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ADHD Coaching Tips

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ADHD Coaching Tips

ADHD Coaching Tips Psychologists | Toms River, NJ | Manahawkin, NJ | Freehold, NJ – Ocean County NJ

ADHD Coaching Tips

  • Break large assignments and tasks into smaller parts.
  • Work for 25 minutes, then take a short break. Use a timer!
  • Keep to a routine. For example, homework can be done the same place and same time every day.
  • Set up intrinsic and extrinsic reinforcer/reward
  • Set a schedule. Right the schedule out and make it conspicuous (i.e., using a whiteboard, etc.).
  • Use a written planner. Using your phone, computer, or watch to set a schedule can be helpful, but the act of writing out a schedule further helps with remembering to complete tasks.

At Pathways Neuropsychology Associates we use evidence-based evaluation instruments and treatments to get you, your loved one, or your child on the path to success. If you or someone you love are struggling with the symptoms of ADHD, call now and get started!

LET’S GET STARTED

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ADHD Coaching Tips

ADHD – Back To School Tips

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ADHD – Back To School Tips

ADHD Coaching | Toms River, NJ | Manahawkin, NJ | Freehold, NJ - Ocean County NJADHD – Back to School Tips 

Going back to school can be a stressful experience for a child with ADHD. Here are some tips to make the transition a little less stressful:

Tip #1

Communication! Discuss with your child what he/she should expect, what the morning routine prior to school going to be and what your expectations are of your child.

Tip #2

Listen! Have a discussion with your child and listen to his/her concerns, worries, expectations, and goals. Listen to your child and find our what he/she is excited about for school. This is not a time to lecture or teach. This is a time to listen, empathize, and use your positive attention parenting skills.

Tip #3

Do your prep work. Prior to the start of the school year meet with the principal and discussed your child’s special issues. Advocate for the teacher that works well with ADHD children. Set up the communication system before the school year even starts.

At Pathways Neuropsychology Associates we use evidence-based evaluation instruments and treatments to get you, your loved one, or your child on the path to success. If you or someone you love are struggling with the symptoms of ADHD, call now and get started!

LET’S GET STARTED

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Source: ADHD
ADHD – Back To School Tips

ADHD versus Bipolar: What Are the Differences?

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ADHD versus Bipolar: What Are the Differences?

ADHD versus Bipolar: What Are the Differences? | Psychologists | Toms River, NJ | Manahawkin, NJ | Freehold, NJ - Ocean County NJ

ADHD versus Bipolar: What Are the Differences?

Life can be hard enough in children and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Unfortunately, comorbidities can make matters even more challenging, whether trying to succeed at school or work. Bipolar disorder is more likely to occur in children and adults with ADHD by several fold. What is bipolar disorder, how is it diagnosed, and how does it change ADHD treatment plans?

Bipolar disorder is characterized by alternating manic and depressive phases. Depressive phases of bipolar disorder are characterized by feelings of hopelessness and loss of interest in activities. Meanwhile, restlessness, impulsivity, defiant behavior, and inattention are often experienced during manic episodes. While ADHD and bipolar disorder can often coexist (up to 70% of those with bipolar also have ADHD), the two disorders can also be confused with one another since the symptoms of both manic and depressive episodes often overlap with ADHD symptoms.

ADHD is a developmental disorder that affects attention and ability to prioritize tasks and schedules. Those with ADHD often experience inattention, restlessness, insomnia, and quick loss of interest in actives that use to bring joy and excitement. Bipolar disorder, on the other hand, is a mood disorder even though it could mimic signs of ADHD. The key difference is ADHD is constant and more situationally dependent. Whenever a task demands self-regulation or executive control, an individual with ADHD will struggle.  Bipolar, conversely, is less situational and constant. Depressive and manic phases of bipolar come and go as they please, with very little dependent on context and environment. 

Another difference in the manic symptoms of bipolar and the racing thoughts of ADHD is discussed on ADDITUDE.com, “People with ADHD report racing thoughts, which they can grasp and appreciate but can’t necessarily express or record quickly enough. With mania, the patient’s racing thoughts flash by like a flock of birds overtaking them so fast that their color and type is impossible to discern.” It may take a professional to discern the subtle differences. At Pathways Neuropsychology Associates, we have many experts here to help make an accurate diagnosis. 

While it is possible to differentiate between bipolar disorder and ADHD, it is also possible that they can occur at same time. The overlap happens quite often. However, too often one of the two is misdiagnosed or masked by the other. It is important to make an accurate assessment because the treatment depends on it. For instance, stimulants are effective treatments for ADHD, but may exacerbate manic episodes of bipolar. The accuracy of treatment is also important because the outcomes depend on it. For instance, those with bipolar disorder are up to fifteen times more likely to attempt suicide. 

If you or loved one is experiencing symptoms of ADHD and/ or bipolar disorder, please contact Pathways today! We can help you make sense of your symptoms and get you on the right track with our seasoned professionals.

LET’S GET STARTED

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Source: ADHD
ADHD versus Bipolar: What Are the Differences?

Mediterranean Diet – Good for the Brain

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Mediterranean Diet – Good for the Brain

Mediterranean Diet - Good for the Brain

The Mediterranean diet is high in vegetables, fruits, olive oil and whole grains, and moderate in protein and animal fats. The Mediterranean diet has been shown in many studies to be beneficial in reducing the risk for diabetes, heart disease and stroke. A new study shows it may also be good for the brain.

Researchers measured brain volume using magnetic resonance imaging in 401 people when they were 73 years old and again when they were 76. They also ranked how closely their typical diets followed a Mediterranean one. All were healthy and free of dementia at the start of the observational study, in Neurology.

After adjustment for education, diabetes, hypertension and other factors, researchers found that the more closely they adhered to a Mediterranean-style diet, the less the loss of brain volume. Those with the strongest adherence averaged 10 milliliters greater total brain volume than those with the lowest. That effect is large — about half the effect of aging, which is the most significant cause of brain shrinkage…read more

Excerpt from New York Times. read the full story here

The Pathways team of professionals has helped thousands of people with brain injuries. We are Dedicated to effective and compassionate care for individuals with neurological challenges.

LET’S GET STARTED

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Mediterranean Diet – Good for the Brain

Conquering Negative Thinking

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Conquering Negative Thinking

neuropsychology health rehab Excerpt from New York Times. read the full story here 

Here’s a New Year’s challenge: Make 2017, the year that you quiet all those negative thoughts swirling around your brain.

All humans have a tendency to be a bit more like Eeyore than Tigger, to ruminate more on bad experiences than positive ones. It’s an evolutionary adaptation that helps us avoid danger and react quickly in a crisis.

But constant negativity can also get in the way of happiness, add to our stress and worry level and ultimately damage our health. And some people are more prone to negative thinking than others.

With practice you can learn to disrupt and tame negative cycles.

By acknowledging your negative cycle and accepting it, you are on your way to taming your negative thoughts. Acceptance is the basic premise of mindfulness meditation…

Excerpt from New York Times. read the full story here

The Pathways team of professionals has helped thousands of people with brain injuries. We are Dedicated to effective and compassionate care for individuals with neurological challenges.

LET’S GET STARTED

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Source: Pathways Neuropsychology
Conquering Negative Thinking

The Importance of Speech Therapy for Adults – Helping You Beyond Speech

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The Importance of Speech Therapy for Adults – Helping You Beyond Speech

Pathways Neuropsychology Associates are beginning a blog that will highlight the various services offered, and who and how they can benefit. We will be featuring not only the specific clinical staff, but also the latest treatments and interventions, and the new evidence-based research. You can always contact us with any questions, and visit the website. For now, welcome to the “Cognition Corner.”

When many of you think of Speech Therapy, you may picture a very nice person sitting at a child’s table in a school helping either yourself or a friend to say your R’s correctly. That is the view for many of us. But this is going to serve as a public service announcement about the importance of speech therapy for adults, and as a vital team member to help in the recovery after something neurological happens such as a brain injury or stroke.

If you or a loved one are faced with a medical problem/condition that leads you to have problems with concentration, memory, math skills, and you are unable to complete your daily responsibilities, or even return to work; there are several people you would think to make appointments with.

You would make appointments with: your doctor, a neurologist, a neuropsychologist, possibly a lawyer or social worker, maybe even your pastor or clergy. You may not think about one of your stops along your road to recovery being at a speech pathologist’s office. But that is exactly one of the stops you should make!

From a mild concussion suffered during a soccer game, to a severe hemmorhagic stroke that has left your right side paralyzed, speech therapy is there for you just like any other rehabilitation service.

As per the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA), it is within a Speech Pathologist’s scope of practice to, “play a primary role in the screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of infants, children, adolescents, and adults with cognitive-communication disorders.” A Speech Pathologist has the knowledge and training to help someone identify what their deficits may be and what daily activities they may be impacting, as well as develop an individualized treatment plan that will target the cognitive-linguistic and executive functioning skills they will need for increasing quality of life, and returning to everyday activities such as work and school.

If you have difficulty following complex directions- speech therapy can help.

If you aren’t able to organize yourself and manage your time well, speech therapy can help.

If you are an accountant, and are having trouble with computation skills, speech therapy can help.

If you are a CEO, and you find yourself with no filter when talking and you are in danger of losing your job, speech therapy can help.

Those are just a few scenarios. No matter what your diagnosis or background, if you are finding problems with your: memory, attention, problem solving, self-monitoring, household chore management, there will be something in speech therapy for you.

The field of speech pathology has really grown over recent years, and the use of technology, tablets, and virtual reality has enabled SLPs to simulate functional tasks pertinent to your everyday activities. We can help you map out a bus route to work using google maps, or we can help you get cognitively enriching apps on your tablet through ITunes. And there are other devices out there dedicated to helping improve attention and cognition. Available technologies will be the subject of another blog post.

If you think you or your loved one would benefit from the strategies and activities that going to speech therapy can offer you, then talk to your doctor and get a perscription today! And call our number to schedule an appointment for an evaluation. Hope to see you soon, to be able to be on your road to recovery with you.

Kristen Schreirer, MA, CCC-SLP, CBIST

We Are Here To Help. Let’s Get Started!

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2005). Roles of speech-language pathologists in the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of individuals with cognitive-communication disorders: position statement [Position Statement]. Available from www.asha.org/policy.

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Source: Pathways Neuropsychology
The Importance of Speech Therapy for Adults – Helping You Beyond Speech

Welcome to Pathways Neuropsychology Associates

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Welcome to Pathways Neuropsychology Associates

Welcome to Pathways Neuropsychology Associates!

Dedicated to effective and compassionate care for individuals with neurological challenges.
Our team of experienced professionals provide neuropsychological rehabilitation and treatment for individuals with brain injuries and other neurological impairments.  We utilize a comprehensive approach based on proven, research-based methods to rebuild and restore cognitive behavior.

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Welcome to Pathways Neuropsychology Associates

ADHD diagnosis

What is ADHD?

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Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, more commonly known as ADHD, is a developmental disorder in both children and adults that impairs the ability to sustain attention and focus, resist distraction, and regulate behavior.

AN OLD DISORDER WITH A NEW NAME

Although the current term, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, has only been around since the 1980s, the disorder has been described under other names asearly as 1902. However, Attention Deficit/HyperactivityDisorder is still poorly named. ADD/ADHD is more a disorder of inhibition and self-regulation rather than a disorder of attention. If people with ADD/ADHD have a natural interest in a particular stimulus, they will have no difficulty paying attention to it. However, if they need to regulate and control their attention to something that is NOT of significant interest to them, they will find themselves having substantial difficulty.

We can help!

Cutting edge, effective, non-drug treatments are available to improve focus and attention, and to help individuals achieve greater success in school, careers and relationships. Most importantly, our aim is to improve your child or loved one’s self-confidence and feeling of well being for a happier, healthier, and more productive life!

ADHD Evaluation –

In order to develop the proper specialized solutions to the problems a person with ADHD and their family are confronting it is crucially important that there is an accurate diagnosis.

An accurate diagnosis will ensure a clearer understanding of the nature of the difficulties being experienced and/or observed. From this understanding individualized solutions can be found.

ADHD Coaching

Coaches provide education, teach proven strategies, utilize evidence based behavioral techniques, provide clear and consistent feedback, establish clear expectations and goals, break tasks down to parts, utilize cognitive strategies (ie self talk and thinking strategies), and develop appropriate environmental modifications. A coach establish daily behaviors which allow an individual to maintain persistence and motivation towards long term future goals, allowing hopes and dreams to become a reality.

ADHD Coaching is available online, by phone , and in-person by Jay B. Gordon, Ph.D. Neuropsychologist and staff ADHD Coaching Psychologists.