Experience vs. Knowledge

NPR recently published an article that was originally published in The Lancet journal on the topic of ADHD and diet entitled Study: Diet May Help ADHD Kids More Than Drugs. The study suggests that kids with ADHD could experience a significant reduction in symptoms with a very restrictive diet. Have we heard this before? Yes, we have.

The link to the article itself is posted below. I have no particular comments on it except that our personal experience leads me to believe that diet can greatly exacerbate the symptoms of ADHD but is not the cause of the disorder. Our experience says that, for us, the elimination of artificial colors (food dyes are petroleum byproducts), nitrates, soda, sugar and MSG makes a big difference in David's hyperactivity and focus. Could a diet entirely free of additives and chemicals cure David of ADHD? Maybe? We have not done a complete elimination diet, although I've wanted to for several years now. Maybe, it's time. Just to know... for sure...

What is most interesting about this article are the comments. I read almost all 238 of them. Like forums, I find the comments sections of these types of articles much more beneficial than the opinions and findings of the experts that the article is about. The expert could be viewed as a general but the people who are commenting are the front lines. When I have to choose between the expertise of one person over the collective experience of several hundred people who are living the question, I'll take the experience every time.

Just a thought. Here's the link:

Study:Diet May Help ADHD Kids More Than Drugs

The comments are fascinating!

Cheers,

leapinlily

Training the New Cook!

I am a don't wannabe cook. I don't even care that much about eating, although the size of my jeans would belie that comment. If someone would cook all the food that could be eaten in this family, I would gladly do the dishes. WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT!? I already do the dishes. Hmmmm....

So, David likes to bake. We found this recipe on another blog and David made it this morning.

After all the mixing, it needs to be rolled out. David really likes using the rolling pin and this is much easier than pizza crust.

(ahem, I did not see "the" kitchen table in the background... I have officially declared it the thorn in my flesh...)

Knowledge is Power

Sir Francis Bacon lived from 1561 to 1626. He was a scientist, lawyer, philosopher and author. He was the father of the scientific method, much of which is still influential today in conceptions of methodology. He was also a statesman, being both the Lord Chancellor and Attorney General of England. The guy knew a thing or two. He is credited with the saying "Knowledge is power" although there seems to be some disagreement that he was the author. Proverbs 24:5 says "One wise in strength is an able-bodied man, and a man of knowledge is reinforcing power." (New World Translation) I don't know if Sir Bacon said it but Solomon did and that's good enough for me.

Knowledge is power. ADHD is no exception.I have a distant cousin whos son has been diagnosed with ADHD. To my knowledge, the only component of the treatment plan for this child is medication. Over and over again I become acquainted with situations in which treatment is simply a pill. And, over and over again, the situation proves that pills alone do not an effective treatment plan make. ADD / ADHD is a complicated and misunderstood disorder that has a profound effect not only of the disordered person but on all the people around him.

Medication alone no more treats ADHD that does insulin treat diabetes. It is imperative that the diabetic learn about his disease, alter his diet, lose the extra weight, take his medicine and so on and so forth, to effectively manage his diabetes. Wouldn't we all LOVE IT if simply taking a pill would fix the problem? Can you tell me of a single malady for which this is true?

What disturbs me the most when I become acquainted with these situations is the pain and suffering that is inflicted on the child by this attitude. Children simply can not manage their disorders on their own. Parents and caregivers must assume the position of advocate. An advocate must be informed to properly advocate ie. support. If one is depending on a pill to fix the problem and doing no more, one is only making the situation worse.

There is a wealth of information about ADHD. When my oldest child was diagnosed in the mid-80's, the topic was surrounded by controversy and misinformation. Things have changed a lot since then. Get informed. Read the books, subscribe to the magazines and newsletters, surf the blogs, talk to others. Check into the services available to your insurance, your schools and your communities. Be prepared to fight for the treatment and services you need for your child. But, remember that you can't fight what you don't know.

The ADD Information Library has a terrific series of articles on the topic of Skills that Pills Cannot Teach. Check out:

Attitude and Approach: Things that ADHD Pills Cannot Do for You

Skills that Pills Cannot Teach: B is for Breathing and Relaxation

Skills that Pills for ADHD Cannot Teach You: C is for Character

Once you're done with those, just keep going with the whole site as it is loaded with must have information. Arm yourself with knowledge so that you can help your child and do no further harm. By doing so you will help your child AND yourself.

Cheers,

leapinlily

Routine (part 1): the Conundrum

Do you have a routine? Is is productive? Don't be misled. Chaos can be routine.

Routine - 1. a regular, more or less unvarying procedure, customary, prescribed or habitual, as of business or of daily life.*

Conundrum - 1. a riddle whose answer contains a pun (Example: what's the difference between a jeweler and a jailor? One sells watches and the other watches cells.) 2. any puzzling problem or question - SYN. see MYSTERY*

This is a visual of the direction my routine takes me>>>

I have ALWAYS struggled with routine. I now have a vantage point of perspective that numbers into decades. For half my life I've attributed my difficulties in finishing what I start and maintaining routines to a lack of discipline. What I know now is that I have ADD. When I was a kid, I had ADHD. Fortunately for me and every boss I ever had, I outgrew the H part.  

In my efforts to homeschool my ADHD son, the struggle to create and sustain routine continues to be an enigma - 2. a perplexing, baffling, or seemingly inexplicable matter, person, etc. - SYN. see MYSTERY*

There's that MYSTERY word again. See what I'm dealing with here!?

I have attempted to demystify the whole routine thing with tools like planners, white boards, checklists, etc., etc., etc. However, no matter what I do, we end up right back where we started. The routine is on the floor and we're just floating... again.... just floating... like the feather in Forest Gump... taken where the wind would float it.... float... float... floating...

Today, David and I had a conversation about routine. Like, where in the heck is it? I'll blame Michigan February (NOT a lame excuse, thank you very much) and a recent round of bad dentistry that left me vicodining on the sofa. However, all excuses, lame or otherwise, do not change this fact: ADHD people will have serious problems in getting anything worthwhile or necessary for life done without a routine.

So, now what? We decide that there doesn't have to be a conundrum about routine for us. We know what the problem is and we know that it is not likely to change. I've been alive for over 50 years now and I've not conquered it. My routine will fall apart on a regular basis. Period. That shouldn't stop me from getting back to it. This is what I need to teach David. Instead of getting discouraged, we should get used to it. Recognize when it lags and don't wait too long to get back to it. Back to the tools. Back to the plan. Back to the mindset. Get back to work.

I'm off to update my planner. You should see my new planner. It's a beaut and I think it will work. Sometimes.

To be continued...

Cheers,

leapinlily

* Webster's New World Dictionary - Simon and Schuster

Earth From Above

Does your homeschool have a whopping case of cabin fever going on? Mine sure does. Well, get out of the cabin without leaving home and venture on a world tour of some very remarkable photography taken from a vantage point that few of us ever attain. This is a collection of aerial photography produced by Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

Earth From Above

It captured our respective ADHD attentions for quite some time :)

I've added the link to the Photography section on the right column of this page.

 

Enjoy!

leapinlily

I Still Have Time...

The Incredibles is one of my favorite movies. In the opening scenes, Mr. Incredible is on his way to a very important appointment when he is called into service as a super hero. Looking at his watch he says "I have time." One problem is solved and he is pressed into service again. "I still have time," he says. Oh, baby, can I relate.

I have gone to great lengths to organize my calendar, my to-do list, my goals and my priorities so that I can use my time in a more productive manner.

The results that I'm looking for can be measured by two words - efficient and effective. I desire to be efficiently effective. My priorities and goals and the gajillion things that I have to do to run this life and the lives of my family need to be managed efficiently and effectively.

To that end, I've employed a strategy called 'Tidy Up Day'. On Monday, I do all the laundry, all the housecleaning (with a little help from David - logged under life skills), menu-planning, shopping list creation and calendar planning so that I don't have to be concerned with the mundane but necessary responsibilities of running a household for the rest of the week. I tried it last Monday and it worked very well.

Today, however, has been a real struggle. As I've worked on my well-planned list of mundane necessities, I've been distracted by an overwhelming desire to immerse myself in Picasa and photo blogging and Beyond Wits' End blogging and any other blog I can find. I look at my list and I hear Mr. Incredible speak in that unforgettable voice and tone saying, "I still have time." And, there I go, away from my plan and into hyperfocus land.

Here's the question. Does effectiveness have to be efficient? What if I pick off a task every two hours between long stretches of totally unnecessary self indulgence? That may negate my efficiency but, in the end, it won't impact my effectiveness, right? It's still Monday, right? Until I go to bed at about midnight, it's still Tidy Up Day. I still have time...

Cheers,

leapinlily

World Math Day - March 1

Thought I would post this for all you homeschoolers out there. This is a global event. I cut the following paragraph from the About page of the web site:

Students play at home and at school against other students around the world in live games of mental arithmetic. Each game lasts for 60 seconds and students can play up to 100 games, earning points for their personal tally. Students can play beyond 100 games during the event, but points will only count to the World Maths Day Mathometer, not their personal point score. The students who answer the most questions correctly will appear on the Hall of Fame. There are 5 levels of play, 20 games on each level.

Once registered, your child/children can begin practicing right now. David was practicing last night with students from Australia and Portugal, which he thought was awesomely cool!

World Math Day

Best regards,

leapinlily

Progress...

That! is my kitchen table. Those people are David and the other children that make up our Tuesday School. They are working on a unit study on Zombie Fire Ants that I acquired from The Old Schoolhouse Store. This is progress...

...and Work Your Plan...

This is my kitchen table. It is minus the camera with which I took this picture. Before taking the picture, the camera with which I took this picture was on the kitchen table, along with all the rest of that junk. Really?

This is the way I live and it has become downright ridiculous.

In addition to the kitchen table, I have a desk in my bedroom that is much smaller but looks very much the same.

 Then, there's the office downstairs.In my defense, whatever I have in the office that I share with my husband and belongs to me is in neat piles. Three of them. That's after doing an hour of filing...

I never intended for this blog to be a rant but I guess I'm going to cave right now and rant on. In the last few weeks I have experienced a slow and dawning realization that I am up against the wall of my own ADD. The wall has always been there. I've always been up against it. For most of my life, I have been able to manage. Not to the level that I would like but just enough. I rarely finish what I start. There are always too many irons in the fire. I've managed, sort of. But, I'm getting pretty sick of it. Sick of the mess, the confusion, the planning my work - at which I'm pretty good - and not really working the plan - at which I excel. Same struggles, different day. I can no longer seem to manage in spite of the wall. Familiar frustration!

The latest issue of ADDitude Magazine has an article entitled Stand Up to Symptoms. In the article, author Katy Rollins speaks of "the minutia of daily life." In speaking to non-ADHDers she says:

"Understand that the mundane details mean more to us than they do you. These are the devils that regularly frustrate us. You may not think these are real chores for us, but that's the point. It is in the nature of ADHD, and its impact of people's lives, that the small things are difficult, that we must approach them mechanically... ADHD isn't about the big disruptive things that people do. It's best defined by the little things that shouldn't be so hard."

I never saw it in those terms. And, yet, that is exactly the way it is and always has been.

sigh...

As I have circled around the thought of trying to figure out yet another way to get it together so that I can home school the boy, have a life and stay sane, one thing has become quite apparent. I am resisting the planning of my work because I know in my heart of hearts that I will not be able to carry it out. My kitchen table does not change, no matter how hard I try to make it different.

It's time to turn to treatment process to myself.

I shall see my doctor about meds and I shall look into a coach of some sort for myself. I've often joked that an ADD mom homeschooling her ADHD child is like the blind leading the blind. It's become not so funny.

That's my plan...

Cheers,

leapinlily