it and how you can approach your supervisor about it.  Chances are that you can tie the idea to higher productivity and that will make it a win win for you and your employer.

What’s Next?

I have only scratched the surface of self advocacy with this article, but I hope I have prompted you to start generating your own ideas about how you can teach self advocacy to your student and how you can implement it for yourself.

How do you self advocate if you have ADHD?  Share your ideas here to help others.

Thanks!

Last week, I talked about how to Use Your Strengths to Manage ADHD.  If you have not read that article yet, please read it before reading this one.  Keep your strengths in mind while doing the sometimes difficult work of considering all of your challenges.

Challenges

Identifying your ADHD challenges can help you create the awareness that you need to set effective goals that will help you move forward.  A few things probably come right to mind, and I would encourage you to explore your challenges more to gain additional insight.  What we think of on the surface may not give us the insight we seek.  Brainstorming can be a productive way to do the exploring.  A key to brainstorming and exploring your challenges will be to not stop and evaluate or judge your challenges.  Grab a piece of paper and brainstorm your answers to the questions below.

• In what areas of your life do you have challenges that are related to ADHD? Be specific.
• What can you improve on related to your ADHD or related challenges?
• What challenges are the highest priority for you?
• Think about how these challenges are related to ADHD and Executive Function.  I recommend the sites of Dr. Russell Barkley and Dr. Thomas E. Brown for more research here.  How can you reframe your challenges to tie them to the executive functions discussed on these sites?

Review your challenges.  What insight does this brainstorming list provide you?  How can you use it to prioritize your goals?  Share your feedback and questions here.

For simple ways to organize your disorganized desk under control, follow these tips:

Paperwork System

• Develop a system for any paperwork you touch.
• I like using the categories of File, Trash, Do and Delegate.  If you act on each of these categories as soon as you handle a paper, less of the paperwork will pile up in the future.
• Keep a stack of file folders and a pen available so you can easily file papers.
• Figure out how much time you really need to spend on your “Do” category.  Are there low priority items that can actually move to the trash?
• Remember, delegating does not mean that you need to manage people.  Delegating work to the right person saves everyone time in the long run.  Delegate at home too – even with young kids.

Just 10 Minutes

• Do anything for just 10 minutes.  Set a timer and STOP organizing when the timer buzzes.  This can help control the overwhelm.  Keep this up for 6 days in a row and you will have an hour of progress!
• Do the hardest thing first.  Remember, you will only be doing it for 10 minutes!

Start Small

• Pick one small step to take this week.  Taking regular small steps will help you make continuous progress.  Do not expect perfection on day or week one!

Share your ideas with us here – what are you going to do this week to get your disorganized desk under control?