Lessons Learned During Yard Work

Really? I have been reading Last Child in the Woods this week.  And while I am skeptical that being among nature will cure ADHD, I agree anecdotally regular and sustained interactions in a green space, lowers our anxiety, improves our sustained attention, and seems to decrease irritability and frustration, the longer our family is out in nature; hence the frequent camping trips and weekly hikes, and long weekends...

Using Color Coding to Organize Your Children and Your Mind

As my kids get older, they chuckle at the ways I have compensated for my own ADHD overlaid upon their own ADHD challenges. In my thirties, as our family size exploded from 1 to 5 children,  I was often met with rude comments across the grocery aisle, like “do you know what causes it,” or “why are you having another one, you already have a boy and girl,”  or  ”you poor girl, how do...

My ADD Tent: 7 Benefits of Camping in the Mud

This weekend, our family camped in the Uninta Mountains, not far from Park City, Utah.  While the rest of the country was experiencing record high temperatures, we had rain, near freezing night lows, winds, and eventually snow- on our Memorial Day family camping trip.  Friday night we put up two tents, built a fire, and warmed dinner- while rain down p0urs made mud so deep that we were all walking on 3 inch mud...

My ADD House: Yelled, Vented, Cried, Hugged, then Dug: Reconnecting After Disagreement

As many know, I have several teenagers in my house, all of whom hate it when I act like an expert about them.  To them, I say “relax,” while I am talking about communicating with teenagers, I promise I am not an expert!  All I can share is what I have noticed and learned over the last couple of years, in my teenage-parenting adventure. YELLED: Our Saturday morning, started poorly this past weekend....

The Gift of ADHD? Life in Extremes

According to Webster’s definition, a”gift” is a natural capacity, talent, power, or ability.  Lately I have been thinking about that “gift of ADHD.”  What natural capacities, powers or talents does ADHD endow me? Intense focus & concentration- Yes, I can get into the “flow” and completely lose all sense of time and space.  It happens often while writing this blog....