Understanding Executive Functioning in Adults With ADHD
Learn how ADHD affects executive functioning, making everyday tasks feel harder. And steps you can take now to improve your skills.
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Newly Diagnosed With Adult ADHD? Here’s What’s Next.
Recently diagnosed with ADHD as an adult? Learn what to do next, including how to learn the skills, and find the support you need.
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How Do ADHD Symptoms Present in High-Functioning Adults?
Discover how ADHD symptoms show up in high-functioning adults, and why success on the outside can mask daily struggles.
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How ADHD Adults Who Process Slowly Still Reach Their Goals
DESCRIPTION: Processing slowly whether it’s in conversation or reading is a common challenge for ADHD adults. While it’s not related to your intelligence, it could be related to your ADHD. Hear about the possible connections between processing speed and ADHD as well as the workarounds you can use to still reach your goals. KEY TAKEAWAYS: Processing speed is about accuracy and consistency, as well as the rate at which you process information. The rate at which you process information is not about your intelligence. There are strategies you can use to process information accurately and consistently, though perhaps not at the speed you’d like. TRANSCRIPT: 00:00: You’re reading or listening in a meeting or in a one-on-one conversation. Maybe you’re not following the thread of…
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ADHD Adults Who Use These Tips Improve Their Memory
(originally published July 4, 2011, updated January 6, 2021) Many ADHD adults want a better memory. You, too? It’s definitely one of the challenges adults with ADHD find most infuriating. If you’re struggling with memory challenges you may find yourself at times saying some variation of the following: So, I don’t leave you in suspense I’ll share the punchline with you now. And that is, your ADHD brain is great for thinking and creating. But your brain wiring isn’t reliable for remembering something at the exact time and place you need the information. Sure, it may come to you, but maybe not when you need it. That’s because your memory really is much more like Swiss Cheese than a trapdoor. ? I know it’s annoying,…
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Is It Really True Your ADHD Is a Handicap?
(originally published August 8, 2014, updated October 9, 2020) I bet, like many ADHD adults, one of your superpowers may be your ability to think outside the box in many contexts. But, if you think your ADHD is a handicap, you may be falling short in doing this when it comes to managing your ADHD so you can create a life that works for you. In part, this may be because somewhere along the way you fell into the trap of comparing yourself to your neurotypical peers. As part of this comparison you decided you need to operate the way they do. And, when you discovered you couldn’t do this, you decided you’re handicapped. That’s just not true. You’re not handicapped. Sure, it may be…
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How to Stop Fixing Your ADHD and Start Using Your Strengths
(originally published May 13, 2011, updated August 7, 2020) We all want to minimize our challenges, of course. No doubt, our lives would just flow better if there were fewer boulders in the way. After all, you’re reading this article because that is what you want. Specifically, you want to minimize the detours you need to take because of your ADHD challenges. What if you could use your strengths to manage your ADHD? Though, like many who are trying to figure out how to manage their ADHD, you may assume you are broken. If this is your perspective, you might be focusing your time and energy on trying to fix yourself. Because that’s what you do when something is broken. You fix it, right? Here’s…
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ADHD All Grown-Up — Answers to Your Questions
Description: In this inaugural episode I’ll clear up some of the misinformation you may have about adult ADHD, as I provide brief answers to a few of the most common questions. Key Takeaways: ADHD is a neurological condition, meaning you are wired differently. Symptoms are different among adults and throughout your life time. Getting an accurate diagnosis is important so you can get the right treatment. It’s not possible to first get ADHD as an adult. You can’t outgrow your ADHD. But you can learn how to manage the symptoms to minimize the level of impairment. As an adult you have agency to decide how to best treat your ADHD. Resources: What You Need to Know About the Causes, Symptoms & Diagnoses of ADHD Treatment…
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Here Are the 4 Steps ADHD Adults Use to Deal with Boredom
I’m sure as an adult with ADHD you’re all too familiar with the feeling of boredom. That restless feeling, sometimes intense, when you’re just not really engaged in something interesting. And, sure, everyone experiences boredom at times. But, as an adult with ADHD, your boredom can feel incredibly excruciating, maybe even intolerable. Of course, sometimes you feel bored because the activity is, well, boring. Make sense. But the feeling of boredom for adults with ADHD can be magnified. One of the reasons is the understimulation in the prefrontal cortex of your brain because of lack of sufficient neurotransmitters, particularly dopamine. It is common to think of lack of follow-through as a consequence of boredom. And, no doubt, the fallout from not closing the loop…
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Do Adults with ADHD Really Not Care About Others?
Are adults with ADHD really selfish? You and your colleagues decide how to divide up a project and agree on the deadlines. As the first deadline is fast approaching you’re feeling the pressure. Yet, you still haven’t started on it. At the meeting to discuss the project you tell them you’re not going to be able to deliver on time. They’re clearly frustrated. You make plans with your friend to meet up for lunch. And it’s on your calendar. But you get so involved in a project at work you don’t stop on time. And you’re late getting to the restaurant, again. Your significant other starts telling you about what happened at work that day. She seems clearly distressed. But you interrupt her with a…
