The award-winning documentary ADD & Loving It?! airs on 78 PBS stations nationwide now through the end of December. (That’s the trailer above.) This is a great time to pledge or renew your membership, and you can tell the station you’re doing so because they are raising ADHD awareness in your area.
Here’s a list of PBS stations running the show, some airdates and times included (if it’s not airing in your area, you can buy the DVD here from the TotallyADD website — makes a great holiday gift!):
If you are an Amazon shopper, I would greatly appreciate your using this link when you start all your shopping excursions. That way, I will receive a small portion of your purchase costs – at NO extra cost to you. (And no, I won’t know who bought what! Your privacy is assured!)
As many of you know, my ten-year volunteer effort around ADHD awareness and education has been extensive and is ongoing. This extra bit of support helps to pay for website hosting, domain names, and the like. (It takes quite a bit of time to research and write blog posts, too!)
Just bookmark the link as “Amazon” and begin all your shopping from that link. It’s easy.
Having ADHD in the 21st Century means we enjoy a burgeoning body of knowledge as well as myriad media from which to access it. From books to blogs, videos to podcasts, there’s something for every learning style. Perhaps no one has made information available through more media types than Dr. Charles Parker. Here are some of my top picks from Dr. Parker’s YouTube Channel, with captions below each.
Summary: Why do so many people with ADHD experience problems with medication? One reason is not establishing targets before treating them. But there’s more to it….
ADHD Subset #1: “Acting Without Thinking” Many people think that impulsivity/hyperactivity is the only ADHD diagnosis and if the person is suffering from that, that’s a clear indication for medication. But impulsivity/hyperactivity represents only about 20% of the presenting issues. Moreover, it’s important to recognize that ADHD is a contextual challenge. When structure is good and variables are predictable, performance is better than when structure is poor and variables are unpredictable (think a structured workplace vs. home — just one of the reasons some people with ADHD become workaholics). In other words, just because you can focus on a video game doesn’t mean you don’t have ADHD.
ADHD Subset #2: “Thinking without Acting” : This can look like OCD if you don’t know what’s underlying this outer appearance. This is cognitive anxiety, not affective anxiety (thinking anxiety vs. feeling anxiety). You might not “feel” anxious but you might be overwhelmed with thinking. (This is often misdiagnosed as bi-polar disorder.) These folks might abhor therapy because they’re asked to think even more. (No more questions! I don’t need more to think about; my head is already about to explode!)
ADHD Subset #3: “I’m not going to think; I’m not going to act; please go away.” Key concepts: Avoidance of self, avoidance of close relationships, avoidance of people in general (Looks like “social anxiety disorder” but the core issues are inattention and distractibility), avoidance of projects (too many unpredictable variables and lack of structure)
Confusing the left and right is merely an annoying “brain quirk” for some people, but for police officer Johannes Mehserle it could mean a lengthy prison sentence and a catalyst for riots in the streets of Oakland.
Mehserle is the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer who shot an unarmed Oscar King, a young man with a troubled history who minutes before had been removed from the mass-transit car for unruly behavior on New Year’s Day of 2010. One news report, including footage of the shooting, is featured below. The Wikipedia entry on the incident is here.
Mehserle contended that he was reaching for his taser (holstered on the left side of his body) to subdue the unruly Grant, but he actually reached for his gun (on the right side of his body) and shot King. Much of the public is incredulous that he could have made such a grievous error, and continued unrest is simmering today as Mehserle’s sentencing awaits judicial decision. Read the rest of this entry »
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