Sunday, July 13, 2014

This blog is moving!

As of July 14th, I will be posting my blog entries on my new website.
Please visit 


to read my latest post about Internet Addiction and ADHD.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Try Something New For 30.......Oh Look DropBear

Australia's Famous DropBear


Recently, at a seminar, we were shown an inspiring post on TED talks. Don't look now, but the link can be found at the end of this post. Matt Cutts challenged me, and others, to try something new for 30 days. Along with everyone else in the audience, I was immediately moved to accept his bold challenge. I resolved to give up sugar for 30 days - and to write a blog about this amazing concept (yes TED talks have that effect on me). 

Matt's challenge got me thinking. Wouldn't it be a wonderful way for people with ADHD to change behaviours? Forget that 14 days maketh a habit stuff - never worked for anyone with ADHD that I know. 30 days seems a lot more ADHD-friendly. I immediately stepped into ADHD-Coach mode, and the following barriers to an ADHD 30 day challenge emerged:
  • In the heat of the moment, the Impulsivity of ADHD could accept ANY challenge ("Yes sure I can fly to Africa tomorrow and volunteer for 30 days. My wife is very understanding").
  • The Inattention of ADHD could miss some finer details of the challenge. ("Cycling coast to coast in 30 days is HOW many kilometres?")
  • The Working Memory challenges of ADHD could actually result in someone committing to a 30 day challenge - and then forgetting about it for 2 days - or 30 days for that matter.
  • The Distractibility of ADHD could make it hard to focus on a 30 day challenge ("Look DropBear")
  • Boredom could set in and the challenge could fail to maintain its sparkle for 30 days.
So, here is my ADHD-tailored 30 day challenge. (I'm sure Matt Cutts would approve):
  • Choose something small and achievable - and write it down. Draw up a calendar / find an app that you can mark off each day
  • Find your motivation (choose something that will make you feel good) - and make your motivation visible. Stick a picture somewhere - and add to it if you need to.
  • Set up a daily reminder. There is no guarantee that you will remember your 30 day challenge without a prompt.
  • Plan mini-celebrations - 30 days is a long time to stay motivated on a single challenge, so remember to celebrate at regular intervals, e.g. every 5 days. 
  • Work with a buddy - find someone to do the challenge with you.
  • Ask for support - its always so much easier.
  • 'Sparkelise' your challenge when it becomes boring - people with ADHD are masters of invention. If your challenge is becoming boring, you will know how to spice it up.
  • Celebrate BIG TIME when its over - let the world know.
You can join me on my 30 day challenge on Facebook or Twitter, and we can swop notes. The accountability will make your own 30 day challenge a lot easier.
Matt's inspiring video is here

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Credential Proves My Commitment to ADHD

I am thrilled and extremely proud to say that I am the first coach in Australasia to be awarded a credential with the Professional Association of ADHD Coaches (PAAC). I can now call myself a Professional Certified ADHD Coach (PCAC).

This is in addition to the credential that I already hold with the International Coach Federation (ICF), where I have the designation of Professional Certified Coach (PCC).

Coaching is not a regulated industry, which means that anybody can call himself or herself a coach. Please be aware of that if you are looking to hire a coach for assistance with ADHD - or any aspect of your life or career. I am committed to developing ADHD coaching in Australasia with qualified, credentialled coaches, and am currently mentoring 3 coaches on the way to their own credentials. Hopefully they will be the first of many to come.

Details of my PAAC credential can be found here

My ICF credential is listed here

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Kids on Speed? My thoughts



Many people have asked me over the past 10 days for my views on the Australian Broacasting Corporation's (ABC's) recent 3-part series about ADHD. Entitled "Kids on Speed?", the show followed the journeys of 5 children from 4 families who had been diagnosed with ADHD. Three professionals - a psychologist, a paediatrician, and an educator worked with the children and their families over a 9 week period.
First let me say that I find no justification for the title of this show. It was stigmatising, sensationalising, and inaccurate. The SANE StigmaWatch would have taken the ABC to task if they had done something similar with schizophrenia or depression. The title, and equally stigmatizing trailer contents caused outrage amongst people with ADHD. Two consumer groups have complained that they contravened the ABC's code of conduct, and the trailer was modified before the show as a result. It will be interesting to see what the further outcome of those complaints will be. It has come to light that the producers of the show were advised by ADHD clinicians not to use that title a year ago, but persisted with their attention-grabbing tactics.
I wish to acknowledge Michael Kohn, the paediatrican in the series. It is fair to say that Dr Kohn was the only ADHD expert involved, and the show could have been very different without his solid, authoritative, evidence-based commentary and intervention. His comments were informative, helpful, and I would have liked to hear more of him across the series. It was wonderful to see best practice medical treatment up close, and the families clearly benefited from Dr Kohn's input. I also wish to acknowledge the fact that the behaviour management programmes put in place were of obvious benefit to all members of the family. Also, families affected with ADHD viewing the series felt that they were able to identify with much of what was going on for the series families. There was also some advantage to the testing and tutoring provided by the educational expert.

With respect however, I don't believe that this programme showcased best practice in the education realm. While much time was spent teaching parents to modify their parenting, with good results, there was no attempt shown to educate the teachers of the children in the show. Given that children spend half of their waking hours at school, and find the school environment exceptionally challenging (Corey wasn't even attending school), this was a glaring omission. The heartbreaking footage of Seth's teacher stopping the entire class to stare at him while he fidgeted was aired in the first and last episode. If the teacher had been given some training on how to teach children with ADHD, she would have been empowered to show us a different scenario in episode 3, and Seth could have been a lot happier at school.
I was disappointed that the programme did not include any children with ADHD Predominantly Inattentive subtype. The children in the show had extremely challenging behavioural difficulties, which are not caused by ADHD, but this was not made clear. In a way, this programme resurrected the old stereotype of ADHD as "kids out of control", that we worked so hard to change in the media 10 years ago. As a result, there will be more people with ADHD,  who will be overlooked and go without treatment until things get really serious for them, simply because they are not hyperactive.
Finally, I am concerned about the exposure of vulnerable families in this "hybrid of observational documentary, factual intervention and social experiment". There are strict guidelines around the ethics of research, and the professionals (who are all researchers) treated their participants with the utmost respect. However, there were some inappropriate choices by the editing staff, which exposed very brave families more than was necessary.

If I could have 3 wishes - 

  1. I would like the ABC to choose a team of ADHD experts when next they choose to feature  ADHD in a series. 
  2. I would like them to listen to clinicians and consumer groups when they are notified of potentially stigmatising content. 
  3. I would like them to tell the world that ADHD comes in all shapes and sizes, and that it makes the world a better place.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Your Most Important New Year's Resolution Ever



Six days into 2014, and chances are you are working very hard at keeping your New Year's resolutions. So how are they working for you? I'm guessing that some people are going just fine - no sugar / caffeine / alcohol has passed your lips - while others are already doing the self beat-up because your resolutions have unravelled.  Let's pause for a minute and take a look at why this whole process is so difficult. 

New Year's resolutions are generally about changing habits, and habits are hard to change. Throw ADHD into the mix, and the process becomes a whole lot harder. Forget that well trotted out phrase about it taking 21 days to establish a new habit, the ADHD version can take a lot longer.  First, you need to remember the resolutions that you have made. That might sound silly to some, but believe me, someone with ADHD could be well into their day before they remember that they resolved to exercise that morning (and every morning after that). There is a whole layer of reminder systems that people without ADHD never need to worry about.

Next, there is the boredom factor. Sticking to a New Year’s resolution may become even more challenging for people with ADHD if there is no stimulation attached. For example, nice long walks could effectively improve fitness for some, but they could be torturously boring for people with ADHD, who may need to engage a kick-ass personal trainer, or sign up for an extreme sport. Finding the right strategy is vital when you have ADHD.

Finally, there is the ADHD need for rewards. The ADHD brain has to work much harder to get certain things done – particularly if they are difficult or boring. As a result, there needs to be more motivation. Have a specific, immediate reward planned for when your brain asks: “What’s in it for me?”

Does this all sound like a “Get out of Gaol Free” card? Well it’s not. This merely provides an explanation – supplies some of the reasons why changing habits can be so hard for people with ADHD. I witness people with ADHD making massive changes in their lives all the time, as an ADHD coach. Because I know how challenging the process can be, I am able to guide them through their challenges, and to CELEBRATE their successes with them.

And that’s where self-compassion comes in. People with ADHD don’t forgive themselves for their mistakes, and often spend a lot of time brooding about them. This prevents them from focusing on their goals. 

I have a suggestion for next time your New Year’s resolutions hit a bump in the road. Instead of serving yourself a supersized portion of self-criticism, take it off the menu. Replace it with SELF-COMPASSION, and sample it every day, until you get to like the taste. It will help you to achieve your goals. So, practising self-compassion could be the most important New Year’s Resolution you ever make.