CADDAC Conference 2009
I had the opportunity this past weekend to attend the CADDAC conference in Toronto. To my knowledge, it was the first-ever 2-day ADHD event of its type in Canada, and it was excellent. It’s a tricky thing to find a balance of speakers and workshops that can engage and enlighten everyone from experienced clinicians and coaches to newly-diagnosed young adults, but the organizers did a really admirable job. Over the course of my next few posts, I’ll be writing about what I found to be most exciting and informative aspects of the conference.
While I was unable to attend the comedy show with Canadian stars Rick Green and Patrick McKenna on Saturday night, I was truly excited to see what a central a role it played in the promotion of the conference. And while ADHD is unquestionably a very serious mental health issue — with profound implications for public health — it can also be very, very funny. Putting first-rate Canadian comedians (both of whom have ADHD themselves) in such a prominent place at the conference was a great reminder of how much better it feels to have ADHD when we can laugh at it.
Highlights of the conference that I was able to take in included:
- Two powerful lectures by American psychiatry professor Dr. Russell Barkley. The first, which began with an overview of the neurophysiology of ADHD, explored the central role that poor Executive Function plays in creating the symptoms of Adult ADHD. The second was an overview of the latest research on the major life activities that are impaired by having ADHD. Barkley argues that ADHD needs to be acknowledged as a major public health issue, with substantial implications for the economy and society.
- An inspiring presentation by Olympic rower and 2-time medalist Jake Wetzel. Wetzel talked movingly about the frustrations of having ADHD as a teenager, and the importance of making the best of your strengths, minimizing your weaknesses, and following your passions.
- Steve Ilott’s workshop on “Decluttering Your Mind and Space,” which included many valuable, ADHD-friendly tips on getting clutter under control - and keeping it that way.
I’ll be blogging more on the conference soon.
Not everything — JUST the kitchen sink
Filed under: Clutter, Planning, Proactivity, Procrastination
Being proactive is hard when you have ADD. It’s not in our nature. Throwing it all together at the last minute –the project, the presentation, the meal — is much more our style, and often, despite ourselves, it work out. But as an ADD coach, I’m striving to put in place some of the habits I gently nudge my clients toward — and every time management guru in the book seems to put proactivity right near the top of the list every time.
My post tomorrow is on making Monday more manageable — a worthy task, most would agree. The main thrust of that post is the importance of having what you need ready to go on Sunday night. The ugly truth is that at 10:00 p.m. Sunday, that’s not always as easy as it sounds. The hustle to get everyone off to bed at a reasonable hour (currently in my house, that’s after the Clone Wars, a few pages of The Lord of the RIngs, and satisfactory brushing of teeth) often results in a mysterious pile of dishes in the kitchen sink. From my vantage point at the sink, I also see a jumble of crayons on the breakfast table, a pile of boots and backpacks by the back door, and the weekend paper piled on a couple of dining chairs. Being proactive, if I can bring myself to do it, will mean taking care of some of this detritus.
Don’t get the impression my house is a mess. But with the typically frenetic life of a family with three kids under 10, there’s a lot of cargo coming and going,and not everything always gets put away. One of the great paradoxes of my version of ADD is that while a) I could easily procrastinate about the dishes and the mess, persuading myself that it won’t take long in he morning, b) once I finally screw up the self-discipline to get going, I want to get the house — or at least the kitchen — in immaculate shape. Spic-and-span, top to bottom. I could be at it for a couple of hours.
But it’s now 10:15, and I plan to get up early tomorrow to work out before the kids get up. I feel the urge to tidy and clean welling up — not because I love cleaning, but because the perfectionist in me craves the notion of a truly clean house.
I’m not sure what signaled it this time, but I was able to rein myself in by asking myself the question I ask all my clients whose ADD runs to perfectionism: “What is the least I need to do here?” On the surface this might look like an invitation to laziness. But for a perfectionist, this question is a lifeline, offering rescue from work that could wait until later, could be done by someone else, or perhaps doesn’t need to be done at all.
For me the least that needs to be done is that the kitchen is ready for breakfast tomorrow, so that I can hit the bike. Not everything but the kitchen sink; just the kitchen sink. And a couple of countertops for good measure, but that’s it.
One of the best — and funniest — advocates of the “kitchen sink theory ” is FlyLady, who runs a fantastic website on conquering household clutter. I’ll be visiting her site again soon.
