How to Improve After a Diagnosis
Children and adults with Inattentive ADHD can be treated with medication, behavioral interventions, or a combination of the two.
Educating yourself about Inattentive ADHD is important. This website as well as ADDitude Magazine are good places to start.
Medications
Stimulants such as methylphenidate and amphetamines are the most common type of medication used for treating Inattentive ADHD, although often in smaller doses than for Hyperactive-Impulsive ADHD
Behavioral Interventions
For adults, psychotherapy, including cognitive behavioral therapy, can help them become more aware of the deficit in attention and concentration and can provide the skills for improving organization and efficiency in daily tasks. Psychotherapy can also address feelings of low self-esteem and help adults with Inattentive ADHD gain confidence, as well as control impulsive and risky behaviors.
Some adults find it helpful to work with a professional life coach or ADHD coach to develop a variety of skills that improve daily functioning. There is an ADHD coaching directory at ADHD Coaching Organization.
For children, parents and teachers can learn new and better ways to interact with and support children with Inattentive ADHD. Parents can focus on the child’s strengths and provide more structure and guidance and praise.
Where Can I Turn if I Feel Alone in My Diagnosis of Inattentive ADHD?
Learn all you can at this website by reading articles, listening to podcasts and watching videos and webinars. Read the personal stories from people diagnosed with Inattentive ADHD.
Join the Facebook Group for Adults with Inattentive ADHD
Or the Facebook Group for Parents of Children with ADHD
Explore the ADDA Website, a national non-profit for adults with ADHD that offers support and resources.
Or explore CHADD’s Website, a national non-profit focused on children with ADHD and their parents.
Or visit the website Friendship Circle Organization for additional resources.
Improve Your Life with Inattentive ADHD
by Faster Than Normal and Sarah Snyder-Castañeda
Podcast (15 min) “Adulting & Helping Women Diagnosed with ADHD”
Benefits of the Right Diagnosis
Hacking Your ADHD
by William Curb
Each weekly podcast has helpful tips. However, you can get overwhelmed by attempting to change too much too quickly. Focus on only one or two key behaviors to change at a time.
Podcast (15 min. weekly podcast) Hacking Your ADHD
How Accommodations Can Help People with Executive Function Issues Thrive at Work
by Carter Hammett
I have a friend from whom I love to borrow quotes. She speaks and thinks in great sound bites and I try to borrow from her as often as possible. One of the statements she frequently repeats is, “saying ‘focus’ to a person with ADHD is like saying, ʻoh, just cheer upʼ to a person with depression.”
If only it were that easy.
Focusing is an “executive function,” described by psychologist Hadley Koltun in an interview with the author as “the ability to initiate, plan, conduct and monitor the progress of complex tasks,” as well as regulate one’s emotional state while performing those tasks.
Full article “How to Help People with Executive Function Issues”
I Was Just Diagnosed with Inattentive ADHD
Thomas was diagnosed just a month before the recording of this episode and he explains why he was evaluated. He talks about why he got into shoe-making and what has allowed him to be a successful entrepreneur.
6 Tips to Have a Successful ADHD
Talk with Your Boss
by Nerris Nassiri
You’ve just started a brand-new job. You’re wide eyed and excited to take on the world. Congratulations!
Keep in mind that ADHD symptoms are likely to affect your work in a multitude of good and some not-so-good ways. That’s true whether you’re a corporate bond fund manager or an avant-garde theatre actor. A lot depends on your ADHD symptoms and how much you can control them. It’s a lifelong journey until you retire.
Hopefully throughout your career your bosses and teams will be supportive and understanding. It helps if you always proactively manage your ADHD symptoms in the workplace.
Full article “6 Tips to Have a Successful ADHD Talk”
Changing Perceptions:
My Top ADHD Advocates
by Nerris Nassiri
How often have you seen a movie or TV show with a scatterbrained hyperactive character? Heard neurotypical people call moments of forgetfulness being “soooo ADD”?
ADHD is widely misunderstood and oversimplified. It’s an incredibly complex condition. And we’re not discussing it enough in the right ways.
Here are a few ADHD advocates who portray ADHD in a beautifully complex light….
Full article “Top ADHD Advocates”
4 Questions I Ask Myself
About My Future with ADHD
by Rene Brooks
When I got my life-changing ADHD diagnosis, I didn’t realize just how long it would take to adjust to my new reality. At first, it felt daunting to take in all that information — what ADHD is, how to manage it, how it affects me personally, learning that there was no cure. It was a lot to absorb. It felt like my entire life changed after a series of tests and one very important conversation with my doctor. Then began the process of learning how to live my everyday life with this new “companion.”
I had so many questions back then — and the truth is, I still do. I spend a lot of time reviewing what my life was like before my diagnosis in an attempt to understand how ADHD affected my past. But what about the future?
Full article “4 Questions”
My Favorite Apps and Tools for ADHD
by Kerri KcKay
While the chaos of 21st-century living can feel even more overwhelming for those of us with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), we are fortunate to have similar 21st-century advances on our side in navigating the world successfully with attention issues. Whether it’s time management (what’s that?), losing your keys (daily!), or forgetting to log your work hours (guilty!), there are tech hacks for all sorts of daily tasks that can make life with ADHD a lot easier.
Full article “My Favorite Apps”
Diagnosed with ADHD – Now What?
If you’ve recently been diagnosed with ADHD, you may already have read about studies which reveal that in many cases, ADHD symptoms in adults can be treated using behavior therapy in conjunction with medication. Of course, not everyone with ADHD is actively seeking treatment or for that matters, classifies their symptoms as ADD disease, but rather an integral part of who they are and a key to their success in life.
It’s not uncommon for people who experience the symptoms of ADHD to not only accept them as a part of their lives but to fear what might happen to them if they begin treatment. If you worry that being treated for ADD will affect your personality, change who you are or impact the way that the people in your life see you, you’re not alone. There are those who weigh their options and ultimately decide that the symptoms of ADHD are a price well worth paying to, essentially be who they are.
Full article “Diagnosed with ADHD – Now What?”
Special Report: How Physicians Are Treating ADHD or ADD Today
by Devon Frye, Anni Layne Rodgers
There are more treatment options available for ADHD than ever before. Which ones are people using, and are they finding them effective? We wanted to find out the answers, so we asked you, our readers, in an exclusive ADDitude survey. What we discovered from the more than 4,000 responses challenges our assumptions about how people are actually treating their ADHD in 2017.
Attention deficit disorder (ADHD or ADD) is a complex and nuanced condition, with symptoms varying widely from distractibility to excessive activity and many points in between. The average treatment plan, it seems, is correspondingly complex.
Full article “Special Report: How Physicians Are Treating ADHD or ADD Today”
S.H.R.E.D. Your ADHD
The basics for an improved ADHD life explained : Sleep, Habits, Relationships, Exercise and Diet. This web page also includes a free e-book “Five Ways to Overcome the Wall of Awful”
Full article “S.H.R.E.D. Your ADHD”
Strategies for Adults Living with ADHD
If you’re one of the 11 million adults in the United States with adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, you understand how hard it can be to avoid distractions, stay organized and work efficiently. With treatment and behavioral changes, you can learn how to handle ADHD to increase productivity and fulfillment. These simple, effective strategies can help you manage symptoms to focus and thrive.
Full article “Strategies for Adults Living with ADHD”
Tips for Managing Adult ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can create problems in all areas of your life. But these tips can help you cope with symptoms, get focused, and turn chaos into calm.
If you have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), previously known as ADD, everything from paying the bills on time to keeping up with work, family, and social demands can seem overwhelming. ADHD can present challenges for adults across all areas of life and can be tough on your health and both your personal and on-the-job relationships. Your symptoms may lead to extreme procrastination, trouble meeting deadlines, and impulsive behavior. In addition, you may feel that friends and family don’t understand what you’re up against.
Full article “Tips for Managing Adult ADHD”
ADHD: 8 Things Doctors Want You to Know
Living with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), which often begins in childhood or early adolescence, is a unique experience for everyone. It can leave people feeling chaotic, out of control, “different,” like a failure, alone, and misunderstood. For more insight into ADHD, we talked to a few experts in this area who gave us a full picture of the disorder. What we learned is that with successful treatment, it’s possible to live a full, engaging and successful life with ADHD.
Full article “ADHD: 8 Things Doctors Want You to Know“