College and ADHD

College and ADHD: If you or a student you know has ADHD, his or her ability to get work done, done well and on time could be compromised. Success in college is more about getting work done, done well and on time (“executive function skills and routines”) than IQ!

Summer CollegeCore Coaching prepares students’ executive function skills and routines in advance to secure a happier, healthier and more accomplished academic year.

CollegeCORE Coaching (by phone, Skype or in person) helps high school upperclassmen and college students conquer the most common problems associated with ADHD or Executive Dysfunction. Rebecca provides effective, practical and non-medication solutions for getting things done well and on time. She has worked with ADHD students and entrepreneurs for over 20 years. Read more at www.MindfulCommunication.com. Rebecca’s coaching and training approach builds the core skills and routines that enable success in school and greater marketability for the workplace.

CollegeCORE students will learn:

  • core skills and routines for managing anxiety and improving focus, follow through and communication
  • to become more independent, and how to be the CEO of YOU, even if you don’t plan to be an entrepreneur
  • basic organizational skills
  • problem-solving skills
  • note-taking skills
  • more efficient study and test-taking skills
  • why good sleep is a major ally for the ADHD student, sleep’s powerful role in learning and ways to improve sleep quality
  • how exercise regimen best promotes clearer thinking and improved productivity
  • tips to apply Rebecca’s 80/20 approach for managing procrastination
  • how to self-advocate – a competitive life skill.

How CollegeCore Coaching works:

The process begins with a complimentary 15-20 minute inquiry call with Rebecca. Call to set up that inquiry session (978) 287-0810 or (978) 255-1817. This is a brief discussion to answer questions about the program. This discussion helps to determine whether the CollegeCore coaching approach is appropriate for the student.

A 90 minute meeting (in person, Skype or phone) follows to get background information, identify personal strengths and establish personal objectives,  deadlines (if imposed) for improvement, and to determine best approaches. Fee: $325.00

Based on that meeting an action plan is created and the frequency of coaching sessions is determined. The goal is to identify the best starting point(s) and select a couple small steps that are fairly easy to implement consistently. Our goal is  that these steps will yield some early and notable results. These new routines become habits. Minor adjustments are made along the way. For some, the compound effect will work best, for others a multi-target approach is better.

The process is customized to the student and his/her needs. Coaching sessions are $150/hour, $75/30 minutes. Sessions may be 1-3x a week; duration and frequency is determined by Rebecca and the student. While not mandatory, a spouse, partner or co-founder may also be involved, if desired. Progress is addressed at each session. As the gains become more consistent and the student more independent, the coaching sessions wind down. Consequently, check-in sessions are monthly or bi-monthly, then every six months or as needed.

To set up a CollegeCORE inquiry session or to make an appointment with Rebecca Shafir, Speech/language pathologist, voice coach, executive functioning coach and author, contact:

The Hallowell Center BostonMetroWest in Sudbury MA at (978) 287-0810 or her

West Newbury office (978) 255-1817 to schedule sessions in person or by phone or Skype.

How to Explain ADHD to a Child

How to Explain ADHD to a Child – If your child was just diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, it’s important to remember that ADHD isn’t a death sentence. In fact, it’s a condition that can bring incredible gifts.  Of course, you may worry that the diagnosis can make your child feel labeled or set apart from other kids. So it’s important to that you not let ADHD define your child.   

Don’t Let ADHD Define Your Child 

Having ADHD is like being left-handed; it’s only a part of who you are. Try to answer any questions your child has about ADHD, but keep the answers simple and brief. Some older children may want to read a book about ADHD, but they don’t need to become experts on ADHD – just experts on living their lives as fully and well as they can.

One of the most important things for the parents to do is to help that child feel good about who he or she is. You’ll need to search out and promote the positives – both about life and about your child – even as you deal with the all-too-obvious negatives. If your child feels good about who he is and about what life has to offer, he will do far better than if he does not.

“In my 30-plus years, I have learned that the moment of delivering the ADHD diagnosis ranks among the most crucial. It can determine the arc of a person’s life.” | In Dr. Ned Hallowell ADDitude article on “Your Brain is a Ferrari,” provides pointers for professionals and parents on how to explain ADHD to a child in a way that emphasizes strengths and builds confidence.  

Read all of Dr. Hallowell’s ADDitude articles on ADHD here. Dr. Hallowell is a member of ADDitude’s ADHD Specialist Panel.

 

“Recognition Responsive Euphoria,” or RRE

Over the past few years, Dr. William Dobson has helped multitudes of people of all ages who have ADHD by developing the concept of “rejection sensitive dysphoria,” or RSD.  The painful syndrome of feeling acute and profound dejection at even the slightest perceived insult or “dis” is common among those of us who have ADHD.

I’ve observed a sister syndrome of RSD in my 69 years of living with ADHD and my 38 years of treating the condition in children and adults.  This sister syndrome is, in my experience, even more common that RSD.  I call it:

“Recognition Responsive Euphoria,” or RRE.

Perhaps because people who have untreated ADHD are so accustomed to making mistakes and receiving criticism, they become positively giddy when they receive positive recognition.  The best way to get them charged up and motivated is to praise—legitimately, honestly—some element of a project they’re working on.  Compliment an outfit they’re wearing, or praise a proposal they’re developing or  an idea they’re hatching.

My friend, John Croyle, head of the home for abandoned children in Alabama called Big Oak Ranch, told me years ago that one of the best ways to instill hope in kids who have lost hope is to “be a dream maker, not a dream breaker.”  That’s all about providing recognition for whatever positive action a person might perform.  It helps everyone.  However, for people who have ADHD, it takes us to a whole new level.

Rife with Frustration versus Resilient and Spunky

The typical day of a person who has ADHD—of any age—if it is not treated is rife with frustration, rejection, and failure.  While it is also true that people with ADHD are remarkably resilient and spunky.  So one of the best ways to get them going in a good direction, in spite of all the negativity they have to contend with, is to find something positive in what they are doing and notice it.  Go for it.  You will quickly see eyes light up, and the person swing into action like a whirling dervish of positive energy.

I’ve written a lot of books.  But I couldn’t have written a single one of them without frequent doses of positive energy—recognition, encouragement, doses of keep on keepin’ on—to keep me going.  Thank God my wife, Sue, seems to have an endless store.

How to Get Encouragement and Recognition

First of all, make sure you find people who have lots encouragement and recognition to give.  They are precious.  Some people are notoriously stingy with it, as if it were a valuable coin not to be parted with.  True, it’s not to be given underserved, for then it loses all its power.  But neither should it be withheld until a person produces achievement worthy of a Nobel Prize.

If you have ADHD, and you find that you are low on motivation, energy, and are not working up to your potential, one reason may be that you are not getting enough recognition.  Once you find the right person or better still, the right people to give you that recognition, then you can tap into the tremendous power of Recognition Responsive Euphoria.

Remember if you need it, it does not mean you are weak.

I need it like crazy, and I am not weak.  Most people who achieve in creative fields need it like crazy, and they are not weak.  People with ADHD need it, and we are anything but weak.  People with ADHD are some of the strongest people in the world, emotionally, constitutionally, never-give-up-wise.

So know this about yourself and others with ADHD. Then plan how to tap into and get or give Recognition Responsive Euphoria!

If you would like to learn more, sign up for my Live ADDiTude Webinar with Dr. John Ratey on November 21, 2019.  We’ll discuss Recognition Responsive Euphoria (RRE), the sister syndrome of Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria which is characterized by soaring peaks of positivity and euphoria.  Learn more and register for FREE here!