Blog
Just Get Started!
The ability to get started on something is called “task initiation or activation” by the experts on Executive functions (Russell Barkley, Peg Dawson, Thomas Brown, etc). Executive functions are those skills that help us get things done. Task initiation is just one of these executive skills and it involves the ability to START. Difficulties getting … Read more
What is an Executive Function?
The term “executive function” or “executive dysfunction” refers to those skills that are used to “get things done” and to “manage oneself” and they are often associated with ADHD/ADD. They develop in the precortex of the brain which is in the front forehead area and damage to this area can also impact the executive functions. … Read more
Home from College – Deja-Vu All Over Again
Has your son or daughter arrived home from college for the summer and quickly slipped right back into their “old” high school ways? Down deep you know they have matured because they made it through on their own this past year. They know they have grown too, but something about returning home can sometimes set … Read more
May is for Moms
May is for Moms. The month of May has the weather we like, the flowers start to blossom, the days are longer, and it feels so good to get out of our turtlenecks and heavy jackets. Now if we could just get that “project” off our list…..we would be extra happy. The problem with being … Read more
Screen Free Week – Time to Turn on Creativity
The annual Screen Free Week (formerly called turn off the TV week) is April 29th – May 3, this year. I am happy to see that it is not school vacation week as it has been in the past (at least in Massachusetts). I think helping kids find other options for fun during a typical … Read more
Files, Files Everywhere!
Hopefully, by now your taxes are done. You’ve been through your files locating all pertinent information and now is a good time to clear out any left over paper clutter. Eighty percent of the paper that gets filed is never looked at again. Go through each file folder and weed out those papers you no … Read more
What to Do When You’re Stuck in the Mud with a Fried Brain
The pressure of homework or rather the pressure of finishing homework for that valuable checkmark is taking away from the point of homework. It used to be that homework was a review of what was learned in school that day, but now often times students are “re”teaching themselves because teachers do not allow enough time … Read more
Nothing So Wrong With Us That What Is Right With Us, Can't Fix
That was the title of a keynote speech at the CHADD (Children and Adults with ADHD) conference I attended last November by Mark Katz. Think about that title for a minute. As Mark explained, it is the meaning that we attach to adversity and/or the meaning that others attach that influences how we feel about … Read more
Getting Organized – The Key Points
February 22: Happy Anniversary to me! Yes, it has been 31 years since I started my quest to become organized. I didn’t even know what it was that I needed to do, I only knew I needed to do something. Often times we are so “caught up” in the day to day of things that … Read more