Why the World Needs ADD Adults in the Workplace

by Dr. Lara Honos-Webb

While businesses invest in bringing in speakers and trainings to encourage creative thinking in the workplace, more  schools narrowly focus on teaching to the test than ever before. Creativity is one of the gifts of ADHD  and a child can go through their entire education without having their capacity for innovation, breakthrough ideas or specific artistic skill recognized.  Many of the very behaviors that get ADHD kids in trouble – self-direction, wanting to explore rather than memorize, and “defiance” will be highly valued in business settings 

Unrelenting Curiosity

An individual who succeeds in today’s economy will have a greater chance of success if she is intensely curious. The ability to synthesize information is becoming increasingly important at many different job levels. The greater your capacity for exploring different domains and broaching arenas of knowledge outside of your specialization, the greater your chances of success. Many businesses and corporations now require employees to interact with cultures all over the world. The more interested you are in learning about the cultures you interact with, the greater your chances of success.

As a child, this very same curiosity may have gotten you into trouble. Teachers may have viewed your questions as “defiant,” or blamed you for derailing the class in your pursuit of the unknown. Thankfully, not all teachers are this way.  The ability to consider questions that we don’t have answers to is a true gift, and it can lead to amazing unexpected discoveries.

Who Says?

ADD students often get into trouble for taking the stance, “Who says?”  And yet, this ability will be increasingly important in the information age. On the one hand, there is a tremendous amount of good information easily accessible on the Internet. (A huge boon to people who have difficulty memorizing information or holding onto minute details!) On the other hand, there is a lot of bad information on the Internet. As we come to rely more and more on the Internet, it’s going to become exceptionally important to question the sources of online information.In this digital information era, it’s important to not just take the information we find with a grain of salt, but to actively question its source. Curiosity, the insistent demand to push the boundaries of what is known, and asking, “Who says?” are exactly what the world needs right now.

Leadership and Innovation

A person with ADD may be more interested in shaping his  environment than being shaped by it. This is a fundamental characteristic of ADD; it’s often labeled “defiance” or sometimes “inability to follow directions.” It means you want to impact or change the world you live in. Outside of the classroom this is called leadership. If you can effectively tap into your desire to change the way the world operates, you will go far in your professional career.  In the workplace, this is called innovation. In the current culture – and most industries – innovation is the only way to survive and thrive. Being at the head of a technological curve and doing things better and more quickly can help businesses get ahead. This is true even if you aren’t in the technology industry itself – the adoption of cutting-edge technologies drives most industries.

When you begin to recognize your own gifts, you set the stage for real world success. My book The Gift of Adult ADD profiles many successful ADD adults who find happiness and great success by embracing their differences as unusual and distinct abilities.

Learn more about this at Dr. Honos-Webb’s presentation at the Advance LA transition conference: www.advancela.org/conference

LIKE The Gift of ADHD https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Gift-of-ADHD/136160059803348

We are excited to introduce you to the wonderful and talented speakers we have lined up for our 2013 Advance LA Innovate Conference on supporting teens and young adults in their transition to independence. For more information about the conference please visit our conference website!

Meet Glen Finland!

Glen is the author of Next Stop, a memoir based on her May 2009 Washington Post Magazine feature story about parenting a child with autism to adulthood and then learning to let go, from AmyEinhornBooks/Putnam. Next Stop is a Summer 2012 Barnes&Noble Discover Great New Writers Pick and Penguin’s 2012 Book Club Pick for National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Glen is also the recipient of the 2012 Dean’s Medal for Leadership Excellence in Communication from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism.

A former TV news reporter, Glen’s freelance work has appeared in the Washington Post, Family Circle, Autism Speaks, Babble.com, American Magazine, Revolution, A Cup of Comfort and the East Coast Women’s Anthology. A featured autism advocate in various news outlets, including NPR and CNN, she is also the author of The Sweetgrass Code, The Inside of an Egg, and the play, Changing Places: A Kid’s View of Shelter Living. She is the recipient of the Southeastern Writers Association Best Fiction award and a Noted Writer from the 2005 and 2006 Boston Fiction Festivals. She received her MFA from American University in Washington, DC, where she has taught writing. Glen is a Fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and Casa Libre in Tucson.

For more information about the conference please visit our conference website!

The 5 Gifts of ADHD in the Workplace: By Lara Honos-Webb

The five gifts of ADHD can offer many advantages in the workplace. The breakthrough insight every person with ADHD and parent of a child with ADHD needs to understand is that the real world does not have to be at all like school. In the school system, the expectation is that you should be good at everything. In the real world, you only have to be really good at something to be highly successful. The five gifts of ADHD include creativity, emotional sensitivity, exuberance, interpersonal empathy and being nature smart (The Gift of Adult ADD, 2008).

I remember the look of awe on one of my teen client’s face when he realized that he could make a living doing precisely the things that got him into trouble at school.  As a physical therapist, he could spend all day talking with other people and being physically active —- and drum roll please…. make a living at it rather than getting in trouble for it. His gifts of exuberance and interpersonal empathy would now help transform other people’s lives.

One woman thought of school as a social event that was occasionally interrupted by a teacher. She graduated high school with little interest in continuing her education.  Somehow she learned of a major at San Francisco State University called Recreation, Parks and Tourism.  Imagine a curriculum that included these courses

• Aquatic Sports
• Beginning Sailing
• Beginning Rock Climbing
• Introduction to Back Country Skiing
• Lake and Sea Kayaking
• Small Boat Sailing
• Women’s Backpacking

Her gift of being nature smart, interpersonally empathic and exuberant would be put to good use! Seeing these majors and jobs, I have to ask myself why does the education system seem to forget that not all students are on track to make a living as an accountant or lawyer?

Equally exciting is that the rapid changes in digital and global technology has created jobs that never existed even 5 years ago. Many of these jobs are suited for people who are more drawn to taking in information visually rather than through reading and writing. Examples include developing Apps, social media marketing jobs and website creation, design and promotion. One job description to emerge that seems particularly well suited for individuals with ADHD and even dyslexia is called digital storytelling.

According to Wikipedia, digital storytelling is

“…the process by which diverse peoples share their life story and creative imaginings with others. This newer form of storytelling emerged with the advent of accessible media production techniques, hardware and software, including but not limited to digital cameras, digital voice recorders…”

Adults who struggled with reading can find careers that cater directly to a generation that turns to Youtube to research a topic. Digital storytelling is also a job description as companies are catching on that they have to use marketing tools that easily capture the attention of a culture that seems to be en masse going the route of ADD.

LIKE The Gift of ADHD  https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Gift-of ADHD/136160059803348

Free podcasts at http://www.addisagift.com

I will be giving the talk ”The 5 Gifts of ADHD in The Workplace” at the Advance LA Innovate Conference. If you want to share your stories with me of the Gifts of ADHD in the workplace I would love to hear them. To register for the conference, please visit www.advancela.org/conference

Acclaimed Writer and Actors from “On the Spectrum” to be Featured at Advance LA 2013 Innovate Conference

Cormac is a young man who lives with his mother, Elisabeth, in a tiny apartment in New York City’s West Village. He is preparing to enter law school and Elisabeth’s employer has cut back her hours, so money is tight. Iris, a young blogger from Queens, hires Cormac to design her website. What ensues is a boy meets girl love story unlike any other.

Writer Ken LaZebnik’s highly acclaimed drama, “On the Spectrum,” provides a glimpse into the minds and hearts of two people faced with autism spectrum disorders. The production, directed by Jacqueline Schultz  and currently on stage at the Los Angeles Fountain Theatre, captures the strengths and quirks of the main characters as they navigate through life. More importantly, the play serves as a testament to the need for increased awareness about autism.

The play “does a great a job of breaking down the myths about autism” says Schultz. “They can feel. They can fall in love. They can get actively involved in their own community.”

Advance LA is proud to welcome LaZebnik to Day One of the Innovate Conference, where he will be giving a presentation about his celebrated production.  In addition, the play’s three actors — Dan Shaked as Mac, Virginia Newcomb as Iris, and Jeanie Hackett as Elisabeth — are scheduled to perform a scene from the play for Friday’s conference attendees.

For an in-depth review of “On the Spectrum”, read the Los Angeles Times Theater Review at http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-0320-on-the-spectrum-review-20130320,0,1203463.story.

For full performance dates and times, visit the Fountain Theatre website at http://www.fountaintheatre.com/.

For more information about the Conference, visit www.advancela.org/conference. 

We are excited to introduce you to the wonderful and talented speakers we have lined up for our 2013 Advance LA Innovate Conference. The conference focuses on supporting teens and young adults in their transition to independence. For more information about the conference please visit our conference website!

 Meet Erik Carter!

Erik Carter is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University.  His research and teaching focuses on strategies for supporting meaningful school inclusion and promoting valued roles in school, work, and community settings for children and adults with autism and intellectual disability. He has co-authored five books—including The New Transition Handbook: Strategies Secondary School Teachers Use that Work (Brookes Publishing) and Peer Support Strategies: Improving all Students’ Social Lives and Learning (Brookes Publishing). He has co-authored more than 100 articles and book chapters and was the recipient of the Distinguished Early Career Research Award from the Council for Exceptional Children, the Early Career Award from the American Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and the Patricia Sitlington Research Award from the Division on Career Development and Transition.

 Below is a summary of his two talks:

What We Know About Helping Youth with Exceptional Needs to Flourish During and After High School: Promoting Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships:

 For most youth, life after high school offers an exciting array of opportunities and new pursuits. Yet, far too many young people with autism leave school without the skills, supports, relationships, and connections needed to pursue their aspirations for adulthood. Follow-up studies consistently highlight the persistence and pervasiveness of disappointing outcomes in the years following graduation. This presentation will focus on current research addressing effective approaches for promoting (a) access to rigorous learning opportunities in secondary school, (b) connecting youth to relevant school and community experiences, and (c) fostering supportive peer and adult relationships.  Recommendations for research and practice aimed at promoting successful transitions will be offered.

Evidence-Based Peer Support Strategies: Promoting Inclusion, Learning, and Relationships for Adolescents

This presentation will address the effectiveness and feasibility of peer support arrangements as an evidence-based approach for promoting curricular access and social interaction within inclusive classrooms and extracurricular activities. Participants will learn about (a) how peer support strategies are mutually beneficial for students with disabilities and peers, (b) strategies for recruiting students, developing effective support plans, and orienting/supporting peers, and (c) evaluating the social and academic impact of peer supports in their schools.

For more information about the Advance LA 2013 conference on transition please visit our conference website!

The Process of Coaching: A Client’s Perspective

In the middle of January, I started working with a life skills coach. When we first met, we came up with three different goals that I need help with. The three goals that we came up with for me are to start making purchases by myself, find a volunteering job, and approaching new people.

For the volunteering goal, there were a few steps I had to do before I actually started the volunteering job. First, I had to have an interview. My life skills coach helped me prepare for the interview. We did a few role plays to get me more comfortable. I was nervous about the interview and the role plays really helped me feel better about it. She also came with me to the interview which made me feel more comfortable. The interview went really well! After the interview, I had to get finger printed and a TB test. I had to call to make an appointment to get finger printed. Doing that made me really nervous because I do not like taking on the phone.  She came with me to get my finger prints. That went faster than I thought (which was a good thing!). I called the doctor’s office where they do the TB tests to ask them a few questions. That was a lot easier than making the appointment for the finger prints! She did not come with me to get the TB test. That went pretty well I thought. I had to fill out some paperwork while waiting which made me nervous. I never had to fill out paperwork before myself. My parents always did it for me. Luckily, my mom came with me to that so she helped me with filling it out.

We are now working on approaching new people and making purchases on my own. Those goals go hand and hand since you have to approach people to make purchases. We went to a few stores and a flea market to help me with those things. I am getting better with those goals but not I am not 100% there yet. I have made a few purchases but my life skills coach had to help me a bit. Nickels and quarters confuse me since they look very similar. So, my life skills coach is helping me with getting familiar with them. We talked about how they are different. We also did a few role plays with using coins and dollar bills. That is helping me a lot. At the flea market, we talked to some of the people selling items. Some of the time she started the conversation and I chimed in. I learned how to start a conversation on my own and I practiced this at the flea market. To help me with meeting new people, we went to Club LA and a dinner for all of the volunteers. I was nervous at first. I do not really like starting the conversations with people I do not know. Once I got comfortable around the other people that were there, I got more comfortable talking to them. My life skills coach came with me to both events so she could help me start conversations. That helped a lot!

My life skills coach also helps me with other things. For example, she helps me if I am feeling nervous about something, if I am trying to plan something, or if there is a miscommunication that I need help with. Like I mentioned earlier, I was nervous about the interview that I had for volunteering. She helped me by doing the role plays and talking about the interview. We worked on my application and resume as well. I had a lot of questions about those and she helped me fix whatever I needed to fix. I also asked her whatever questions that I had about it and she answered them. After the interview, we talked about how I thought it went. I told her that I was nervous going in but once the conversation started going, I became more and more comfortable. I was also nervous about going to the dinner for volunteers and Club LA. We also did a few role plays to practice for that before the event started. Additionally, we came up with a few conversation starters I could look at just in case I did not know what to say. She texted them to me so if I ever did run out of something to talk about, I could pretend someone texted me and look at my phone. Fortunately, I did not have to look at them but it was nice to know that they were there if I needed them.

Using coins to make purchases makes me really nervous because I am worried that I am going to give the person the wrong amount of change or I am going to take too long trying to figure out what coins to use. In order to practice counting money, she would tell me an amount and I would have to give it to her. I am starting to feel more confident about this but I am still a little nervous. There is still that worry in the back of my mind that I am going to take too long or give the wrong amount of change. We are working to help me feel better and not worry about making mistakes. The other day, we talked about using debit cards, credit cards, gift cards, and checks. Since I only know a little bit about those, we talked about the differences and the similarities.

Another thing she helps me with is talking to people on the phone. Usually, I do not know what to say. We usually talk about it first and write down what I am going to say. Then I would make the call and look at the paper if I need to or in case I forget to ask them a question.  I know that if I need help with any of these things (money, volunteering, or approaching people), I can always ask my life skills coach about it.

I started my volunteering job on February 27. I am volunteering for Advance LA. I already have had the opportunity to do a lot while working here! Including writing this blog! They asked me make a few suggestions about their Facebook and Twitter. I made a Tumblr (blogging site) for them as well. They are really happy about that! So far, I am enjoying it. My life skills coach has been meeting me here for the last hour or so to help me and see how I am doing. On my first day of volunteering, she came for the last hour and talked to me about how I am feeling about it so far. By the time she came, I was a little upset. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. I told her that and why I was feeling that way. As I was telling her all of that, I started to cry. Talking about it helped me feel better. After I was finished with volunteering for the day, we went to Jamba Juice so I could make a purchase. I was a little nervous about that because I did not have the right about of change to give to the person. I had to give the person a little more. It all turned out to be okay though. As I am easing into this new volunteering job, I am feeling better about it. I am not feeling overwhelmed or upset. It is nice to know that I am getting support while I am working on these goals.

Written by Rachel, Advance LA coaching client 

We are excited to announce The Help Group’s Advance LA second annual conference for parents, professionals, and young adults. This year’s conference, Innovate,  will bring together experts and innovators from diverse fields to join in exploring the newest thinking on how best to support young people preparing for a successful transition to college, the workforce, and beyond!  The conference will be held on April 26^th for Parents and Professionals and April 27^th for Young Adults.

We have some great speakers and events planned. See below for details!  

DAY ONE of this annual conference will bring together a community of professionals and parents who will explore innovative and viable strategies to ease the transition between high school and the next step for young people with ASD, ADHD, learning difference, executive functioning challenges, and social or emotional issues.

Here are some featured speakers and presentations:

Erik Carter, PhD, Associate Professor of Special Education, at Vanderbilt University is our Keynote speaker and speaker for workshop, Evidence-Based Peer Support Strategies: Promoting Inclusion, Learning, and Relationships for Adolescents.

David Finch, author of The New York Times Bestseller The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger’s Syndrome, and One Man’s Quest to be a Better Husband, will lead You Fulfilled: A Fulfilling Life Doesn’t Happen by Accident, and “Oh, You Needed Me to Pay Taxes?” Successful Transitions for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum. Learn more about David Finch here. 

Richard Guare, PhD, BCBA and Colin Guare, coauthors of Smart but Scattered Teens, will lead a 2 part workshop:  Moving On – The Role of Executive Skills in Emerging Adulthood.

Douglas Gentile, PhD, Associate Professor, Iowa State University and author of Violent Video Games Effects on Children & Adolescents: Theory, Research, and Public Policy, will lead, Your Brain on Media, and The Multiple Effects of Video Games.

Elisha Goldstein, PhD, author of The Now Effect and A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook, will lead Breaking Bad Habits: The Neuroscience and Psychology of Transforming our Lives with Mindfulness as a Foundation.

Ty Vernon, PhD, BCBA-D, Director of Koegel Autism Assessment Clinic at the University of California Santa Barbara, will lead Strengths-Based Approaches to Improving Social Skills in Adolescents with ASD.

Lara Honos-Webb, PhD, author of The Gift of ADHD and Listening to Depression, will lead The 5 Gifts of ADHD in the Workplace.

Glen Finland, author of Next Stop, will lead “What Happens when I am no Longer Here?” A Parent’s Perspective.

Amy-Jane Griffiths, PhD, NCSP, Director of Advance LA, The Help  Group will lead, Innovations in Transition: Evidence-Based Approaches to Transition Planning.

Philip Levin, PhD, Assistant Clinical Professor, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, UCLA, Director of The Help Group-UCLA Neuropsychology Program, will lead The Organization of Homework Tasks: The Best Predictor of College Success.

Michael Furlong, PhD, Professor, University of California Santa Barbara, will lead When the Sum is More than the Parts: The Building Blocks of Emotional Well-Being.

DAY TWO will feature the first conference of its kind designed for teens and young adults. The workshops will provide attendees with the opportunity to interact with peers while learning transition skills, sparking passions, and cultivating new relationships.

The young adult will be able to select one workshop from each of our four core areas: learning, creating, being healthy, making friends, and having fun.

LEARNING

• Get organized!
• College Exploration and Success
• What are Your Strengths? Make Them Work for You!
• Job Hunting 101

CREATING

• Anime – Create Original Work
• Robotics
• Arts & Crafts
• Multi-media/Arduino
• Music Mixing

BEING HEALTHY

• Yoga/Mindful Awareness
• Chill Out! – Skills for Managing Stress
• Achieving Lifelong Happiness
• Eating Well and Exercising

MAKING FRIENDS AND HAVING FUN

• Basketball
• Mind Games – Trivia and Brain Games
• Making Friends
• Ping Pong
• Music Jam

All of the young people we work with have varied talents, hopes, dreams, and experiences.

At Advance LA we believe it is important to really listen to their dreams, teach them to advocate for their own needs, and support strong connections with others in their community. The “In Their Own Voices” blog series will provide an outlet for our teens and young adults who are tackling transition to share their dreams, their successes, and perhaps their struggles along the way. 

As I mentioned in my prior blog entry, I have two years of college experience under me. So starting classes at Santa Monica College this week wasn’t that stressful or nerve-racking. The biggest difference was having to “compete” for seats for classes I wanted to take. Since many of my age are taking the community college path over the 4-year college one straight out of high school combined with budget cuts on public education, the competition is fierce. Even with priority registration through the disabilities office, once I signed up for a class, it was difficult to switch to a different section (which I had to do once).

As far as prepping for classes goes, we, as a group, practiced getting up earlier the week before so that come Monday, we would be used to it (or at least enough to be out of bed and on the road on time). Since we were only going to be dropped off by staff to SMC and not picked up, we also practiced the bus route that we would be taking from SMC to AJU. As of right now, school hasn’t made a dent in the daily workload yet since I’ve only had one of my two classes and we only went over the syllabus for that one class. (I suspect the same for my second class as well.) But by next week, classes and the workload that comes with it will be in full swing.

And thus, another week has gone by…

- Jane, Live. Advance. L.A. resident

We’ve come to the finale installment of our dating series and we’ve got a lot of ground to cover. During today’s post we’ll discuss the remaining tips:

1. Disclosing your social struggles.
2. Learning and practicing good manners.
3. Leaning to be flexible.

Disclosing your social struggles

So, you’ve decided to meet someone new, you’ve picked out a few social events to attend and you’ve worked on your good looks.  Now some things to consider; you may have ASD, ADHD, or other social difficulties and you’re concerned that if you share this part about who you are that someone might not like you? Sharing this part about who you are is very positive and a very healthy step in any kind of relationship. You may not want it to be the very first thing you tell them, but don’t wait too long. Sharing about this part of your life will help others better understand you and will provide for a greater opportunity for healthy communication and understanding each other’s needs.  You may want to practice with close family or friends so you can work on you confidence and figure out what aspects you are comfortable disclosing.

Learning and practicing good manners

Sometimes the concept of good manners is often over looked … by everybody, and that is why it is so important. Good manners go a long way and mean a lot to others. Here are some ways to start:

• Say please and thank you.
• Listen when others are speaking and try you’re hardest not to interrupt them. 
• Ask questions and make eye contact with the other person.
• Keep in mind, that while you may not understand their feelings or what they are going through, you can eventually learn what their facial expressions mean and gage your response appropriately. Remember this won’t happen overnight and takes a lot of practice and communication.

Learning to be flexible

It’s very important to be flexible and open to new things. For example, say that you really like eating cheez-it’s and coca cola, but a friend is interested in eating Chinese food, it will mean a lot and add to your relationship if you are able to be flexible and try eating new things.  This same concept translates to other areas, such as visiting social venues you may not like or be interested in or watching a movie that doesn’t interest you. Making comprises will help you and your potential partner feel heard and help grow your relationship. 

- Samantha