Annual ADDA Regional Conferences on Adult AD/HD
Friday, October 20, 2006 (Philadelphia, PA area)
Program Descriptions

Myths and Facts about Adult AD/HD
Presented by Philip Parker, M.D (PA)
Audience: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Philip Parker, MD, is an adult psychiatrist in private practice for over 30 years. Dr. Parker is on the Professional Advisory Board of ADDA and is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. Dr. Parker taught the first course on adult AD/HD to the adult psychiatry residents and gave the first lecture about AD/HD ever delivered to a law and psychiatry class at the Wayne State University Law School. He wrote Information and Resource Sheet #10: Managing Medication for Adults with AD/HD which appears on the website for the National Resource Center on AD/HD and presented to the National ADDA and CHADD conferences on the topic. Recently, he has written and presented on treatment issues in adult men with AD/HD.

Distinguishing myths from facts about any subject in any situation is often a difficult task. This presentation will discuss approaching this problem in connection with AD/HD in adults. Assessing the truthfulness and accuracy of statements about the subject will be described. We will discuss several tools that can be used to facilitate this task—including the recently revised “Guiding Principles for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.”

At the end of this presentation, participants will:

• Describe the difficulty in distinguishing whether statements about AD/HD in adults are “myths” or “facts?”
• List some particular myths concerning AD/HD in adults
• Describe how using ADDA’s recently revised “Guiding Principles for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder” can aid in distinguishing “myths” from “facts”

AD/HD and the College Experience
Presented by Tracey Rush, M.S. (both PA and NY)
Audience: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Tracey A. Rush, MS, is the Learning Resources Advisor and Coordinator of Student Disability Services at Swarthmore College, where she works with students, facilitating their transition from high school to college and their progression through college academics to graduation.  Students with AD/HD represent a segment of her practice.

The transition from high school to college can be daunting for any student. It is particularly challenging for students with ADHD. The laws protecting them change upon their graduation from high school. Often, their support system is miles away while professors expect them to manage an unstructured schedule filled with long-range assignments, papers and exams. This session provides the attendees with practical suggestions for coping with the complexities of college life as well as a brief explanation of the legal changes effecting their education.

At the end of this presentation, participants will:

• Understand the changes in disability law from high school to college
• Appreciate the unique challenges presented for postsecondary students with ADHD
• Develop practical strategies to assist ADHD students at the postsecondary level

AD/HD and the Workplace
Presented by Michele Novotni, Ph.D. (PA)
Audience: Beginner, Intermediate

Michele Novotni, PhD is a past president and CEO of the Attention Deficit Disorder Association. She is an author of several best selling books on adult AD/HD, a licensed psychologist, consultant and AD/HD coach with over 30 years of experience working with both children and adults with AD/HD. She has successfully assisted hundreds of individuals with AD/HD improve both effectiveness and efficiency in the workplace. She is a regular columnist for ADDitude Magazine and has been published in every leading AD/HD publication. She is frequently quoted in leading national newspapers and magazines, and appeared on thousands of national television and radio shows. She lectures and consults extensively throughout the world. Michele is based at the Wayne Counseling Center, Wayne, PA.

Individuals with AD/HD can be an asset to an employer or blaze innovative successful career paths as an entrepreneur. However, ineffectively managed AD/HD causes significant negative impacts at work and can cost both employers and employees millions of dollars. Learn to maximize the strengths and scaffold the areas of difficulty through the use of individually tailored accommodations to improve effectiveness and efficiency. This session will present practical information in managing the work environment for the AD/HD adult, as well as strategies for supervisors and human resource personnel to maximize performance for those individuals with AD/HD. Included will be information on identifying AD/HD and it’s impact at work, reasonable accommodations and effective strategies, and understanding the impact of ADA.

At the end of this presentation, participants will

• Identify the impact of AD/HD on the workplace
• Develop reasonable accommodations to help individuals with AD/HD succeed
• Assist individuals with AD/HD to negotiate the social work environment
• Utilize strengths of individuals with AD/HD to build a stronger workplace team
• Understand special challenges for entrepreneurs with AD/HD
  

Living Well With AD/HD–Connect and Contain
Presented by Linda Anderson, M.A., M.C.C (PA)
Audience: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Linda S. Anderson, MA, MCC is the President-Elect of the Board of the Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) and will take office on July 1, 2006. A highly regarded coach, she leads AD/HD seminars, including a teleseminar series for coaches and clinicians. Linda is an inspirational teacher and coach who uses wit, wisdom and down-to-earth strategies and tools. She is the author of Getting Clear and Organizing What's Left, as well as many articles, among them, “The Body Double” and “A Closer Look at Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder – From the Outside Looking In”.

Living a life successfully with AD/HD means finding out which strategies and tools work best for you. Two important metaphors, connection and containment, are window views into what is challenging, but is also liberating as you discover solutions and choose better strategies to help you reach your goals. By exploring a few old tools in a new way and through discovering some unique ways to connect and contain, you can change your life.

At the end of this presentation, participants will

• Explore the metaphors contain and connect, as it applies to AD/HD challenges
• To offer at least three helpful tools for each metaphor
• To define and explain the need and relevancy for developing a “support team”

AD/HD Coaching 101-A Perfect Match
Presented by Linda Anderson, M.A., M.C.C. (PA)
Audience: Beginner

Linda S. Anderson, MA, MCC is the President-Elect of the Board of the Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) and will take office on July 1, 2006. A highly regarded coach, she leads AD/HD seminars, including a teleseminar series for coaches and clinicians. Linda is an inspirational teacher and coach who uses wit, wisdom and down-to-earth strategies and tools. She is the author of Getting Clear and Organizing What's Left, as well as many articles, among them, “The Body Double” and “A Closer Look at Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder – From the Outside Looking In”.

This seminar will provide participants with a picture of what coaching is and why it works so well for individuals with AD/HD. This will be an interactive exploration with examples and resources regarding how you look for a coach and what you would ask in interviewing for a coach.

At the end of this presentation, participants will

• Define coaching as per ICF guidelines and as distinct in comparison with therapy
• Visualize a coaching model
• Explore the elements of coaching through examples
• List written and web resources

AD/HD and Relationships: We Can Both Be Happy
Presented by Ari Tuckman, PsyD, M.B.A. (both PA and NY)
Audience: Intermediate, Advanced

Ari Tuckman, PsyD, MBA, is a clinical psychologist in private practice who specializes in diagnosing and treating children, teens, and adults with AD/HD. Dr. Tuckman is an avid participant in education about AD/HD as support group facilitator, author for many professional journals and the general public, media appearances including CNN’s Headline News Network, and service as one of ADHDbalance.net’s Online Community Advocacy Leaders (OnCALs) and the Chester County CHADD Professional Advisory Board. An enthusiastic presenter, he has earned excellent reviews from mental health professionals on presentations regarding the diagnosis and treatment of adult AD/HD, as well as numerous presentations for members of the public about AD/HD and related disorders.

AD/HD presents certain challenges in relationships. Everybody wants to be happy, but typical AD/HD difficulties can make that happiness elusive for both partners. This session will help attendees overcome those hurdles. This will cover romantic relationships, as well as relationships with other family members, friends, co-workers, etc. Happiness in many relationships involves re-negotiating who does what and how in order to better match each person’s strengths and preferences—this is especially true for those with AD/HD. The goal is to keep things fair, but that doesn’t mean that they have to be equal. Creative problem-solving can eliminate many of the gridlock arguments that ruin relationships. By defining and accepting a new balance, attendees will learn to work together and break the tug of war.

At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:

• Define how AD/HD impacts relationships
• State that fair doesn’t always mean equal—but fair is still important
• Understand the importance of advocating for one’s needs, as well as being aware of others’ needs
• Create a plan for developing better balance in the relationship