http://adhdguide.blogspot.com/

ADHDGuide offers links to all kinds of really useful resources including organizations, support organizations, blogs and has interesting articles that relate to ADHD. Shane also has her own personal blog at http://shaneshares.blogspot.com where she shares personal information on herself, her family as well as her oldest son who has ADHD and 3 learning disabilities.
 
Shane

I’m a stay-at-home-mom living in a testosterone filled house. With one husband, two sons, and two males dogs I never know what’s going to happen next. Join me for the wild ride, won’t you?

Sample Blog Post

http://adhdguide.blogspot.com/2009/03/kid-friendly-adhd-austin-cookbook.html

The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook

I was recently contacted by an online book marketing firm, FSB Associates, and asked if I would be interested in reviewing a book related to ADHD. Knowing my ever present desire to learn about all things ADHD, I did not hesitate when I said yes.

The book is titled The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook. It is written by Pamela J. Compart, M.D. and Dana Laake, R.D.H., M.S., L.D.N.

There are many forms of treating ADHD: medication, behavior modification, counseling, biofeedback. Another option is changing your child’s diet. Food additives, coloring, sugar, and caffeine have all been shown to adversely affect the ADHD child. This is where this cookbook will come in handy.

If you are considering dietary changes as a treatment for your ADHD child, this cookbook is a must have. Don’t think that just because it has “cookbook” in the title that all you’re going to get are recipes. No way! In fact, the first seven chapters are dedicated to learning and knowledge. The authors use these chapters to fully explain what food reactions are and how to test for them; where the “culprits” (i.e. glutens, casein, soy, etc.) hide; improving your nutritional I.Q.; how to get started changing your child’s diet and possible bumps you’ll experience along the way; and common concerns about a “culprit” free diet. They have also taken the time to explain what ADHD and Autism actually are.

Once you’ve educated yourself about the ins and out of making a dietary change, the fun begins……….. time to start cooking. Don’t have time to devote to preparing a multi-course meal? Not to worry. The authors have included “Quick N Easy” versions of numerous recipes. These are perfect for the nights you have soccer practice, homework and a project due the next morning.
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Power Moms Unite
http://www.powermomsunite.com

Candace McLane combines her practical experience as a mom with ADHD children with her professional experience as an occupational therapist to present clear, well thought out ideas for managing life. She has many great suggestions that not only are good for kids with ADHD but for family life in general. Power Moms Unite is definitely a great resource!
 
 
Candace McLane, MA

I am the Mom CEO of a large family (1 spouse, 5 kids), whose many members struggle to manage their ADHD. A retired occupational therapist, I am a tenacious advocate for families living with ADHD, ODD, and other co-morbid diagnoses. I am a frequent speaker for schools, churches, and various civic organizations on topics about ADHD and large families with special needs. If you are in the Philadelphia/NJ/DC area I would love to share my experiences with you.

I hope the site provides laughter, encouragement, insights, and conversation… as well as a link to accurate, reputable information. I look forward to swapping stories with you.

Thanks for participating, Candace McLane, MA
 

 
Sample of a Blog Entry

http://www.powermomsunite.com/2009/04/13/striking-a-balance-summer-survival-tips-for-families-managing-adhd/

Striking a Balance: Summer Survival Tips for Families Managing ADHD

One major issue with ADHD and summer vacations is the bored factor. Once the novelty of having all that free-time-to-do-anything wears away, what to do with all that free time becomes a problem. On the other hand, over-scheduling and over-planning the summer can lead to burn-out and irritability for both parents and children. The art of managing ADHD during the summer is really about the art of finding balance. Several strategies can help strike this balance.

Keep a calendar: Use a monthly or weekly calendar and write down vacation, camp and community trip dates. Kids need routine to feel secure, but be sure to leave some dates empty to allow for free time to simple create and imagine in the back yard.

Prescript your day: Early in the day, sit with your child and review what they want to accomplish and what you need to accomplish. Negotiate how each of you will spend your time so as not to conflict. Explicitly state how you expect your child to behave for any important activities (like that very important conference call at 1PM) and be sure to reward them for following the “script.”

Make a summer contract: Use the summer as an opportunity to help your child explore their interests, reinforce their academic skills, and find their passions. Write out a contract with your child, in which they list their goals for the summer. Goals could include places they would like to visit, books they would like to read, cub scout activities they would like to complete, models they would like to build- the list of possibilities is endless. Include goals you and the teacher identify as well. If you have a therapist, consult them regarding activities to persue over the summer break. Activities can be focused on building a friendship with a particular friend, trying new foods with dinner, volunteering at a local soup kitchen, or learning the steps to complimenting a sibling. Set a due date and reward for completing each goal. Consider rewarding the child with a bonus for completing all their goals for the summer.
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http://slurpinglife.typepad.com/

If you want help in keeping things in perspective on your life and challenges, read Melody’s blog – she is truly amazing!

Melody

A mom by birth and adoption shares – through photography, writing and humor – parenting boys who live with autism, ADHD, cerebral palsy, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and more. Reminding everyone that children with special needs are kids.

Why I Blog…

My special purpose sons take me to places daily in mind and heart that I would have never known existed without them. In sharing photos and a few words from our daily life, I encourage you to look at your life with humor, hope and the reality that you do what you can do when you can do it.

A sample posting:

http://slurpinglife.typepad.com/slurping_life/2009/05/love-thursday-special.html

Love Thursday ~ Special

I look at this child of mine and see so much more than you.

I see his pain. His intense struggles. His once physically abused and broken body.

His kind, forgiving spirit. His acceptance of difference.

His heart that loves so, so deeply.

Friday morning at an unbelievably early hour our family, including Grandma, will head to our State’s summer Special Olympics.

And…

Wil will be swimming the 25m and 50m freestyle events.

It is his first time competing in anything other than daily scuffles with his brothers.

He’s a bit nervous.

And way psyched.

This beautiful soul…our miracle child…has overcome so much. He has struggled, persisted and accomplished things the experts said would not be possible.

We are so proud of him.

We are so blessed by him.

We love him beyond measure.

I assure you that all love and GO WIL! you send this way will be enthusiastically received and deeply appreciated by a special eleven year old boy.

http://canmombecalm.blogspot.com

Jennifer Choi has two special needs kids. Her blog posts are written in a compelling manner that shares a tremendous amount of information and wisdom. Her writing is thoughtful, information, emotional yet not dominated by emotion, if you know what I mean. She is a really terrific resource! Check her out!

Jennifer Choi

About Me

Last year, while on maternity leave with my second baby, my oldest son, Logan, then 3, went from being very withdrawn in preschool to very aggressive and was about to be expelled! After getting him evaluated, I soon found myself quitting my job as a publicist and a few months later, I realized I had not one but two children with special needs with issues like hyperactivity, impulsivity, difficulty feeding, speech delays, some oppositional behavior and sensory processing disorder. I promised myself I would tackle this problem like the way I did my job. I would map out my plan and beat it down. I immersed myself in learning things like SPD, ADHD, and gluten/casein free diets. Last year, I checked myself in the emergency room with chest pains and difficulty breathing. It took awhile to figure it out but finally I was diagnosed: panic episodes. I wasn’t beating anything. It was beating me. Well, no more. I want to be happy. I want my kids to get better. I want my marriage to be strong. I know I can do this. I just have to be calm and take it one step at a time.

SAMPLE BLOG POST:

The original post can be found at http://canmombecalm.blogspot.com/2009/06/pr-backlash-of-supreme-court-victory.html

PR Backlash of the Supreme Court “Victory”

When I was in my twenties, I was very involved with my identity as a Korean American woman. It was a really big deal to me. I worked for a women’s organization that was run by Korean American women and for a couple of years, we set up conferences that discussed issues that affected us as Asians and as women.

In many ways, being an Asian American woman was a double blow. As Asians, we dealt with a plethora of stereotypes: complacent nerds, Harvard bound math geniuses, sleazy Chinatown gangsters, and perpetual foreigners despite being raised or even born in the U.S. (Do you know how many times I’ve been asked where I’m from and after I say “New York,” the person says, “No, where are you really from?”)

As Asian American women, our stereotype paints us as super-submissive rugs to step on and/or exotic sex kittens. We are marginalized by mainstream American society and we are also marginalized by our male Asian counterparts. There is a reason that you see so many Asian women married to non-Asian men. I know some men have fetishes for Asian women but there is another side to it. Some Asian women sometimes have a hard time dealing with the double standards of Asian men and so they naturally fall in love with men who are not unfair and selfish. (BTW, not all Asian American men are like this- many are really great to their wives.)

I bring this up today because I read something disturbing after doing the happy dance upon hearing the recent Supreme court ruling that says that parents can ask for tuition reimbursement for a private special education school even if they never had their child in a public special education setting. Jen Laviano, a special education lawyer wrote an insightful blog post lamenting how the evening news covered the story in a way that focused more on the costs implicated in the ruling. If you want to hear some dissenting lay opinions, read the comments on Sue Shellenbarger’s blog in the Wall Street Journal. Words like “retard,” “reform school,” “hood,” and “flipping burgers at McDonald’s” were used by commenters. It wasn’t pretty.

Any special needs parent knows that the cost spent now will mean a lot less spent later. It could also result in a great contribution to society. They also know that a child placed in an inappropriate educational setting will negatively impact the child’s classmates’ opportunity to learn as well. But here’s the problem: only the parents of special needs families know this. Possibly included in this circle are the teachers who teach these classes and parents of the special needs child’s classmates who are aware that the child is negatively impacting their own child’s education. If we are lucky, the teacher and the other parents will recognize the child has special needs. If we aren’t, the child and his parents will be painted with numerous assumptions which would be hurtful, not to mention counter-productive.
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http://www.adhdandmore.blogspot.com

ADHD and More is a really informative blog that contains “Essays, articles, news releases, my story as a parent of an ADHD child and more…”. It is an interesting mixture of information on treatments, ADHD facts of interest and personal insights. The blog’s author is Liz Swanson.

Liz Swanson

This former Valley Girl now lives in Pennsylvania. I love gardening, sewing, crafts, music, my cats and chocolate but most of all my hubby and daughter. I am a stay-at-home mom but have an “on call” job as a professional organizer. I volunteer with Art Goes to School, a nonprofit that visits the local elementary schools to teach art history and appreciation. My blogs are about things in my life, my family’s life or friends’ lives – cats, gardening, ADHD, hobby income like ebay and craigslist, mental health issues, recipes and (unfortunately) cancer.

Here is a sample post:

http://adhdandmore.blogspot.com/2008/10/our-stories.html#links

13 October 2008
MY DAUGHTER’S STORY

When my daughter finished kindergarten her teacher told me she was “young” and worried that she might have trouble getting tasks completed in 1st grade, even eating lunch in time. As the years went on my daughter continued to be “young” and did indeed have difficulty meeting deadlines and time limits with her assignments.

In 4th grade her school started handing out letter grades and report cards. I helped her study for tests and quite honestly she sometimes seemed like an airhead. I’d tell her a fact, then immediately ask her a question to which the fact was the answer and she’d guess something else. It was frustrating.

In 5th grade she confused this information with that information. Most of the facts were in her head, but they were a jumbled mess, not organized at all.

She’s been tested by several experts and now sees a psychologist twice a month (for anxiety) and psychiatrist (anxiety & ADD) once a month. And she’s on Adderall- I noticed a difference right away with the meds at home. Most of the forgetful stuff is gone and she’s on top of things.

Last year, in 5th grade she received mostly D’s on her report card and yet she scored high on state tests in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade, not to mention the school’s counselor telling me my daughter’s IQ was in the 130’s.

This year is starting out with A’s and B’s. I had fights and frustrations with the 4th grade teacher (didn’t want to make sure homework was written down or books were brought home) and with the 5th grade teacher (everything under the sun he refused. he even told the school counselor no on her requests! ) My fingers are crossed that with alot of hard work, maturity and med’s, my daughter succeeds in school from now on.

http://adhd-treatment-options.blogspot.com

This Blog is fantastic for looking at the results of studies that have been conducted regarding ADHD, its causes and its various treatment options. The author summarizes the studies and explains them (for the most part) in layman terms. There is a wide variety of studies and treatment options that are presented and discussed at this blog including genes, medications, herbal supplements, amino acid treatments as well as ADHD and bedwetting, auditory processing disorders and the economics of ADHD. The author of the blog does not disclose their background or any other personal information.
 
Here is the Welcome Message from the Blog Author

Welcome to my Blog on ADHD treatment options. It is my goal to present you will information and unbiased insight into the various ADD and ADHD treatment options that are out there. The information presented in this blog has been collected from a number of published studies in the field of attention deficit disorders and the effectiveness of a number of ADHD treatment options. I will be reporting on a number of journal articles and attempt to give an earnest evaluation of their results, citing relevant sources when necessary. My main goal is to present to you the most comprehensive, accurate and honest evaluations of the many ADHD treatment options available to you or your loved ones. I welcome your comments and encourage you to subscribe to my blog. You will receive constantly-updated information as my personal research in the field continues.