ADHD Resources I

"Smile -- It's ADHD Awareness Month" is the headline of a recent issue of ADDitude magazine online.




All of us have mentees and mentors—and often family members, co-workers, or supervisors—with ADHD/ADD. 

Becoming better informed allows us to work more effectively with youths and adults. Below are ADDitude's resources for attention disorder. 

http://www.additudemag.com/ Note the clickable tabs:

Adult ADHD

• Signs & Symptoms
• Relationship Problems
• ADHD Apps & Tools
• Organizational Skills
• ADHD Jobs
• Time Management
• Health, Sleep, Stress
• ADHD in Women
• ADHD in College
• Young Adults
• Adult ADHD Blogs

Parenting ADHD Children

• Oppositional Defiant
• Discipline Fixes
• ADHD Teens
• Parenting Strategies
• Health & Nutrition
• Organization Skills
• Social Skills
• Talking about ADHD
• Sleep
• Routines that Work
• Parenting Blog

ADHD Treatment

• ADHD Medication
• Alternative Treatments
• The ADHD Diet
• Treating Your Child
• Side Effects
• Treatment Options
• Medication Reviews
• Adderall
• Daytrana
• Straterra
• Vyvanse

School & Learning Disabilities

• Teacher's Guide
• School Accommodations
• IEP/504 Plan
• Organization Skills
• Sports & Activities
• Learning Disabilities
• Homework Help
• Behavior at School
• Work with School
• High School
• Working Memory

ADHD Symptoms & Diagnosis

• Signs of ADHD
• Types of ADHD
• Hypersensitivity
• Is it ADHD? Self Test
• Executive Function
• Getting a Diagnosis
• ADHD in Women
• Learning Disabilities
• Related Conditions
• ADHD Myths
• Anxiety & Depression

Find Resources

• Directory
• Free Downloads
• Free Webinars *
• Quizzes
• New Contest!
• Expert Answers
• ADHD News
• ADHD Topics A-Z
• Book Reviews
• ADHD Guides

Note: Jane, one of my students many years ago, shared this resource and several others. She has overcome much and used her ADHD "benefits" to be entrepreneurial. She has been and is successful in multiple arenas including her professions, motherhood, marriage, and advocacy for others with ADHD/ADD. 

* Several months ago, I listened to one informative webinar, which was a positive use of my time.

After posting this resource, we read many of the resources for students of all ages. Many aps, tools and strategies exist to help ADHD/ADD people overcome or compensate for their symptoms. Below are some sample screen shots from articles on college-aged.

youths. http://www.additudemag.com/resource-center/adhd-college-success.html  Ret. 10-2-14

An After-School Program in Enid

Enid News staff writer Phyllis Zorn wrote a three-part package of articles about mentoring for Enid's Sunday paper. In addition to promoting the Coaches' Mentoring Challenge and Stan Brownlee's Fifth Grade Mentoring Program, Phyllis highlighted another lesser known but highly successful Enid program. We praise Zorn for her passion for building the community of Enid and offering all of us this model.

Mentoring: More than homework, turkey tacos

Shakara Revels, a third-grade student in Enid Public Schools, receives help from Kimberly Raymond during Zoe Bible Church Kids Cafe on Wednesday.

by Phyllis Zorn

Kids Cafe

Zoe Bible Church’s Kids Cafe serves up activities, tutoring and life skills five days per week — along with dinner twice a week — to 80 elementary school children in Enid.

The lessons learned are more than homework and how to eat turkey tacos. Children in the faith-based mentoring program also are learning they are loved by God and by people around them.

Carlton Burton, senior pastor at Zoe Bible Church since 2011, is director of the Kids Cafe program. In addition, he drives the church bus to pick up the children at school.

When Burton stopped the bus in the driveway of Garfield Elementary School on Wednesday, children joyfully came to the bus, settled on board and buckled their seat belts for the ride to Zoe.

“This is a Christian-based facility,” Burton said. “Each gets age-appropriate instruction. They also get life skills teaching, counseling, and help with lessons.”

The program has four teachers as well as six volunteers. When children arrive, they are grouped into four classes according to their ages.

Most of the children ate turkey tacos for dinner at the same time 18 got lessons in conflict resolution Wednesday.

Students in an upstairs classroom talked with Donna Moreno-Hernandes about how to deal with difficult situations at school without coming to blows. She and the students imagined a school situation where a classmate had become confrontational.

“What can you do other than fighting?” Moreno-Hernandes asked. “How can you resolve the issue?”

“Go talk to the principal,” one child suggested.

“Ignore them and go away,” another suggested.

“What if they jump on you and go bop?” a boy asked.

“Scream to get help,” another boy suggested.

Soon, Burton brought another group of 18 students to the classroom and escorted the first group down to dinner.

The children also get outdoor play time when weather permits and indoor play when weather is inclement. During the holiday season, children develop skits to perform for parents and make craft gifts for family members. A summer program operated by the church is different, with longer hours and more outings.

Cornelius Pitts, counselor and director of The Agency at Zoe, also works with the children of Kids Cafe.

The program began in 2003 and was taken over from a different church that used to meet in the same location, Burton said.

Enid, Okla. — The two-hour mentoring program mainly is funded by members of the small church. It gets additional support from the Regional Food Bank and meals served at Kids Cafe conform to Regional Food Bank standards.

“One of the biggest challenges we’ve had is mentoring kids in the areas of personal hygiene and respect for others,” Burton said. “We really need all churches to pick up parenting and teaching these young parents to parent.”

Some of the computers at Kids Cafe need repaired or replaced. Additionally, Kids Cafe is in need of additional volunteers and cash donations for outings, arts and craft supplies and prizes for the children. Checks can be mailed to Zoe Bible Church, 729 E. Maine, Enid, OK 73701.

http://www.enidnews.com/news/local_news/article_09c57d94-30c2-11e4-87ce-001a4bcf887a.html 

Posted 8-30-14

Beyond Background Checks

Cheri Faunce & Nicolette Loutsch

Last week, Kansas hosted its 2014 Kansas Conference on Service & Volunteerism in Wichita. First, the content was invaluable, and the organization, professional and hospitable. We would recommend this conference to Oklahomans. Congratulations to Cheri Faunce, director of Kansas Mentors, Nicolette Loutsch, executive director of the Kansas Volunteer Commission, and others who made this such a powerful and pleasant event.

Whitney Mastin

This is an excerpt from "SAFE: Prioritizing Youth Safety with Research Based Mentor Screening Practices," developed by Friends for Youth. Whitney Mastin, a certified SAFE trainer, presented a three-hour version of the SAFE mentor screening program, a six-hour course. Mastin is also director of operations at Midlands Mentoring Partnership in Omaha, Nebraska. Future posts will have more information, but this is a critical checklist. That a potential mentor may be well-known in the community or that you have a school-based program is irrelevant.

partyswizzle.com

Do you have the following? If not, why?

• Staff training and supervision
• Applicant database
• Written eligibility criteria/policy
• Mentee and parent training
• Mentor position statement
• Commitment statement
• Orientation/info session
• Written application
• In-person interview
• Home visit
• Criminal history - state
• Criminal history - federal
• Sex offender registries check
• Child abuse registry check
• Driving record
• Internet/social media searches
• Character references (at least 3)
• Psychological tests
• Pre-match mentor training
• Final decision
• Ongoing mentor check-ins
• Ongoing mentee check-ins
• Ongoing parent check-ins

http://friendsforyouth.org/mentoring-institute/safe-resources/

More excellent resources can be found at the Friends for Youth website.

Luncheon Speaker, Wanda Pratt

A tiny portion of the keynote speaker's presentation--from our notes--follows. Wanda Pratt, mother of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant, had the audience gripped from the moment she, with beaming smile and radiating kindness, was introduced. 

United Way of Central Oklahoma has orchestrated many inspiring volunteer luncheons, but this is among the best.

Charla Rhodes, director of the Volunteer Center, introduced Wanda Pratt, who is a multi-faceted role model. At age 18, Wanda was a teen mother of Anthony. At 21, she had Kevin. Fortunately, she had strong, supportive female relatives as mentors. Although she was a single mom of two boys by age 22, she achieved a two-decade career with the federal government and raised two outstanding young men.

Wanda Pratt & Linda Tharp,
VP Human Resources &
Programs, United Way

Wanda described herself as a good mother, or “hovering” one. She wanted her sons to participate in youth basketball or other organized sports. Caring who was around her boys, she made the opportunity to observe the men involved in her sons’ organized sports. Quickly, she became the team mom. 

“The little boys were really there for the chips and Gatorade,” she added.

Eventually, Wanda decided to spend time with the girls at the recreation center, and she built relationships with them. When her sons were older, Wanda decided to go back to school to get her college degree. She had not realized the impact she had had on the young ladies, approximately 15 of them. Later one of the girls told Wanda that she had left them hanging. She had not realized the power of her time and relationship with the girls. 

Wanda told the audience, “It broke my heart.”

Gaylene Stiles, Mercy Health's Mentor Coordiator, and
Barbara Royce, AFL-CIO Community Services Liaison at
United Way of Central Oklahoma

Realizing she loved little girls, too, she designed a second chapter of her life, i.e., talking to young girls and women about self and their potential. 

Drawing from her own childhood, Wanda knew that she and her mother were close, but her mother had issues. A broken woman, she had worked herself to the bone rather than focusing on self to realize her potential.

Wanda talks to girls and women about who they are and who they want the world to know they are. 

To girls and young women, pregnant and unmarried or not, Wanda shows paths and processes to be successful.

“It’s not what you do but how you do it even if you have a job at McDonald’s or elsewhere,” she told the audience.

As an illustration, Wanda clasped her hands. "We’ve been clasping hands this way all of our lives. If we do it differently, after a while it feels normal," she stated.

The sacrifices she made help her touch lives—of little boys, single moms, and others as a career coach.

Anthony, her older son who works for a nonprofit, mentors in California in a group home. Kevin mentors.

Dedicated to the lives of children, Wanda reminded us that we are all in a village. Growing and nurturing young people does take an entire village. She encouraged the audience to reach out and try to make an impact on a child.

Advice

• Be who you are.
• Know what you have to offer.
• Give out who you are.

Wanda is involved in the Mothers of Professional Basketball Players Association and Foundation in addition to motivational speaking and other forms of mentoring and coaching. She also is a frequent visitor to Oklahoma and Thunder basketball games.  

After her presentation, Wanda Pratt stood tirelessly, patiently, and lovingly for many photos with guests. This magnanimity was greatly tested as she posed almost endlessly for 1,000's of photos on Oklahoma Mentor Day 2015, where she was the keynote speaker.

To learn more about the incredible, genuine Wanda, see her website or wait for another post!

http://www.mamadurant.com  

"What Kind of Person Do You Want to Be?" II

runnersworld.com

Harold Kushner sums up choices, or personal warfare, in this story, which was attributed to a Native American tribal leader. 

Upon research, this story may neither originate with Native American culture, nor may the animals be dogs, but details do not matter.

kellys2013edublogs.o

"...in describing his own inner struggles. 

He said, 'There are two dogs inside me. 

One of the dogs is mean and evil. 

The other dog is good. 

The mean dog fights the good dog all the time.' 

Someone asked him which dog usually wins, 

and after a moment's reflection, he answered, 

'The one I feed the most.'"


Kushner, H.S. (2001). What Kind of Person Do You Want to Be? In Living a Life That Matters (p. 58). New York: Anchor Books. 

Ret. 9-9-14


Questions:

• Do we all have two dogs inside of us? 
• What and how much do we feed ourselves? 
• Do we recognize our triggers, or temptations?
• How can we control, or avoid, the mean dog?
• Is victory permanent?
• What kind of person do I want to be?

Add your own questions for discussion.

"What Kind of Person Do I Want to Be" I

www.10ravens.com

Excerpt from a book:

Back when one of my congregational responsibilities was teaching the teenage confirmation class, I would put this puzzle to my students: 

Your business includes a string of coin-operated newspaper-vending machines. People deposit fifty cents, open the door, and take a paper. The problem is, once the door is open there is nothing to stop a person from taking more than one newspaper, significantly cutting into your profits. You decide to put a sign on the machine to keep people from doing that, and you are offered three suggestions as to what that sign should read:

A. This machine is under surveillance. If you take more than one newspaper, you will be subject to arrest. Stealing is against the law.

B. I depend on the income from this machine to support my family. Please don't steal from me.

C. Please don't take anything you haven't paid for. What kind of person are you?

In those three alternatives, you may recognize psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg's three stags of moral development: 

• doing right out of fear of punishment
• doing right out of a feeling of communal solidarity with others, and
• doing right because it is right.

For several years, I asked my teenage students two questions: Which of those three signs would be the most effective deterrent for most people? And which of them would be most effective for you personally? The results were consistent. 

The students unanimously rejected (A), arguing that the prospect of being arrested for stealing a newspaper was too remote to deter people. They chose (B) when it came to other people, but they chose (C) as most likely to influence their own behavior. They believed they were basically good people (or perhaps they wanted me to believe that they were) and believed that others could be persuaded to do what was right by an appeal to sympathy, putting themselves in the vending machine owner's place.

Like most teenagers, they were idealistic. They wanted to believe in the goodness of the world, that people would do the right thing if we could just find the right words to persuade them. But at the same time, like most adolescents, they spend a lot of time contemplating with much discomfort their own readiness to lie, to exploit, to be cruel to the vulnerable. 

I suspect that is why the question "What kind of person are you?" resonated with them, even as it did for Jacob when, in the midst of his struggle, the angel asked him, "What is your name?" Who are you really? It is something those adolescents probably asked themselves twenty times a day? 

Kushner, H.S. (2001). What Kind of Person Do You Want to Be? In Living a Life That Matters (pp. 56-58). New York: Anchor Books. 

Mentoring Kids from Hard Places

Matt Vassar, Ph.D., and Mentor

I work with a challenging population.  I work with kids from hard places.  My kids all have troubling stories related to neglect, abuse, abandonment, drugs, incarcerated parents, or academic failure.  

At some point along the way, their living environments were deemed unsafe, and these kids were removed from their homes and placed into a system of transitory living. Foster homes, emergency shelters, psychiatric hospitals, and group homes became their world.  

Imagine for a moment, a world of constant change – a new set of rights and wrongs, a new family, a new school, and a new religion every few weeks or months.  Imagine the difficulty in forming an attachment to one single person in a world where everything seems temporary.  

That’s where I come in.  I am a mentor.  

My personal ambition is to develop that relationship, to be something more permanent in a life of revolving doors and brief acquaintances.  

And it’s challenging.  

Reactive attachment disorder runs rampant.  Kids bounce from placement to placement.  Some return to their families.  Whatever the case, it can be hard to maintain a long term relationship with kids from hard places.  

But despite the difficulties, there is something special, something rewarding, and something that drives me to keep going. Perhaps it is the stories that these kids have overcome, or perhaps it is seeing an untrusting kid begin to trust again.  

Maybe it is the wisdom and perspective I receive from these kids, or maybe it is simply the ability to take a break from grown-up life and play for a while.  

But whatever it is, it drives me to want to encourage others to become mentors to kids from hard places.  

With over 10,000 kids in child welfare services, it seems to me like the need is great, yet the workers are few. I certainly don’t think that mentoring kids from hard places is for everyone. If you are picturing some idealized version of a Michael Oher story from The Blind Side, this gig is probably not for you.  

But if you are able to put aside your expectations and meet these kids at their level, on their terms, then you might be the perfect candidate. 

by

Matt Vassar, Ph.D.

Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Matt, whose academic specialty is statistics, is a mentor at the Tulsa Boys' Home.

Personal communication, 9-5-14