Delta Psychology News Feed

Don�t Make the Mistake of Assigning Your Own Motivations to Those with ADD

2010-05-04 00:00:00

An article by Bernadette Berry, published by the Hallowell Center in the USA

It is important to alert non-ADD spouses and parents to the idea that because the ADD brain functions quite differently from the non-ADD brain, it is wrong to assign their personal motivations to their partner’s or child’s behavior. For example, it is frequent that non-ADD people believe:

that their ADD partner does not care about them when they do not arrive at an important date on time.
that their ADD child is being lazy when they step over things lying in the room rather than pick them up.
that their ADD partner is "lying" when they make up stories to fit events for which they have no other explanation or patently did not occur.
that their ADD child’s frequent interruptions are the result of the need for instant gratification or just plain poor manners

These assumptions assign a moral shortcoming to the ADD person, which is both incorrect and hurtful. To make these assumptions would be to miss important facts about how the ADD brain works. Russell Barkley argued in 2003 that inattention is likely the result of working memory, rather than poor attention, per se. As I work with people with ADD, I see that this manifests itself in a number of ways. Take the adult who blurts out the first thing that comes to their mind. This may make a person very funny, but it can also make them tactless. This blurting out has to do with an inability to inhibit their responses. Family members must learn that this is not intentionally hurtful behavior as all concerned work to get it under control.

Children with ADD often cut into conversations. But I don’t see this as the result of needing instant gratification. I believe it is better explained by one of the difficulties with working memory, which is an inability to hold information/events in their minds. By the time people have become adults with ADD they have often learnt ways of dealing with this difficulty. They may sit rehearsing in their mind what it is they want to say (this of course makes them miss out on what is being said, and increases their apparent difficulty with attention); they simply give up trying to contribute and sit and listen as well as they can; or, of course, they may still cut in.

It is easy to understand how people with attention problems may miss out on information It is less easy to understand why they make up information and, therefore, are frequently accused of lying. But the literature on remote memory tells us that memory works by remembering a few salient points and 'filling in' the rest of the information with what is likely to be the case. The reconstructive nature of memory is likely to be influenced by people’s desires, beliefs and the emotions associated with these events. This may give us some insight into the problem of the ADD adult “making up stories”. It is important to remember that when we do this 'filling in' we are not aware we are doing it - we believe we are remembering it (confabulation). The threshold at which this “remembering a few points then filling in the rest” occurs appears to be different for the ADD person - they appear to do it for immediate memory as well as longer-term.

Research suggests that children with inhibition control problems are more likely to have false memories than children without this problem. From my work with adults with ADD I have also noticed that not only do they seem to create ‘false memories’ more than non-ADD people but they appear to be more sure that they are right about this memory.

It is easily seen how this creates huge problems/arguments in relationships. Couples frequently report to me that their ADD partner not only forgets to tell them important things but that they are convinced that they have told their spouse and can recite the situation where and when they passed on this information.

Unfortunately, there are no specific solutions to these issues. Rather, there are a host of tactics that families with ADD can try to figure out what works for them. It is critically important that non-ADD family members be aware that these issues exist so that they can avoid assigning their own motivation to their ADD partners, children and friends.

ADHD: Move Away from Medication Proposed in Review.

2010-01-15 00:00:00

ADHD treatments in the news:

Following the Australian Government's move away from drugs as the first treatment for ADHD sufferers New Zealand is being asked to review its own recommendations. The Christchurch Press has called for opinions from local psychologists working and researching in this area - " University of Canterbury ADHD expert Dr Julia Rucklidge said non-medical treatments for ADHD were often resource-intensive and expensive.

"It comes down to manpower – having people on the ground to offer other treatments.

"If that doesn't exist, stimulants are better than nothing, but it does show that we are not offering New Zealanders the optimal choices that are available."

Rucklidge said medication worked well in the short term but was not a cure, so once people went off it their old behaviour returned.

Bernadette Berry works extensively in this area and agrees with Julia that the combination of medication and education is the most useful approach for people with ADHD. She adds that there is no cure and that both medication and education help people to manage their behaviour and that frequently with psychosocial therapy people are able to come off medication and maintain good control of their difficulties.

Don't hesitate to contact Delta Psychology about Attention Deficit therapy, education or information.

And ...we're back!

2010-01-14 00:00:00

A happy new year to one and all. Bernadette is back on deck and the phones are being answered and messages checked. Brian will be back on the 26th January but any messages left will be passed on to him before then.

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

2009-12-22 00:00:00

Bernadette, Mike, Anne, Terry and Brian all wish you the very best for the festive season. We are all out of the office from Christmas Eve and some of us are back in the second week of January. We will, however, be checking emails and phone messages from time to time.

We look forward to seeing you in the new year. Or not, as the case may be.

Cheers!

The Delta Psychology crew.

Three Lifts Working!

2009-09-30 00:00:00

We hardly know ourselves... Coffee from the coffeecart below is still warm when we get back to the office, no more overloaded lifts stopping at every floor. We expect to see improved stress levels in all the tenents!

Delta practitioners involved in successful local conference

2009-09-15 00:00:00

Terry Ebeling and Bernadette Berry presnted workshops at the highly successful Supporting Families in Mental Illness conference in Otago, entitled Supporting the Journey. Bernadette gave a training workshop to SF mental health support workers in a programme she developed for SF called Children Understanding Mental Illness (CUMI). This is a programme aimed at primary school children who have a family member with a serious mental illness and deals with issues of stigma, blame, acceptance and more. The training was very well received.

Terry runs a Men's Group at SF Otago and gave a workshop about physical and emotional relationships with a partner with a serious mental illness. The workshop was tagged "R18" and was fully subscribed with much robust discussion around these often unaddressed issues.

New lifts commissioned: 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

2009-08-31 00:00:00

Regular visitors to John Wickliffe House will have noticed the ongoing upgrades to to the lifts. There are two newly commissioned lifts with the third expected to go into service quite soon. Waiting times are reduced, they are speedy and predictable and don't get confused like the old ones!

See you on the 6th Floor!

Fire Drill disruption.

2009-08-27 00:00:00

Our apologies to clients who were affected by the imposition of a fire drill in the middle of their session. Usually we get some forward notice of these, due to the sensitive nature of our business, however on this occasion the building managers felt it was not in the interests of the exercise to do so. Discussions are continuing.

Delta welcomes new associate, psychologist Anne Dawson.

2008-05-28 00:00:00

Anne is a registered psychologist who uses an integrative approach, working collaboratively with clients to best make sense of their current difficulties. She draws on different models of therapy but particularly from her training in Cognitive Behavioural and Narrative approaches to enable clients to miek the changes they need to achieve their goals.

Like all Delta's psychgologists, Anne utilizes research-based therapies for clients to develop greater self-awareness, learn new skills and make the changes they're after.

Anne has extensive experience in coaching and career consulting making her an ideal choice for Delta's Employment Assistance Programmes, to coach and mentor clients in effective action to create new possibilities for now and in the future.

Anne also offers after hours consultations for those for whom time off work is a problem.