Chadd of Collier County (Naples)

THINK KINDNESS, SHARE KINDNESS, SPREAD KINDNESS. Imagine a world focused on Kindness. Oh, what a wonderful world that would be. Make a .

12 Executive Functions of the Brain Spotlight #9: Working Memory - Executive Functioning Success Have you ever found yourself entering a room, and then pausing to ask yourself, “Why did I come in here?” This common situation is an example of the limitations of working memory, an executive function of the brain. I think of working memory as a little work table in your head. It is where you [...

DMDD: Extreme Tantrums and Irritability - Child Mind Institute Children who have frequent, severe tantrums, beyond the preschool years, and chronic irritability may be diagnosed with disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, or DMDD. Kids with DMDD respond well to therapy that helps them manage powerful emotions.

Treatment for Depression - Child Mind Institute What parents need to know about treatment for depression, from different kinds of therapy and medication to finding a good clinician.

How to Help Children Calm Down - Child Mind Institute Learn how to help kids calm down before frustration, fear or anger builds into explosive behavior. Emotional regulation is a skill some kids need to be taught.

What Is Co-Regulation? - Child Mind Institute Co-regulation can help kids learn to manage their emotions but also requires managing your own.

DBT: What Is Dialectical Behavior Therapy? - Child Mind Institute DBT is an intensive treatment for children and teenagers who have trouble managing difficult emotions without self-destructive behaviors. It is used to help kids with depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance abuse, and many other disorders.

ADHD co-exists with many things. The good news is ADHD can be effectively treated, which helps manage all the co-existing conditions. If any of the associated conditions have been difficult to manage, consider a co-existing diagnosis.

Talk with your doctor or therapist if you are struggling with any of these!

Housework tip 🤭

This worksheet is designed to help children and young people explore how their thoughts about events influence their feelings and actions. While rooted in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), the focus here is on enhancing mentalization—the ability to understand the mental states that drive behavior.

By encouraging reflection on their internal world, this tool helps young people build self-awareness, improve emotional regulation, and develop healthier responses to life’s challenges. It's a practical way for adults to guide meaningful conversations that foster growth and resilience in the young people they care for.

Here are five top tips for adults to make the conversation helpful and supportive:

1. Create a Safe Space: Start the conversation in a calm, private setting where the young person feels comfortable. Let them know this is a judgment-free zone where they can share openly.

2. Be Curious, Not Critical: Approach the discussion with curiosity rather than criticism. Ask open-ended questions like, "What was going through your mind when that happened?" to encourage exploration rather than imposing your perspective.

3. Validate Feelings: Acknowledge and validate their emotions, even if you don’t fully understand them. Saying something like, "I can see why you felt that way," helps them feel heard and supported.

4. Collaborate on Solutions: Work together to think about alternative thoughts or actions that could lead to different outcomes. This makes the process feel collaborative rather than directive.

5. Reflect, Don’t Lecture: After discussing their thoughts, feelings, and actions, gently guide them to reflect on what they’ve learned. Ask, "What do you think might help if this happens again?" instead of telling them what they should do.

These tips help ensure that the conversation is constructive, empathetic, and empowering for the young person.

Link to PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11nFrQiv9Iyxg_Z23afOEEVZWTbVSVO4A/view?usp=share_link

Schedule a five-minute period for students to check their work before turning in homework or tests. additu.de/1az

How and Why to Forgive, even when it is hard
by Cynthia Hammer

Many times, people with ADHD get hurt by another person's words or
actions and believe that person owes them an apology for mistreating them.
When an apology is not forthcoming, they can stew about it, churning their
grudge against the other person over and over in their mind.
This is not helpful. It can make you feel self-righteous, but it also makes you
feel lousy and does nothing to change future interactions with the other
person.
Faith Galliano Desai, Ph.D., has written about why and how we must
move on, even if we never receive an apology for an actual or perceived
slight. If you are stuck in resentment, I hope you take her advice to heart.
"For a long time, I thought that if someone didn't say, "I'm sorry,"
it meant I didn't get to be upset.
Some of the best advice I've ever received is that the ability to forgive
another person is not a favor to the other person but rather an act of self-
love.
We often believe an apology has to be the first step in the healing process,
and when one does not come, we can become stuck.
Forgiving another person, even if they haven't apologized, is freeing yourself
and taking the power to heal back into your own hands.
Forgiveness is messy and uncomfortable because we wrap it in hurt, anger,
painful memories, suffering, and resentment.
These wounds can feel like a hard, tight knot lodged deep in our heart.
So, how do we unravel the knot?
We U.N.H.O.O.K. the stories we carry around in our minds.
U—understand that the other person is imperfect and flawed because all
human beings are flawed.
N—nurture yourself. To forgive, you must acknowledge what occurred and
how you were affected. Wanting to push away uncomfortable emotions is
natural, but you permit yourself to have them by labeling your feelings.
Accept how you felt about the event and how it made you react. Practice
self-kindness and self-compassion. Imagine comforting yourself.
H—hold the story lightly. Thoughts are not truths.
O--observe—tune into your body. What happens in your body when you
revisit the story and wounds? Can you feel where you are holding the story
in your body? Is your neck tense, your stomach clenched, or is there pain in
your shoulder or back? Visualize yourself sending love and comfort there.
O--open yourself up to a new story based on the growth you experienced
due to what happened. What did you learn about yourself, your needs, and
your boundaries?
K--know that forgiving the other person is a beautiful way to honor
yourself. Having worked through the feelings and learned what to do to
strengthen your boundaries and meet your needs, you can better take care
of yourself in the future."
~~~~~~~~~
In addition to Dr Desai's good advice, Cynthia Hammer, MSW, suggests you reflect
on how you want to handle future interactions with offending parties. Can you set
better boundaries with them so they talk to you with more respect? Can you speak
up for yourself at the time of the hurtful words by advocating for yourself? Or do
you need to eliminate all future interactions with this person as you see no way to maintain a mutually satisfying relationship with them?

© -

Being a "Body Double" is a strategy that allows you to help your ADHD kids with homework. But what does that mean, and how will it help?

Read this week's article here:
https://impactparents.com/blog/adhd/how-to-help-with-homework-be-a-body-double/
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This resource by Dr. Lori Desautels
is finally here! 🥳

This manual provides you with an understanding of
🧠 The Social Nervous System
🧠 Healthy Communication
🧠 Preventative Practices
🧠 Emotional Regulation
🧠 Discipline with Empathy

Order: www.teachergoals.com/body-brain

A working memory deficit could help explain difficulty working out math problems in your head or retaining what you've read. additu.de/wmd

Love them on their best days
and their worst days
and their in between days.
Love them when they get it right
and when they get it wrong
and when they give up halfway through.
Love them when they’re lovable
and when they’re challenging
and when they’re just all of out-of-sorts.
Love them fiercely.
Love them tenderly.
Love them wholly.
And, when the time comes,
set them free,
and watch them walk away
with pockets full of love
to guide them on their journey.
-L.R.Knost
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📚Peaceful Parenting Resources: Link in http://t.co/T8goym3P6Z 📚
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Please respect the work of authors, photographers, and artists. You are welcome to share provided you include appropriate credit and do not crop out author’s names from quote memes. Thank you. 🙂

www.LRKnost.com

Fighting a rare, incurable cancer, but I'm still here!💞 L.R.

Researchers estimated that following a healthy lifestyle could add more years to your life, even if you don’t start until you’re 50 years old. How many more years? If you’re 50 right now and take just basic care of yourself, instead of living only to 79 if you’re a woman and 75½ if you’re a man, you could enjoy an average life expectancy of 93 if you’re a woman and 87½ if you’re a man. That's an extra 14 years for women and 12.2 years for men!

Don’t wait, though. Even if you are younger than 50, it's always a good time to start changing your lifestyle. Every year in the United States alone, there are half a million heart attacks, half a million strokes, a million new cases of diabetes, and a million new cancer diagnoses. The potential for preventing disease and death from chronic diseases is enormous.

Watch the video "How to Increase Your Life Expectancy 12 to 14 Years " and see the research study references at https://buff.ly/3WdClzm.

How Not to Age is out now! Borrow a copy from your local library or order one today: https://buff.ly/48XNwiN

The ADHD world is curvilinear. Past, present, and future are never separate and distinct. Everything is now.
Learn more: 👉 https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-in-adults-nervous-system/

Dive into the world of with Brendan Mahan at the helm of the ADHD Essentials podcast! Explore engaging episodes that tackle everything from to , tailored for those who live with . Join the journey by visiting ADHD Essentials on your favorite podcast platform or at adhdessentials.com/podcasts. Don’t miss out—start listening today!

Develop and use checklists for daily schedules, weekly chores, and morning and evening routines. additu.de/build-mem

I don't know who needs to see this, but ADHD is a disability. If it's causing you to struggle in a work context, not only is it okay to ask for accomodations... it's your right to, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

(If you're interested in seeing me talk about neurodivergence in the context of work, follow me on LinkedIn...

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolefilippone )

Parenting can be HARD.

It’s stretching, challenging, terrifying, exhausting, and sometimes even infuriating trying to navigate our way through life while simultaneously trying to help our little ones learn to navigate their own way.

It can get overwhelming and lead to some epic adult meltdowns.

Learning to take an adult time-out when necessary, to stop and breathe through our initial reactions, to pause long enough to shift from reactive to proactive, and to weave intentional self-care into each and every day can help us to parent more peacefully and effectively.

But parents are human, too.

So when those inevitable parenting mistakes and meltdowns do occur, give yourself some grace, apologize to your tiny humans, and move on knowing you’re doing your best.

And your best is more than enough.
- L.R.Knost
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📚Peaceful Parenting Resources: http://t.co/T8goym3P6Z 📚
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Please respect the work of authors, photographers, and artists. You are welcome to share provided you include appropriate credit and do not crop out author’s names from quote memes. Thank you. 🙂

www.LRKnost.com

Fighting a rare, incurable cancer, but I’m still here!💞 L.R.

Rhythm makes information memorable. Create chants, rhymes, and raps to remember multiplication tables and history facts. additu.de/1bk