I was quoted in an article on Adult ADD in Saturday’s Globe and Mail Newspaper (the major National Canadian Newspaper) written by Dr. Gabor Mate. Oct. 15th, 2005 p F7 in the focus section. Dr Mate has ADD and wrote a groundbreaking book on ADD called Scattered Minds
: How ADD Originates and What you Can Do About It, as well as a great book on stress
, and one on parenting
.
The title of the article is ADD? Time to chill. (free registration required)
However there was a mistake in one of my quotes,
Medications don’t by themselves solve the problems of the adult or child with attention deficit disorder,” says Pete Quily, a Vancouver ADD coach and the host of an ADD-support website. “If a doctor or psychiatrist gives a prescription only, without recommending, they are doing a disservice.
after “without recommending,” it should read “other treatment options such as ADHD coaching, cognitive-behavioral therapy, diet, exercise, self care activities, ADHD support groups etc”.
I’m not anti ADHD medication, they can be very useful, but by themselves they’re not enough. Hence the title of the book on ADD Jeff Hamilton, a former ADHD coaching client of mine who wrote a book about his experiences in dealing with ADD, Pills Don’t Teach Skills. The pills are useful, they can make it easier to learn the skills you need to effectively deal with ADD, but you won’t learn the skills just by taking a pill and doing nothing else.
I don’t expect a doctor to provide a complete solution to managing ADHD, and I don’t claim to do so with ADD coaching. However I do expect that doctors at least tell patients about some of the other ways of managing ADHD in addition to the solutions they provide. Otherwise they may give the patient the impression that the ADHD medications are all they need to manage it, and those of us with ADHD know that’s not true.
Adults with ADD need self-compassion. Pete Quily coaches people to organize themselves, to complete tasks, to maintain long-term goals — all difficult for the person with ADD — but he also helps with issues of self-esteem. “Often,” Mr. Quily says, “they will do eight things great and one not so well, but that one thing is all they see and beat themselves up about.”
One of the things I notice makes a big difference with my ADHD coaching clients is to help them notice what they’re doing right, and give themselves credit for it.
Let me know what you think of the article. What other ways of managing ADHD did your doctor or the person who diagnosed you with ADHD suggest you explore?
