Edge Foundation Blog

Last week we wrote a post about executive function and ADHD inspired by John Medina’s book Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Each of Medina’s 12 Principals are based on scientifically-proven facts about how our brain works.

Take a look at the 12 rules and you’ll see that much of what he talks about are familiar Edge Foundation topics. Want to get a great preview of what his book covers? Visit Brainrules.net where Medina has free, on-line tutorials covering the important information from each chapter.

We agree that the principals outlined in the book are important insights into living to your full potential with ADHD.  When looking them over, we noticed a few common themes we’ve shared in the posts we have written over the last couple of years.  Here’s our take on each brain rule and how it plays out for ADHD:

Exercise – Rule #1: Exercise boosts brain power.

Treating ADHD with exercise
Spark: Reduce ADHD symptoms with exercise
ADHD and anxiety:  Non drug treatments everyone can try

Survival – Rule #2: The human brain evolved, too.

Wiring – Rule #3: Every brain is wired differently.

Executive function and ADHD success/
Succeeding despite learning disabilities/

Attention – Rule #4: We don’t pay attention to boring things.

Fidgeting helps ADHD people stay focused

Short-Term Memory – Rule #5: Repeat to remember.

Long-Term Memory – Rule #6: Remember to repeat.

Sleep – Rule #7: Sleep well, think well.

ADHD students need to take their sleep seriously
ADHD and sleep
ADHD, anxiety and the sleep connection

Stress – Rule #8: Stressed brains don’t learn the same way.

Improve your focus with water

Sensory Integration – Rule #9: Stimulate more of the senses.

You can do more to manage ADHD
Fidgeting helps ADHD people stay focused

Vision – Rule #10: Vision trumps all other senses.

Gender – Rule #11: Male and female brains are different.

Girls with ADHD face special challenges

Exploration – Rule #12: We are powerful and natural explorers.

Did you read the book or learn anything here you didn’t know about how the brain works?  Let us know in the comments.

If you are a regular reader of the Edge blog, you already know that the ADHD can cause all types of challenges that get in the way of a student reaching his or her full potential. The root of many of these challenges lies in the way the executive functions of the brain work. Executive functions are the part of the brain that helps with:

• Scheduling
• Goal Setting
• Organizing
• Focusing
• Prioritizing
• Sticking with it when it gets tough

That all sounds pretty important, doesn’t it? It’s no wonder that this week in Seattle Times interview by reporter Jerry Large, developmental molecular biologist John Medina said:

“The single greatest predictor of academic success is executive function. It even trumps IQ.”

The single greatest predictor of academic success.  Wow. Did that give you pause? Are you feeling a little worried?

ADHD and Executive Function Challenges

The way ADHD affects the executive functions of the brain can be one of the most challenging parts of living with it. But before you head down a dark hallway, we want to look at this from a different angle.
Yes, executive functions are important. And, yes, people living with ADHD have struggles that others don’t have because of impaired executive functions. BUT, that does not mean that people with ADHD cannot be extremely successfully in school and in life. Why?

First off, if you are reading this blog, you already know you have ADHD. That’s a huge advantage. You can take that knowledge and put in place supports to shore up your executive function weaknesses.

ADHD is not a one-size-fits-all disability. ADHD manifests differently in each person. (Thus the alphabet soup of ADD, ADHD, AD/HD to all name the same condition.) Even those with severe ADHD usually have some activities where their executive functions work very well.   It is critical to keep in mind that each person has their own, unique set of strengths and weaknesses. The key is to be introspective and understand yourself — know your strengths, your challenges, your passions, your aversions.

An ADHD Coach plays to your strengths. An ADHD coach is a way to help you give you perspective on your strenthgs and help you learn life-long skills which will allow you to compensate for your weaknesses.

ADHD Coaching for ADHD Success

Sure, the greatest predictor of academic success is executive function. But it isn’t the only thing that you need to succeed.

• Awareness that you have ADHD and acknowledging it has special challenges
• Willingness to ask for help
• Seeking out the right resource
• And finding the outside experts to help you develop a plan that works for you.

These are all important too.

Find your edge

An Edge Coach understands how to work with ADHD. They have met the rigorous standards set by the Edge Foundation and are trained to working with students and young adults with ADHD. They know how to help you discover your many strengths and talents – hidden and known – and bring them into the forefront. They are passionate about making a positive difference in the lives of students and young adults with ADHD. And most of all, they are ready to help you.

What are you waiting for?

For more information:

• John Medina, Brain Rules
• Scholarly article on ADHD and executive function:   http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.120.5164&rep=rep1&type=pdf
• Free ADHD & College Survival Guide
• Sign up for an Edge Coach

Editor’s Note:  This answer to month’s Ask the Coach question was provided by Candace Taylor and Edge Executive Director, Robert Tudisco.

Dear Coach,
Why should I hire a coach when everyone says I need a tutor?

Signed,
Ready For Help

Dear Ready,
Candace Taylor, Edge Coach responds: Hmmm. Truthfully, perhaps not the right question to ask? I’d suggest that you don’t look at it as an either/or proposition. It is not unusual for a student to have both a coach and a tutor – just like you might also have a personal trainer or therapist.

Coaches aren’t competing with other professionals for a spot on your support team, we’re collaborating with them. Whether or not a coach is the best investment depends entirely on the you and what you’re seeking to accomplish.
There are times when a tutor may be a better, and often cheaper choice. There are times when both are a good idea. If finances dictate that there is only room for one professional, then the one that can address the student’s greatest needs should get the job.

Sometimes you bring on people to help you sequentially. For example, a student who is hitting the wall for the first time in college and suspects they have ADHD should start with a medical practitioner for a diagnosis and treatment plan. When things have settled down a bit they might add in an academic counselor to look into academic accommodations and allowed modifications. A tutor can then be added to learn how to write a proper lab report or tackle tricky Calculus problems.   Next comes a coach to put it all together:

• how to schedule your study time in a way that allows those tutored assignments to actually land on the prof’s desk on time,

• how to set up a reminder system that works for you to get to the appointments for the rest of the support team professionals,

• how to self advocate effectively for accommodations that some of your teachers may be reluctant to grant,

• even how to get the most out of time spent with your other helping professionals who may not “get” ADHD.

Robert Tudisco: I’d add that in my legal practice, I see far too many students who are struggling with ADHD get “treated” by hiring a tutor. It is also my experience that the majority of these students are extremely bright. Many of them do not need tutors in specific subjects, instead they need help learning the executive skills needed to translate their outstanding intelligence into outstanding grades. For example:

• Remembering which notebook to bring home
• Developing study skills and habits that take into consideration how they process information
• Empowering themselves to work toward their strengths and navigate around their weaknesses.

These skills reach across all subjects and are not the specialty of an academic tutor. The skill set of an Edge Coach is highly specialized in all of these administrative deficits which span all subjects.

To learn more about how an ADHD coach can help you succeed in college, check out our free ADHD & College whitepaper.

We’d love to hear from you.  Do you agree that tutors don’t provide ADHD students with executive skills training?   Do you have more than one helping professional? What has worked for you?  Please comment below!

You may have noticed that the Edge Foundation has never taken a position about whether or not to use of medication (ex. Ritalin, Adderall etc.) in treating ADHD symptoms. The reason for this is simple: we believe that whether or not you take medication is a personal decision that each family must make after consulting with a qualified doctor. It is not our place, nor the place of people who aren’t living with your ADHD to have any say in the matter.

Yet, there are plenty of vocal opponents to ADHD medication. You don’t have to look far to hear the criticism that we are overmedicating our children in this society. We say to them, walk a mile in ADHD shoes before you start to criticize. Judith Warner has done just that.

Author discovers over medication is a misconception

When best-selling author Judith Warner landed a book deal, she believed that American children were overmedicated. Surprise – turns out she was wrong! What she discovered instead was that this common misconception couldn’t be farther from the truth. “Not only has Warner never met a parent who lunged for the medicine cabinet to dope up their kids, but some fought the medication route as long as they could, to the detriment of their child,” says Kirkus Reviews, Dec 01, 2009.

Warner’s book, We’ve Got Issues: Children and Parents in the Age of Medication, ended up being a thoughtful exploration of how we can help our children live successful lives using all of the tools we have at our disposal – including medication. We hope Warner’s book will help assuage the shame, fear, guilt and embarrassment felt among many people who have decided to use medications as part of their ADHD treatment plan.

Medication doesn’t cure ADHD

And we also want to underline the importance of understanding that medication is not a cure for ADHD. “Medication should be viewed as a useful tool to help individuals with AD/HD make positive changes in their lives as a part of a multi-modal approach which should include positive behavioral management and supports such as ADHD coaching,” says Edge Foundation Executive Director, Robert Tudisco. Tudisco is much more concerned about the diversion of AD/HD medication to individuals who have not been prescribed to use them by a doctor such as sharing them with friends to help them pull an all-nighter, or failing to safeguard prescribed medication that is stolen on campus and either sold or taken by individuals without medical supervision. He is currently working on an article on the subject to be published in Attention Magazine later this year.

The important thing for parents and students alike to know is the best person who can know whether or not medications are for you, is you (along with your physician’s guidance.) And as for those who are misinformed, operating under popular misconceptions, or trying to sell a product, we encourage you to get the facts from a qualified physician and point them in the direction of Warner’s book.

Dear Coach,

My son is in 9th grade and is struggling to keep up with his new high school responsibilities. Is he too young for a coach?
Signed,  Worried

Dear Worried,

Many students with ADHD who have done fine in school, may hit a wall when they take a step up to a higher level of responsibility – like high school. So while you and your son may be worried about whether or not he can hack it, don’t worry, we DO have coaches for students in 9th grade. While most of our coaches work using emails and the phone, it may be better for a someone younger, like your son, to receive in-person coaching. Let us know your location and we will do our best to match your son with a coach that can work with him in person or using a face-to-face internet tool such as Skype. Here’s the link to sign up to find out more. Good luck! And let us know how it goes.

Do you have a question for the coach? Send it to coach@edgefoundation.org. We’ve love to hear from you.

And be sure to check out these other ADHD Coach questions:

What is an ADHD Coach?

Why am I always late?

What should I do about spring fever when I need to buckle down and study?

How do I know I need an ADHD Coach?