 Category :: Parenting Articles |
Author :: Douglas Cowan, Psy.D.  |
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| Article Title :: Some Thoughts on Counseling Goals for ADHD |
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| What should the goals for counseling be when the patient has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?
Every therapist will have their own opinions, but I'll give you some of my thoughts.
First, it is important to teach the child or teen with ADHD how to recognize problems and how to solve problems. There are many good problem solving techniques that young people can quickly learn, and these are great tools to teach them.
Second, it is important to teach the child or teen how to think before they act, how to be less impulsive, how to have greater self-control. Without good internal controls the natural tendency toward impulsive behaviors will cause the ADHD perso (read full article) |
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| Category :: Parenting Articles |
Author :: Douglas Cowan, Psy.D. |
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| Article Title :: Old Wive's Tales and Other Things That Just Might Help with ADHD |
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| Here are some tips that I have picked up from parents that I have met over my 15 years working with ADHD kids and their families. These are not clinically tested. They are researched. These aren't remedies that I'd say are reliable or valid treatment approaches to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, but I wanted to pass them on to you as they do seem to help some kids, and I wouldn't want to be the judge as to whether they might help your child or not. So you might want to try these from time to time and see what happens.
Some of your kids are very sensitive to certain foods, whether they be sugars, sugars paired with carbohydrates, certain food colorings, sodas, or even cer (read full article) |
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| Category :: Parenting Articles |
Author :: Douglas Cowan, Psy.D. |
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| Article Title :: Teaching Problem Solving Skills to Children with ADHD |
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| Even though the "Stop and Think" movement in ADHD treatment has lost some momentum lately, the basic strategies and techniques are still worth teaching your children. My favorite version of the technique it the "Five Step Problem Solving Strategy," and it goes something like this. . .
Teach your child this five step problem solving strategy: 1. Ask yourself, "What is the problem?" 2. Think up three possible solutions (options) to the problem. 3. Look at each option for a minute. Ask yourself, "Is this a good move or a bad move?" 4. Pick the best option/solution. 5. Try it out and see if it works.
I use Checkers in my practice to teach this formula. It (read full article) |
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| Category :: Parenting Articles |
Author :: Douglas Cowan, Psy.D. |
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| Article Title :: The Three Best Alternative Treatments for ADHD |
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| There are a LOT of alternative treatments for sale out there for people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder who would rather not have to use a strong medication such as Ritalin. Some of these are good, some are fair, and some are bad.
Anything that is on the market will help somebody out there. There are upwards of 10,000,000 people with ADHD in the US, including children, teens, and adults. So a treatment that worked for as few as 01% of those who tried it could still line up thousands of people for Donohue to say what a remarkable treatment it was.
Just as a way of reference, consider that studies show that a placebo is effective, when measured by parent rati (read full article) |
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| Category :: Parenting Articles |
Author :: Douglas Cowan, Psy.D. |
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| Article Title :: ADHD: Some Survival Strategies for Parents |
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| In our last issue we posted some of our suggested Survival Strategies for parents, and then asked readers to contribute some of their thoughts or tips. Since this newsletter is already running pretty long, I'll only list a few of them below. Thank you to all of you who contributed!
Laugh. Be silly with your kids. Humor is a life saver with 'high-impact' children.   --Laurie O'
I really enjoyed your newsletter. I am a School Psychologist and find your information valuable. I also taught Learning Disabled children for many year-some of them ADD or ADHD. I used to suggest to my parents to organize little boxes filled with activities for those "I'm Bored" times. Each box (read full article) |
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| Category :: Parenting Articles |
Author :: Douglas Cowan, Psy.D. |
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| Article Title :: Is it ADHD or Bi-Polar Disorder? |
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| Bi-Polar Disorder, or Manic Depression, is characterized by mood swings, sometimes extreme, ranging from depressed to normal moods, or from depressed to manic episodes. Manic behaviors are often very similar to "hyperactive" behaviors, including motor restlessness, irritability, temper outbursts, sleeping less, or having higher levels of energy. It is rare. But it does happen.
About three times per year a child is brought to my office for an assessment for ADHD who ends up having "Early Onset Bi-Polar Disorder." These children are typically displaying very extreme behaviors, such as throwing their bicycle -- off of the roof -- at the policemen who have been called, and so on. (Wh (read full article) |
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| Category :: Parenting Articles |
Author :: Douglas Cowan, Psy.D. |
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| Article Title :: School Issues: When Should an ADHD Child Be Held Back In School? |
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| This can be a very complicated issue, so I don't mean to suggest that my comments here are the definitive thoughts on the subject. For a parent to even consider the issue, things have to be pretty problematic at school. So, even though these thoughts may be inadequate to cover your individual situation, I will share them with you anyway...
Consider these things:
1. How old is your child? If you child is 4 or 5 years old (especially with males) and is struggling in Kindergarten, he may simply be too young for structured learning. Not a big deal. Bring him home and work with him for another year. I usually recommend that parents start their sons in Kindergarten at age 6 an (read full article) |
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| Category :: Parenting Articles |
Author :: Douglas Cowan, Psy.D. |
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| Article Title :: Navigating in the New World: Parents and Teenagers Growing Together |
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| One of the most prevalent myths of our modern culture is the one that says, "Adolescence is a time of inevitable conflict." You will hear doctors say it, and teachers, and therapists, and pastors, and even parents. It seems that nearly everyone has bought into this myth. The thinking goes like this: 1. Teenage "rebellion" is normal; 2. Because teenage "rebellion" is normal it is to be accepted, perhaps even encouraged by those who work regularly with teenagers; 3. Because teenage "rebellion" is normal, teenagers who do not rebel are "not normal," and will certainly have serious problems later in life; 4. Therefore, to be healthy, teenagers must rebel;  Th (read full article) |
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| Category :: Parenting Articles |
Author :: Douglas Cowan, Psy.D. |
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| Article Title :: What About ADHD Teens and Driving? |
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| This is one of the most common questions asked of me by parents of teenagers who have ADHD.
 "Should I let my teen drive when he turns 16? He seems so immature. But it would mean so very much to him."
Wait. Where did our wisdom as parents go? Should we let an immature 16 year old, with poor impulse control and poor judgment get behind the wheel of a 3000 pound vehicle and drive at 65 miles per hour through town? Ummm, no.
Since ADHD teens typically have emotional, physical, and developmental delays of from 3 to 6 years, compared to their peers, allowing a 16 year old with ADHD to drive your car is roughly the same as letting an 11 year old drive your car. You can (read full article) |
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| Category :: Parenting Articles |
Author :: Douglas Cowan, Psy.D. |
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| Article Title :: Co-Morbidity Rates: Other Problems That May Come With ADHD |
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| Diagnosing children and teens with ADHD can be a challenge. Very often the child or teen that comes to the office will have both a neurologically based Attention Deficit Disorder, as well as some other clinical condition that requires treatment. There are commonly two reasons for this:
First, because of a "fragile" brain. With the ADHD, some parts of the brain may be under-active, while other parts of the brain may be over-active. When the brain is already "out of balance," it is not uncommon to see neurologically based depressions, obsessive-compulsive disorders, learning disabilities, or even panic disorders.
Second, even if ADHD is the only neuologically based problem, (read full article) |
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