Attention Deficit Weblog

Can a weblog actually help someone with A.D.D./A.D.H.D.?

Sunday, February 15, 2004

Out of the Fog: Treatment Options and Coping Strategies for Adult Attention Deficit Disorders by Suzanne Kevin/Levert Murphy
Says Booklist,

"...chief of the adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, aided by medical writer... discusses the recent recognition of attention deficit disorder as a problem that is not outgrown in adolescence, and they cogently summarize the stumbling blocks this affliction creates in the pursuit of a career or attainment of a healthy family life."

5:49:10 PM

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WebloggingForAttentionDeficitDisorder.com

The title of this page is inspired by my friend Amy's book and website, Yoga for Depression, which is not intended to tell you how to use yoga to make yourself depressed. It may even get me back doing yoga... as soon as I conquer my A.D.D. enough to clear the requisite floorspace.

However, I've been wondering whether this weblog of mine, even if it doesn't help me get things done, could turn out to be a guide showing how spending time in the "blogosphere" (or on the Web in general) is a good way to get A.D.D. if you want it! Maybe I can get a book contract out of this blog, just like Julie did with hers!

But who would want to get A.D.D.? Here's a well-known expert explaining what he calls

The positive aspects of ADD.

(Yes, my tongue is firmly planted "in cheek." See the last bullet on Dr. Hallowell's list. Hmm. In fact, his books are full of great lists of strategies for coping with A.D.D. Maybe I could blog about each of those numbered strategies the way Julie blogged about her cooking experiences!)

5:20:44 PM

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Limiting blog time

Just adding a few comments to the bookmark list below turned into a couple of hours online. That has convinced me that I need to set a timer next to the computer (or on the screen) to remind me to limit my "write in the ADD blog" efforts to a set 30 minutes so that it doesn't turn into hours of surfing.
But forcing myself to put something in this blog every day might be a good experiment, instead of visiting it on a hit-or-miss basis like most of my other activities.
I did download a couple of relevant articles, conscious that I'd better limit that sort of thing too -- or else "read articles about ADD" will become another haystack in the middle of my to-do lists.
Some of the topics to blog about in days to come: Dr. Hallowell on What is ADD?, to-do lists, exercise and ADD, structuring time and a non-linear life, "doing daisies."

11:03:07 AM

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Attention Deficit Disorder Websites...

Are they part of a solution -- or is browsing around to find sites like these part of the problem?

Organizations

CHADD: Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder lots of superlatise -- largest organization, first online library, etc.. and lots of smiling faces on a well-designed Web page. I'll save this for another day.
ADD.org (I should be this group's editor... "world's largest... in the world" indeed! And the "pe" on the end of "ADD Shoppe" is even more annoying than the fact of selling stuff without giving much information.)

The articles on time management, outlining and coaching look particularly interesting, although a few clicks into the coaching rates aimed at "entrepreneurs and executives" (and not covered by health insurance) is discouraging -- and a time-consuming distraction to "do more research" in Web sites about individual coaches, insursance plans, etc.

Adult Attention Deficit Disorder home page of a D.C. area psychiatry office, with some helpful articles:

CNN.com - Adult ADD: Common disorder or marketing ploy? - Jul. 21, 2003

Many of these sites recommend particular books... These three are intriguing...

1:37:29 AM

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