To manage ADHD personally and/or as a parent, it takes dedication. You do have to commit to making some amends to your way of life in order to successfully begin to manage ADHD. It is a bit of trial and error. After making some changes, and there is not immediate improvement, sometimes disbelief can set in. Then, often a cycle of depression/anxiety can then begin and totally derail your improvement efforts. But, the "war" is not over! You can get back on track and try some other strategies.

This article reviews four personality strengths of an individual with ADHD: energetic, spontaneous, creative and inventive and hyperfocused. There may be a flip side to each of these characteristics, but for now we are focusing on the positives.

One of most common traits of an individual with ADHD is that they have a high amount of energy. The well known Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps, is a great example of someone with ADHD with heightened energy levels. When channeled, the hyperfocus and energetic aspects of his personality have produced record-breaking success. An undeniable dedication to what they are passionate about is usually quite evident in a child or adult with ADHD. The creative side of an individual with ADHD is evident in someone like HGTV star, Ty Pennington. He has been open about his struggles with ADHD, and certainly the positive creative side of his personality. He has used the highs of having a lot of energy to create and to become an expert carpenter and tv personality. The positives sometimes get clouded by the negatives with a person with ADHD. Ty would agree. A study in the Journal Child Neuropsychology shows that an individual with ADHD actually can be more creative. Refer to this link to read about the results of the study.

What are you Feeding your brain?...

This is the second article of the series...ADHD as we know comes with positives and challenges. Daily, an individual faces a variety of situations that cause a reaction. Because of their type of ADHD, that child or adult will face the need to handle emotions and events with discretion. As in the first article, we are breaking down the acronym a bit differently. Earlier, I went over the A of ADHD, looking at the anger and aptitude. This article we will learn about the first D of ADHD. As we all know, it really stands for Deficit; however, I challenge you to look at it from a different lens. How about we study the devotion and destruction that a person with ADHD faces.

We all have heard of ADHD. When you hear that acronym, certain experiences, descriptions, and individuals come to your mind. I am inviting you to see the strengths and challenges of ADHD in a new way. Let's take the ADHD acronym and think of it a bit differently. Each individual with ADHD embodies many challenging situations each day that require courage to handle with fortitude and confidence. How can an individual with the diagnosis of ADHD use their strengths to embrace life?

What are children dealing with the most on a daily basis? What am I seeing often in my therapy office? What can be done to help children with these three A's?

Why do I need to understand brain development? What are the main parts of the brain? Understanding how the brain works, will it better me as a parent?

You may have heard this term, "self-regulate". It is a well-used word these days for the way an individual can calm themselves in a stressful situation. A simple definition is that it is the way someone handles emotions, positive or negative. Some children have this skill more innately, and others need help developing the skill of self-regulation. It is even evident with infants. When a baby is agitated during feedings or diaper changing, this may indicate they have a harder time self-soothing. Later, this develops into a lack of self-regulation. As this child gets older, a parent may tend to want to rescue the child from feeling negative emotions. The child then turns to the parent as their external source of self-regulation.

Do you ever have your children look at you and say, "Why are you stressed?" or "Why are you frustrated?" or "Why are you sad?" or "Why are you excited?". And, the next minute, the children are mimicking your emotion. This concept is called co-regulation. I see this in my own family as well as in my play therapy office. First, what is regulation? In general, it refers to adjusting your response to change. Hence, self regulation is an internal response to a situation or emotion.

With Anxiety increasing year after year, we as parents are searching for ways to help our children not become overly anxious. In fact, the CDC published children with anxiety increased from 5.5% in 2007 to 6.4% in 2011- 2012. One in six ages 2-8 years has a mental, behavioral or developmental disorder.

Here are activities to do with your child as well as teach your child to instill a calmness.

Millions of Americans hit the roads and skies for holiday travel. This can be a stressful time on parents and children. The delays, safety concerns, health concerns, and just mere frustrations can bring on anxiety to all. However, with careful planning before you go, it could be a lot more enjoyable. One rule of thumb is to try to keep your cool, easier said than done! Being with family and friends during the holidays can be such an exciting time!

Establish Routine - It is no surprise that establishing a daily routine will lend to a more peaceful day. But, how do you do this when the regular routine of going to school is not in place, for example during the holidays. It is important to try to keep your daily routines in tact as much as possible. For example, if you eat breakfast at the table each morning, try to do that most days.

Holidays can be a time where lots of accidents can occur. From tripping over toys, presents, furniture being rearranged, to pulling down the tree, lots can happen unexpectedly. Making a trip to the doctor or worse to the ER is not on your holiday agenda! So, be aware of how to prevent mishaps prior to the accident happening.