Swirling around, swept into the air like dry leaves before a great storm, we’re tossed about by forces we invented but no longer control. The wind rules, picking us up and taking us where it blows. Busy. Fast. Wired. Going who knows where. Welcome to our crazybusy world.

Today I encourage you to take a few moments to pause and reflect on the beauty that surrounds us – the colors, the crispness in the air, the sunshine and more. Listen to my Distraction mini podcast “An Ode to Autumn” and learn why Autumn is my favorite season of the year. What is yours?

Are you saying to yourself,  “I’m too busy to pause and take in the colors of autumn?”

If yes, then click here to learn how to take back control of your time in this Crazybusy world.

For those of you who like great poetry, I recommended this poem by John Keats in my podcast:

To Autumn  

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep,
Drows’d with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twinéd flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
T
hou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—
While barréd clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
T
hen in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

Exercising your ADHD brain keeps it young and fit, much as exercising your body keeps your body fit. Of course, you can overdo mental exercise,  just as  you can overdo physical exercise; this leads to exhaustion, either mental or physical. But as a general principle of mental hygiene, stretching your brain every day is an excellent way to stave off the mental ravages of aging.

Mental exercise can be quite specific. The following exercises, from my book Delivered from Distraction, were designed to improve attention and organizational abilities. They were developed by experts on physical training in Russia and given to me by Simon Zaltsman, a physical trainer I worked with. These exercises will challenge you Don’t be surprised if you get angry or frustrated and don’t complete them the first time.  But as Simon told me, “You can do them. Just persist.” If you try these exercises once a day, you should soon find that your attention span is lengthening and your ability to stay on task is growing stronger. Also, the quality of your focus should sharpen.

1. Position one blank sheet of paper to your right and another to your left; then take a pencil in each hand. Simultaneously, draw a vertical line on the right sheet and a circle on the left sheet. Repeat three times, alternating figures on the right and left sheets.
2. Draw a triangle on one sheet while drawing a square on the other. Then switch: draw the square on the first sheet and the triangle on the other.
3. Draw a circle on one sheet while drawing a triangle on the other. Switch figures and do it again.
4. Draw two circles on one sheet while drawing one square on the other. Then switch.
5. Draw two squares on one sheet while drawing one triangle on the other. Then switch.
6. Draw a triangle on one sheet while drawing a square on the other and also tracing a circle on the floor with one leg. Then switch hands (and switch to the other leg.)
7. Draw a circle with one hand and a triangle with the other while tracing a square on the floor with one leg. Then switch all.
8. Draw a triangle with one hand and two squares with the other while tracing a circle on the floor with one leg. Then switch all.
9. Draw a triangle with one hand and a square with the other while tracing a circle on the floor with one leg and nodding your head twice forward and twice backward.
10. Draw a triangle with one hand and a square with the other while tracing a vertical line with the eg on the same side as the hand that is drawing the triangle, and a horizontal line with leg on the same side as the hand that is drawing the square. Then switch all.

Yes, these are extremely difficult, aren’t they? But don’t despair. Keep Simon’s words in mind, and do as many as you can in 10 to 15 minutes. Just like when you go the gym, the key is to keep at it. Gradually you will see results. Your attention will improve. In addition, it is likely that your organization ability will improve as well as your ability to control your impulses. You may also see marked improvement in your coordination.

You can find more of my tips on boosting your ADHD brain in this ADDitude article on 25 Everyday Brain Boosts from our ADHD Experts.

Another way to exercise your mind is through Mindfulness.

Click here to learn about Feeding Your ADHD Brain.

What you should know about ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment

Getting an ADHD Diagnosis: 

Make sure you consult with a well-trained specialist. The doctors who have the most training in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are child psychiatrists. If you are an adult, be aware that all child psychiatrists also are trained in adult psychiatry. Ask the person you see if he or she has extensive experience in working with patients in your age group. It is imperative that you consult with a professional who has extensive experience. Therefore, if you can’t find such a person, start by calling the department of psychiatry at the medical school nearest to you.

The diagnosis rests upon a careful history taken from the identified patient as well as at least one other person. This could be a parent, spouse, sibling, or close friend, as well as, if possible, teacher comments.

First of all, you should develop a comfortably connected relationship with the person diagnosing and treating you so that you can turn to him or her with trust whenever the need arises.

The history may be supplemented by neuropsychological testing. This is paper-and-pencil testing that includes puzzles and games. It’s actually often fun to take these tests. They are not diagnostic of ADHD, but they add valuable information.

Treatment begins with education.

The patient and concerned others need to learn what ADHD is, and what it is not. A diagnosis of the mind, like ADHD, must be fully understood if it is to be mastered and made good use of. At its best, ADHD can become an asset, rather than a liability, in a person’s life. But, for this to happen, the person has to develop a deep appreciation for how ADHD works within him or her.

To understand ADHD, a person could begin with one of my books, like Delivered From Distraction, or with some other book on the topic. Just be sure you read a book by a highly qualified expert who writes clearly and well.

Treatment proceeds with a restructuring of one’s life.

Usually, disorganization is a leading problem in the life of the person who has ADHD. Often an organizational coach can help enormously in developing new habits of organization and time management.

Treatment should also include physical exercise

You should exercise at least 4 times per week. Dr. John Ratey’s work and his book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, notes that physical exercise is one of the best treatments we have for ADHD.  Learn more about Treating ADHD.

Proper nutrition plays an important role in the treatment of ADHD in all ages.

The key simply is to eat well, avoid junk food and sugar, and eat whole foods. Above all, don’t self-medicate with carbs, as many people with ADHD are tempted to do.

Learn More

If you missed Dr. Hallowell’s Distraction Q&A on ADHD, getting a late in life diagnosis and more, LISTEN NOW!

If you think you might have ADHD, CLICK HERE to learn what the Hallowell Centers can do for you.

For those people who crave more information about ADHD, we have put together a suggested reading list HERE.  

Learn about Stimulants and ADHD.

The other day one of my patients was talking about her father, who died in 1981. “He started college in 1929, and we all know what happened that year. So college came to a sudden end for my father. He became incredibly tight with money from then on, to the point of putting locks on the rotary phones and picking up pennies when he saw them on the sidewalk as if he’s just struck gold.”

This patient, whom I’ll call Sarah, was raised Jewish but now follows a non-traditional spiritual path. She has strong spiritual views, but they do not fit any standard faith or religion. But she delighted in telling me how often she sees pennies all over the place, ever since her father died. “The pennies are everywhere,” she said, with an elated giggle, her red curly hair bouncing, belying her 60 years of age. “It didn’t take me long to realize it was my dad sending me those pennies, letting me know he was watching over me from the other dimension.” She sat back with a wide smile of satisfaction on her face.

As some of you who read this newsletter know, I, myself, believe in God. I’m an Episcopalian. But I’m not doctrinaire. I like the prayer that goes, “Lord, please help me always to search for the truth, but spare me the company of those who have found it.”

My version is that God is Love.

Where you find love, there you find God. Where there is no love, God is absent. Today’s world is painfully short on love. It seems that love is a really tough sell. Why people reject it beats me. Because there’s nothing better. And without it, we wither.

It’s there for the taking, love is. As Sarah said, the pennies are everywhere. Love is all around, if we will but reach out and give it, reach out and receive it, if we will but come out of hiding. Don’t hold back.

Pat a dog. Smile at the check-out lady. Help the mom with the crying baby. Forgive a friend you know you want to make up with. Think of three things you’re grateful for. Say “Thank you” to two people today and say “I’m sorry” to one. Stop and talk to the panhandler, whether or not you chose to give him money. Go a day without reading or watching news and use that time to give others compliments.

Look for the pennies. You will find them everywhere.

Dr. Hallowell shares some thoughts on why we should try judging less, understanding more in our “Gotcha!” world in this week’s Distraction mini episode. He says, “It’s time to cut each other some slack,” as he likens our current social climate to a meat tenderizer. We are all flawed and we need each other’s understanding, not judgment!

There’s an old French proverb he loves that goes, “Tout comprendre c’est tout pardonner,” which Evelyn Waugh translated and quoted in Brideshead Revisited, “To understand all is to forgive all.”

LISTEN NOW and learn Dr. Hallowell’s thoughts on why we should try judging less and understand more.

Distraction wants to hear from you! What do you think? Are we judging each other too quickly nowadays? Send an email or voice memo with your thoughts to connect@distractionpodcast.com.

Finally, there are times when the world judges the actions of others. Such was the case in the college admissions cheating scandal. Even Dr. Hallowell sat in judgement of them when he first heard of the scandal. He thought it represented everything venal and detestable about wealth and privilege and underscored the hypocrisy of so many people who pretend to be one person but are in reality another. However, when he thought of his own little hypocrisies, he decided to look at the humanity of the Varsity Blue scandal and learn from it, rather than heap more scorn and contempt upon people he didn’t even know.  

Read Dr. Hallowell’s blog post, “Varsity Blues – What Do You Really Want For Your Children?” and learn why he had a change of heart.

San Francisco – The Hallowell Center of San Francisco, located in the downtown area, is seeking to expand. We are seeking part-time clinicians (Educational Therapists, Board certified psychiatrists, licensed psychologists, social workers, or nurse practitioners) to join our team.

Candidates must have experience in working with:

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder;
• associated disorders including anxiety;
• depression; and,
• demonstrate excellent diagnostic and clinical skills.

The Hallowell Center is a multidisciplinary private practice with offices in New York, Boston, and San Francisco.  Consequently, our Centers provide comprehensive evaluation and treatment for a full range of emotional, behavioral, and developmental issues in children and adults.

The San Francisco office primarily treats adolescents and adults. However, we’re considering adding services for children as well. Founded by Dr. Edward Hallowell, the Hallowell Center uses a strength-based model to help all of their clients recognize and reach their full potential. 

Applicants must align with our strength-based approach and have the ability to work collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team. Since our San Francisco office is small,  applicants must be flexible and fairly independent. We are looking for self-starters interested in growing with and helping us build our team.

There is room for growth and flexibility within our practice and the position could conceivably expand to full time. The position is fee for service. Anyone hired must be willing to work some evenings and/or Saturdays.

We’re recruiting clinicians with the following skills:

• Psychiatrists or Nurse Practitioners who can provide medication evaluations and ongoing medication management. Training and/or experience in integrative approaches a plus
• Couples therapists experienced in working with couples where ADHD is an issue
• Clinicians/educators/coaches who are knowledgeable and skilled in helping clients develop executive function skills, including high school and college age students 
• Group therapist that has used protocols for ADHD
• Clinicians trained in DBT or EMDR, who have used these models to treat ADHD.
• Neuropsychologists

Candidates have the option to bring their current clients into the practice.

If you are interested, please reply to: gabrielle@hallowellsfo.com

Please forward this message to potentially interested colleagues. Thank you.

I’m excited to welcome you to Season 4 of Distraction. It’s great to be back and to have my wonderful wife Sue join me for our first episode. Her speciality is working with couples where one or both partners have ADHD.

So if your partner has ADHD, you’ll want to listen to this week’s DISTRACTION Podcast S4 Ep 1. Sue talk about the realities of being married to someone with ADHD. Her insights shed light on how to navigate the frustrations of being the “non-ADHD” half of the couple, and what predicts whether a relationship will succeed.

More on ADHD and Relationships:

Dr. Hallowell shares his 20 Relationship tips HERE.

You can learn more about ADHD and Relationships HERE.

Tips for Getting Children with ADHD Ready for Back to School

The weather will soon be turning cooler and those long, lazy days of lounging poolside or spending every waking moment with best friends while away at summer camp are quickly coming to an end. But with every end, comes a new beginning and an opportunity for change. Back to school time brings bright possibilities and the chance for a clean slate to introduce new organizational strategies into your home.

Getting Organized

Organization doesn’t just happen and children with ADHD need scaffolding and support to help organize themselves and their environments. Each family will have their own way of setting up certain systems and it is important to communicate as a family so that the systems are clear to all family members. The first day of school is no time for drastic changes in household schedules. Hold a family meeting 2-3 weeks prior to the first day back at school. During your meeting discuss expectations, consequences, and brainstorm ideas to help each day flow more smoothly.

Children should be eased back into their school routines gradually.

A major change in routine for most kids over the summer is sleep. It is scientifically proven that sleep affects mood, behavior, attention, learning and all biological function; therefore, it is critical that children get enough (quantity) and quality sleep. During the last 2 weeks of summer, reintroduce a school year bedtime and spend the hour before relaxing, talking about the day, reading books, or singing songs to wind down. This time should help the child physically and emotionally transition to a calmer state. Set the alarm closer and closer to the time he or she needs to wake up in the morning.

If mornings are chaotic, agree as a family what everyone needs to do to be out the door and when. Try doing as much the night before as possible. Have a visual schedule posted for kids to know exactly what is expected of them and how long each task should take. Try to do practice runs in the last few weeks of summer and make necessary adjustments so that everyone is set up for success when school starts.

Another thing that changes in the summer are meal times. Plan meals and snack times according to the school routine and get your children used to these times and eating the types of foods they will have at school.

Creating a Central Calendar

Create a central calendar that you color code for each family member and post his/her activities, responsibilities, etc. Predictability, structure, and routine are the keys to success for all children, and especially those with ADHD. The calendar also relieves parents from answering repeated questions regarding the schedule!

Before school starts, make a list of school supplies to be purchased. Pick a day to do back to school shopping and STICK TO YOUR LIST! Otherwise, it can be hectic and overwhelming for all, but mostly to your wallet!

Be sure to make time each day for FUN and connect with your child!

Spend time playing a game, walking in the park, reading a story, or anything that works for your family and is specifically time spent bonding with your child. When children feel connected, they are less likely to worry or be anxious. As a parent, you need to be positive! Beliefs determine behaviors. Be optimistic, be loving, and try to help your child get over their fears of transition and change so that they will look forward to the new school year ahead with enthusiasm and vigor!

Prepare for September!

Is it Time to Address Your Child’s Emotional, Cognitive and Academic Concerns?:

–    Problems with learning, slow processing speed
–    Academic underperformance
–    School work overwhelm
–    Attention and concentration problems
–    Emotional regulation and self control difficulties
–    Self-esteem issues
–    Overwhelm, panic, worry or anxiety feelings
–    Trouble sleeping
–    Test, public speaking or social anxieties
–    Difficulty implementing executive function strategies

The Hallowell Centers offer Neuropsychological and Academic Testing, and the EARS program, designed to help your child dramatically improve their school grades in short time frames. 

Greetings from Wellfleet, on Cape Cod. It’s a Sunday, the weather is generously beautiful, and I’m here for a week with my wife, Sue, and various relatives and guests to teach the course I’ve been teaching for how many summers now, is it 15?, to finish up the new book about ADHD John and I have been working on for quite a while, and to have fun.

This is as close as I get to what most people think of as a vacation.  The fact is, I don’t take vacations.  Sue goes away with girlfriends with some regularity for weekends or longer periods, and then we have two weeks, one our summer camp in Michigan in July, and one this course on Cape Cod in August, when Sue gets to read on the beach (her passion) and rest up (she works harder than anyone I know).

Why I Don’t Take Vacations

The reason I don’t take conventional vacations is that, for me, every day I’m doing what I love best.  I love my three jobs.  I see patients, I write books and I give seminars and talks.  Each one of those is a passion for me.  You might think I really ought to get away and go fishing.  Of course, I have many good friends who fish, and I love their stories about fishing, but the times I’ve tried it, I get bored pretty quickly.  Plus I have so little talent for it that I just get in the way or bring bad luck.

I do love golf, but that’s only because I play it with my sons, Tucker and Jack.  Whenever I can, I love getting out on the course with them, which is not very often, due to the schedules the three of us keep.  But when we can, we get out and ruin a good walk, as Mark Twain put it.

Doing What You Love

I once wrote about this in my newsletter and someone I respect a lot took me to task, telling me I should not model over-working.  I do not mean to do that.  What I mean to model is doing what you love.  I love what I do.  I’ve discovered the three things in life I’m good at, good enough so that people will pay me to do them: see patients, write books, and give talks.  So that’s what I do with my time, most of the time.

Sue loves to travel, and someday, if we can afford it, I’ve promised her we will travel to wherever she’d like to go.  I will bring my laptop so I can work on a book.  That’s the great thing about being a writer; all you need is your laptop and your imagination.  I just have to pray my mind holds up.

My wish for all of you is to do what you love as much as you can.  If people will pay you do what you love, then you’re lucky.  Or if you don’t need money, then you’re very lucky. I still need money, as most of us do.  But I have my three talents that God gave me, which I have worked hard to develop as I’ve grown older.

Family Time

In December I will turn 70.  Sue and our 3 wonderful kids, the stars in my sky, want to take me away to Aruba, an island I used to love to go to before I even met Sue, and an island I vacationed with—yes I took conventional vacations way back when—Sue on before we got married, to celebrate my 70^th. birthday. 

Just their wanting to do it is plenty of present for me.  Believe me, to have reached 70 years—assuming I do get to December 2 intact—with Sue and those 3 kids with me will be, for me, to have reached the tipmost top of Mount Olympus.

So, as I think about it, I suppose what I’ve really been doing all these days when I’ve supposedly been seeing patients, writing books, and giving talks is doing whatever it is a person does to make sure a marriage burns bright as a bonfire for 30 years, and three children, one glorious girl and two fantabulous boys, grow into all that they ever wanted to be, still counting, still growing.

Whatever it is a person does to do that, that’s what I’ve been doing instead of taking vacations or doing whatever else I might have done.  Because that’s what’s mainly been on my mind.   

I can’t end without thanking whoever you thank for all the help I needed and got every day along the way.

Dr. Hallowell shares his thoughts on A Celebration of Life in his blog post.