Wait what did I come into this thread for again? Oh yeah, ADHD!

Hello my awesome @Jynx ,, @tyme

Mr shaz has 2 appointments with his new MH Team next week 🤞

Hope they end up being helpful and you can figure out some strategies/next steps @Shaz51!

Keep us posted 💜

Will do @Jynx , hoping it is way better than last time

Anyone have strategies or resources for a newly diagnosed 12/13 year old and her family?

They’re on struggle street and I so want to help.
I can see lots of the struggle is not having the info and skills.

But I also don’t have the info and skills 😂

I get my functional assessment tomorrow from my occupational therapist and I’m stressing hard.

I’m struggling with the basics lately; shower, food, hydration.

I feel like a waste of space 🙃

Pathetic.

I don’t know how to get out of this slump.

Hi @Neuro_Spicy ,

@Jynx may be able to offer their insights when they are on next.

Thanks for sharing what's happening for you at the moment. You are NOT a waste of space. It may feel like it, but it doesn't mean it is true.

You are you. Look at the things you are good at. We all have strengths - we just need to name them.

You are not alone.

hello @Glisten

come and meet some members and @Jynx has ADHD and can answer your question when she is here

@Neuro_Spicy , @AFK

here is a few pages to read as well

@Neuro_Spicy Aww sweet of you to want to put so much into being a good support.

I reckon a good place to start would be ADDitude - they have a whole section for parenting kids w ADHD.

Also watching Dr Russell Barkley's videos on Youtube. He's a world-renowned psychiatrist who has done heaps of research on ADHD. Good spot to start is this video, it's got pointers about ways to treat/manage ADHD. Some good tips start at about the 7min mark. Also, in this lecture he goes into heaps of detail about exactly what ADHD is, how it presents, and how it affects our ability to function. It's super long but it's super detailed and might really help in providing understanding and context that can then inform how to approach different coping strategies.

Oh also! A really great tip I heard for kids for stuff like getting ready for school - see one thing that is distinctly missing for ADHDer is the ability to hold images in our mind's eye. So like, when a NT person is wanting to get ready to leave the house, they can picture what 'ready' looks like and then work backwards to see what steps they need to take. That is much, much harder for us, if not impossible. Hence why it can be so hard for kids with ADHD to be ready for school on time. So this parent took a photo of their kid 'ready' for school - uniform, shoes, backpack, etc. and hung that picture up. That way her kid had a handy visual already there, and can work on the steps needed to get to that state. Said it worked wonders.

Also struggling with basics does not make you pathetic @Neuro_Spicy!! It's a legit thing for us ND folks, and might mean that you're a bit burnt out or overloaded atm. Can you carve out some time just for you?

@Shaz51 I don't know if you knew this but I'm not a 'she'! I'm non-binary so I use they/them pronouns 😊 Just thought I'd let ya know!

And hopefully @Glisten will pop in soon so we can chat about whatever is on their mind too 💜

Hello @Jynx @Neuro_Spicy @Shaz51

3 generations of my family have been diagnosed with ADHD.

I was diagnosed 22 years ago by Psychiatrist Dr Roger Paterson, considered the best in his field of adult ADHD.

I was in my second year at university and medication helped me a lot. I could finally function like a normal person.

Two of the bonus conditions are anxiety and dyslexia. I have both.

Women weren’t included in studies until the 90s.

Medication is less effective when you become Peri Menopausal and the medical aren’t quite sure what to do about that.

Currently I find exercise and sauna help a LOT.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask.
In solidarity my people 👊🏼

@Glisten wow thank you for sharing! Three generations, you would probably be way more well-informed than I am 😁 But it's so good we all have this space where we can share our experiences with each other.

So interesting about menopause not playing well with the meds - something for me to make a mental note of for sure.

I think anxiety is so extremely common for folks with ADHD, I'd be really curious to find an ADHDer who doesn't have it hey! I've just recently figured out I also have dysgraphia (I tick the boxes for like 90% of the symptoms lol) which has certainly been an interesting insight. It's wild how many other learning/developmental disabilities go hand in hand with ADHD.

Exercise definitely a good one, and also one I struggle with. I get too easily bored whilst running, too distracted whilst weight-lifting (and hate just sitting there counting lol), and struggle with time-management so often simply forget to get out and go for a walk (or get too distracted). How do you manage to factor exercise into your everyday, if you don't mind my asking?

Solidarity for sure 😍💪

Got my functional assessment.

Cried. 😂

See my occupational therapist on Friday…

Work has been tough.

Ended up calling in sick on Friday morning and unintentionally gave concern to work for my welfare🫣

-Thats a whole nother post.

Showered for the first time last night in like a week. And changed my clothes after I think it was 3 days of the same outfit.. 🙃

Keen to see my OT to start a plan and get tragedies in place to do better & be better. 🤞🏻

Any good books to read? 🤔