COMPREHENSIVE ADHD PROGRAMS
A New Look for ADHD
POSSIBILITIES FOR THRIVING ADHD
ADHD (Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder) is often viewed as the problem of the individual to be fixed with medication. When used alone, this approach can leave people feeling isolated, labeled, blamed, and ashamed – and without the tools they need to grow.
The staff at THRIVE know what it feels like to struggle with the challenges of ADHD – and how important it is to feel good about yourself, your choices, your life. So the patient/ practitioner relationship focuses on strengths and possibilities.
Our goal is to help your gifts and creativity shine through so you achieve your life goals with a sense of self-acceptance and pride.
WHOLE LIFE SKILL BUILDING
Treating ADHD is more than just getting rid of symptoms. At THRIVE, we begin with a complete life analysis, to define those areas of your life most affected by ADHD – performing at school or work, studying, relationships and communication, self-esteem, organizing your home or finances, parenting and achieving your life goals.
We then work with you to develop a treatment program for functioning more effectively in each of your challenge areas – and feeling more in control of your life.
TREATMENT THROUGH THE LIFECYCLE, FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
ADHD can present challenges for children, teens, young adults and adults. Our practitioners work as a team with one or several family members, targeting the unique needs of each age group. Depending upon the specific needs of the client, we might work with the individual, the parents, the couple or the family.
Specific ADHD Services
THRIVE’s ADHD services can be accessed either as individual services or as a Comprehensive Treatment Program (see the section on COMPREHENSIVE MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS above).
Our ADHD services range from very practical, skill based approaches to treatments dealing with the deeper emotional issues of ADHD.
For a better sense of how we weave our services together to create a comprehensive treatment approach, see THE ADHD JOURNEY AT THRIVE / ADHD TREATMENT VIGNETTES below.
For more details about specific services you might receive following a Comprehensive Clinical Evaluation for ADHD, see these sections of the website:
Dr. Ricky's ADHD Quickies
Dr. Silver, Founder and Director of THRIVE, has a very personal perspective on the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD:
“I have three daughters, two of whom have ADHD. My kids have been my best teachers and the inspiration for THRIVE. Living with ADHD kids on a daily basis, taking them through diagnosis and treatment, working with the school system to get educational accommodations, sending them off to college . . . all of these experiences have helped me understand ADHD from the perspective of both the child and the parent."
“Since starting THRIVE, I’ve had the blessing of working with many teens and adults with ADHD. They have also added immeasurably to my knowledge of ADHD, particularly the deep emotional impact of the condition."
“It took my wife (Rose Cohen, PhD, Study Skills and Academic Coach at THRIVE) and me many years to create the best treatment approaches for our daughters."
These are what Dr. Silver considers the essentials of a good ADHD treatment plan -- for kids, teens and adults:
- A good diagnostic workup from a practitioner who will take the time to carefully explain their ideas to you and your child
- Some basic lab tests to check how physical factors might be affecting the brain’s optimal functioning
- Educating your child and yourself about the biology and psychology of ADHD. Talk to your treatment team, get on-line or read some of the great books that describe the ADHD experience
- Keeping a positive, validating approach and focusing on strengths and gifts.
- Ways to “tweak the brain” – medication, nutritional supplements.
- A “sensory diet” – fidgets for their fingers, moving around and bouncing on gym balls, chewing and sucking on gum or pencils, music – anything that gets the brain stimulated and awake
- Ways to keep grounded and to release energy – for your child and yourself. Exercise, yoga, relaxation, acupuncture, massage, time for yourself, spiritual practices – you’ll need them all.
- Taking care of your body – good sleep, good food, regular exercise.
- Good communications – with your spouse, your kids and your treatment providers.
- Someone to talk to on a regular basis – a therapist, a coach – practitioners who understand ADHD and can help you and your kids stay on track and get over the rough spots.
- Support groups for kids, teens or adults are a great way to connect with other people who REALLY understand your experiences, to get help with problems and to realize that you are not alone.
- Creating a team of professionals who you trust, who will listen to you and your child and who will talk to each other.
- Getting an advocate or lawyer if you are seeking accommodations in the school.
- Patience, patience, patience. ADHD can be really wonderful and really hard. It might not always be a roller coaster, but it is rarely just a smooth ride. Don’t look for quick fixes. You and your kids are in for the long haul. It will be an invigorating and challenging trip. Enjoy it when you can and breathe deeply at all other times.
- Lots of love. ADHD kids (and adults) get too many reminders from the world how they are not getting it right. Never stop hugging them and telling them about all the wonderful things you see in them.
The ADHD Journey at Thrive
The following vignettes show how THRIVE practitioners might apply different aspects of Dr. Silver’s ADHD Treatment Essentials to the situations and challenges of specific patients.
Browse through the vignettes and see which ones fit your current situation and challenges. These patients’ stories (names and details changed) will give you a better feel for the ADHD care delivered at THRIVE.
SCHOOL-AGE CHILD: “Christine can’t sit still in class or stop talking.”
Christine was the classic hyperactive kid – disruptive in class, working below grade level, low self-esteem. After diagnosing Christine with ADHD, Anita Bajaj, MD and starting a stimulant medication, Christine’s ADHD and anxiety symptoms came under much better control. Cynthia Wilcox, PhD followed up with Christine’s mom to get accommodations for her in school and worked directly with Christine to help improve her self esteem.
TEEN: “I have terrible grades and no friends. I’ll never amount to anything.”
Lenny’s ADHD had dealt him a double whammy: he had trouble with age-appropriate social skills; and despite his smarts, he was struggling with his ninth grade classes. Rick Silver, MD confirmed an earlier diagnosis of ADHD and got Lenny started on medication, which helped him focus and follow through on his schoolwork. Pauline Gabourel worked with him on his diet and exercise, which helped him feel calmer, more energetic and better himself. And Cynthia Matsakis, LCSW enrolled him in the Teen Social Skills Group, which helped Lenny with social cues and interactions. A year later, Lenny had developed a group of friends, was exercising regularly and had increased his grades from C’s and D’s to B’s.
YOUNG ADULT: “School, parties, money, work – this is way too much to juggle.”
Peter had been diagnosed with ADD in grade school and had been on medication for years. But this wasn’t enough for him to deal with the challenges of college and his adult responsibilities. Peter met with Rose Cohen, PhD for study skills and academic coaching, both in person and in regular phone meetings. Rose helped Peter set specific academic goals, organize his study schedule, apply more effective study techniques, obtain accommodations from the college and set up a system for daily money management. His grades improved markedly and he felt much more satisfied with his choices and his life.
CAREER ADULT: “I’m 40 years old and I still wonder what I really want to do with my life.”
Steve had never really settled in to one job for a long time. Like many ADD adults, he got bored easily and changed jobs frequently. And he never felt that he had worked up to his potential. After working with Rick Silver, MD Steve began to understand that he had trouble processing auditory information and was much more of a visual thinker. When he began to record the conversations with his sales clients in pictures and diagrams, he felt much more able to organize information and tasks. Through his meetings with Emily Wells, PsyD for Career Coaching, he developed a clearer sense of his life goals and the steps he needed to take to get there. And his regular mountain biking sessions provided him with enough sensory stimulation to help control his inner restlessness and stay on task longer. Steve felt calmer, more directed and more accomplished in his work.
HOMEMAKER: “My family is so angry at me. I can never live up to their expectations.”
Linda struggled with the laundry, struggled with the shopping, struggled with the kid’s homework, struggled with the mounds of paperwork and bills, struggled with getting to appointments on time. She felt incompetent and her kids and husband reinforced this idea. Linda was referred to a Personal Organizer, who helped her set up systems that got the mess in her household under control. Emily Wells, PsyD suggested she carry a simple notebook to keep track of tasks; and that she begin each day by setting up a schedule. Visual cues around her house helped her stay on task and on time. Linda also brought her husband in for a meeting with Cynthia Wilcox, PhD where he had the opportunity to vent some of his frustrations with Linda and to learn the realistic expectations for an adult with ADHD. The house isn’t perfect yet, but a little calmer, a little more organized – and Linda feels a lot better about herself and being able to take care of her family.
COUPLES AND FAMILIES: “I have three kids at home – two are my children and one is my husband Rob. I’m sick of it – he never follows through on anything I ask. And he has no idea how to stay consistent with the kids.”
Jenn gave her husband an ultimatum: meet with Cynthia Matsakis, LCSW for couple’s counseling or get a new wife. Cynthia helped the couple explore the difficulties of communication in a relationship where one partner has ADHD and had them establish basic rules for listening and speaking. Several parenting sessions gave Rob some guidelines for how he and Jenn could team up more effectively to support and discipline their children. With Rick Silver, MD, Rob also started taking medication and got his sleep, diet and exercise patterns under control. What had felt like a hopeless situation to Jenn now felt like a relationship that could heal and grow, and a family that could stay together.
ADHD Links / Resources
ADHD General Information
THE CHADD Information and Resource Guide to ADHD.
Particia L. Harman (2001)
Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder.
Hallowell, E.M. & Ratey, J.J. (2005).
New York, NY: Ballantine Books
Driven To Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood through Adulthood.
Hallowell, E.M. & Ratey, J.J. (1994).
New York, NY: Touchstone Books
What Causes ADHD? – Understanding What Goes Wrong and Why.
Nigg, J.T. (2006).
New York: The Guilford Press
Children and Adolescents
CHILDHOOD ADHD Screener
www.myTHRIVE.net
The ADD/ADHD Checklist.
Rief, S (1998).
Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall
Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight: What to Do if You are Sensory Defensive in an Over Stimulating World
Heller, Sharon (2003)
Harper Books
Study Strategies Made Easy.
Davis, L., Sirotowitz, M., & Parker, H. (1996)
Speciality Press, Inc.
Survival Strategies for Parenting Your ADD child: Dealing with Obsessions, Compulsions, Depression Explosive Behavior and Rage
Lynn, George (1996)
Underwood Books
What’s My Style: Test and Study Secrete for Procrastinating Teens: An Owner’s Manual for Your Brain
Betty Caldwell (2009)
Outskirts Press, Inc.
College/High School Students
ADD and the College Student: A Guide for High School and College Students with Attention Deficit Disorder.
Quinn, P.O. (Ed.) (2001).
Washington, D.C.: Magination Press.
Coaching College Students with AD/HD: Issues and Answers.
Quinn, P.O. & Ratey, N.A. (2000).
Washington, D.C.: Advantage Books
Colleges with Programs for Students with Learning Disabilities or Attention Deficit Disorders.
Mangrum II, C.T. & Strichart, S.S. ( Eds.) (2000).
Australia: Peterson’s Thompson Learning.
Learning Outside the Lines: Two Ivy League Students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD Give You the Tools for Academic Success and Educational Revolution.
Mooney, J. & Cole, D. (2000).
New York: NY: Simon & Schuster.
Survival Guide for College Students with ADHD or LD.
Nadeau, K.G. (2006).
Washington, D.C.: Magination Press.
Adults
ADD and Romance: Finding Fulfillment in Love, Sex, and Relationships.
Halverstadt, J.S. (1998).
Lanham: Taylor Trade Publishing.
ADD in the Workplace: Choices, Changes and Challenges
Kathleen Nadeau, PhD (1997).
Brunner/Mazel
ADHD in Adulthood: A Guide to Current Theory, Diagnosis and Treatment.
Weiss, M., Hechtman, L.T., & Weiss, Gabrielle (2001).
ADULT ADHD Screener
www.myTHRIVE.net
Clinician’s Guide to Adult ADHD: Assessment and Intervention
Sam Goldstein & Anne Teeter Ellison (2002)
Academic Press
The Clinicians Role in Treatment of ADHD
Kathleen Nadeau, PhD
In Clinician’s Guide to Adult ADHD: Assessment and Intervention
Goldstein, Sam and Anne Teeter Ellison, Academic Press, 2002
pp. 107-126
“Honey, Are You Listening?”.
Fowler, R., & Fowler, J. (2002).
Is It You, Me, Or Adult ADD?
Pera, G. & Barkley, R. (2008)
Alarm Press
Scattered Minds: Hope and Help for Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Adler,L. with Florence, M. (2006).
New York, NY: G.P. Putman’s Sons
You, Your Relationship & Your ADD.
Bell, M.T. (2002).
Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.
Women
Understanding Women with AD/HD.
Nadeau, K.G. & Quinn, P.O. (2002).
Washington, D.C.: Advantage Books
Women with Attention Deficit Disorder: Embrace Your Differences and Transform Your Life.
Solden S. (1995, 2005).
Grass Valley, CA: Underwood Books
Organizations/Websites
ADDvance: A Resource for Women and Girls with Attantion Deficit Disorders
American Coaching Association
Attention Deficit Disorder Association
Attention Deficit Disorder Resources
This website lists many resources including information on transformation issues.
ADDITUDE Magazine
CHADD
Coaching
Coaching - The Disorganized Mind: Coaching Your ADHD Brain to Take Control of Your Time, Tasks, and Talents
National Association of Professional Organizers
National Center for Gender Issues and AD/HD
National Resource Center on AD/HD: a Program of CHADD
Psychology Today: Find a Therapist
http://therapists.psychologytoday.com
WebMD (use search term: ADD)