Full Course Description
Part 1, Module 1-2: Changing the ADHD Brain - Moving Beyond Medication
Program Information
Objectives
- Articulate the relationship between the frontal lobe of the brain and ADHD symptomology for the purpose of client psychoeducation.
- Determine the impact of movement and exercise on the reduction of ADHD symptoms as it relates to assessment and treatment planning.
- Implement treatment interventions for improving impulse control and working memory in clients.
- Analyze the influence of diet and nutrition on ADHD symptoms in relation to assessment and treatment planning.
- Develop clinical strategies to calm the nervous system of clients diagnosed with ADHD.
- Assess the clinical implications of environmental influences on ADHD symptoms in clients.
Outline
Why Not Medication?
- Useful as a short-term tool
- Concerns with long-term use: Effects on the brain
ADHD and the “Immature” Brain
- Brain imaging evidence of ADHD
- Research regarding ADHD brain development
- Frontal lobes mature more slowly in the ADHD brain
- Excess theta brainwaves
- Implications for treatment
Movement-Based Strategies
- Wake up an underaroused ADHD brain
- Hyperactivity as an adaptive mechanism
- The impact of play and exercise on the brain
- Role of rhythm and timing training
- Integrated movement systems for ADHD
Frontal Lobe/Working Memory Strategic Tools
- Use it or lose it: Increase memory, attention and focus
- Games for impulse control and working memory
- Computerized cognitive training programs
- Meditation and mindfulness for ADHD
- Neurofeedback
Diet and Nutrition
- The impact of sugars, fats, proteins and water
- Diet and dopamine
- Omega 3-6-9: What you need to know for brain health
- Multivitamins/minerals: Do they make a difference?
- Gluten, food additives and pesticides
ADHD and Nervous System Overstimulation
- ”Overaroused” subtype of ADHD
- Stress, anxiety and ADHD: the connection
- Breathwork and movement for nervous system calming
- Heart rate variability biofeedback
- Art therapy techniques to quiet and focus the brain
Environmental Influences
- Video games and Social Media
- Sleep deprivation
- Same symptoms as ADHD
- Strategies to help insomnia
- Environmental toxins: lead, phthalates, pollution
- The impact of time in nature on ADHD symptoms
Copyright :
18/08/2017
Part 2: Advances in the Management of ADHD: Evidence-Based Medications and Psychosocial Treatments
Program Information
Objectives
- Assess and characterize the utility of current FDA approved ADHD management medications for symptom management
- Discriminate between effective and unproven adjunctive ADHD interventions and its treatment implications
- Articulate the beneficial effects and potential side effects associated with ADHD medications in relation to assessment and treatment planning
Outline
Purpose of medication interventions
- Stimulant medications most effective and well researched ADHD interventions
- Safety, convenience and cost effectiveness are well established
Mechanisms of action for the three categories of ADHD medications Neurobiological mechanism of operation
- Traditional stimulants as compared to new alpha-2a receptor conceptualizations
Primary US approved stimulant medications
- Efficacy and factors in noncompliance
- New developments in delivery systems
- OROS, Pulse delivery, transdermal, lisdexamfetamine
Stimulant efficacy in preschoolers
- Gains smaller, side effects greater than in older children
Behavioral benefits of stimulant interventions
Primary side effects of stimulant interventions
- Insomnia, appetite suppression, head ache, gastric distress, cardiac effects
Common misconceptions related to stimulant use Predictors of positive response to medications Newer medication interventions
- Atomoxetine – positive and side effects, rationale for use
- Guanfacine XR - positive and side effects, rationale for use
Importance of early intervention in ADHD
Off label medications used for ADHD Factors involved in choosing which medication to use
- Intervention context, patient characteristics, comorbidity
Conclusions
- Evidence based treatments
- Experimental psychosocial treatments
- Nutritional interventions
- Disproven therapies
Copyright :
28/08/2018
Part 3, Modules 1-2: Executive Function, ADHD and Stress in the Classroom
Program Information
Objectives
- Implement strategies to increase students’ executive functioning skills during both structured activities and open learning times.
- Employ classroom interventions that will improve time management, organizational and study skills for kids diagnosed with ADHD.
- Apply simple breathing and mindfulness techniques to reduce students’ stress levels, improve emotional regulation in order to meet classroom expectations.
- Adapt traditional behavior modification programs to address non-compliant behavior in kids who have ADHD.
- Utilize classroom management strategies that apply to the whole class while also meeting the needs of students who are easily distracted or who have cognitive processing delays.
- Implement strategies to improve homework compliance and improve study skills among students.
Outline
Impact of ADHD, Executive Function and Stress on Learning and Behavior
- Challenges ADHD creates beyond impulsivity, inattentiveness and hyperactivity
- Relationship between ADHD, executive function and stress
- Determining eligibility for services
Techniques to Strengthen Emotional/ Self-Regulation in School
- Self-monitoring strategies for students to adjust their self-talk and focus control
- Specific time management techniques for deepening concentration and perseverance
- Environmental modifications to help students harness innate strength
- Addressing the issues of ADHD medication in school
Strategies to Reduce Disruptive Behaviors, Stress & Anxiety
- Powerful changes in the classroom environment to support student independence
- Supporting lagging developmental skills required for self-regulation
- Class-wide culture shifts to aide calm and focus for all students
- Problem solving and self-advocacy tools to increase self-monitoring
Strategies to Improve Attention, Organization, Time Management and Memory
- Powerful use of graphic organizers facilitate writing, organizing and problem solving
- Specific timers, paper organizers, and homework management systems
- Keys to incorporate movement, fidgets, and mindfulness techniques
- Making IEP and 504 plans more effective and impactful for teachers and students
Copyright :
13/03/2017
Part 4, Modules 1-2: ODD, ASD, ADHD & Mood Disorders - Over 50 Behavior-Changing Techniques for Children and Adolescents
Program Information
Objectives
- Utilize over 50 proven techniques for working with kids with behavioral issues, high-functioning ASD, ADHD and mood disturbance.
- Distinguish how to promote “whole brain” change in children with verbal processing and auditory learning issues.
- Develop tools for daily mindfulness and self-regulation practice.
- Apply strategies to develop life skills for a wide variety of emotional disturbances and behavioral problems.
- Implement strategies for treating intolerance, anxiety and impulsivity.
- Dissect how to reduce power struggles & anger through CBT and validation techniques.
Outline
DSM-5® Updates & Making Effective Treatment and Academic Goals for:
- ODD/CD
- ASD
- ADHD
- Anxiety/Depression
- Trauma
- Substance Abuse
The Brain-Behavior Connection
- Executive Functioning
- Auditory Processing
- Emotion Regulation
- Sensory-Motor
Treatment Techniques for ODD
- Increase autonomy through established environmental support
- Decrease arousal states with immediate use self-regulation techniques
- Reverse aggression and inattention caused by technology exposure and videogame play
- Promote healthy brain function with structured daily living practices
- Reduce power struggles and anger through CBT and validation techniques
- Foster positive peer involvement & altruism
- …and more
Treatment Techniques for ASD
- Group and individual techniques for developing social skills of:
- Improved prosody
- Appropriate eye contact
- Awareness of personal space
- Effective use of gesture and posture
- Redirection from preoccupational interests
- Coping with transitions
- …and more
Treatment Techniques for ADHD
- Reducing excessive movement and climbing
- Improve executive functioning and attention to detail
- Develop an effective teaching/learning environment
- Promote fluid task shifting
- Develop “whole-brain” problem-solving skills
- Boost sensory regulation
- Effectively advocate for seating assignment, home/classwork planning, and task fatigue
- …and more
Treatment Techniques for Anxiety/Depression/Trauma
- Inoculate anxiety in high pressure situations with behavioral tools
- Facilitate anxiety control and decrease escapism at school and home
- Reverse lethargy and withdrawal through CBT techniques
- Increase distress tolerance skills utilizing sensory tools and imagery
- Nurture mindfulness skills and prevent hopelessness and worthlessness
- Prioritize worries for mindfulness practice through narrative activities and engagement of acceptance and commitment
- Create hands-on tools for decreasing sensory sensitivity
- Teach body awareness
Copyright :
06/02/2018
Part 5: The Two Attention Disorders: Identifying, Diagnosing, and Managing ADHD vs. SCT
Program Information
Objectives
- Characterize the specific nature of the inhibition and attention deficits in ADHD
- Apply DSM-5 criteria effectively to accurately diagnose ADHD and develop successful treatment interventions
- Utilize modifications to DSM-5 criteria to improve diagnostic rigor and identification of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT)
- Discriminate effectively between ADHD and SCT
Outline
Advances in understanding the symptoms of ADHD
Dimensions of deficits – hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention
Subtypes of attention impairment
DSM-5 criteria for diagnosis of ADHD and varied presentations
- Inattentive, Hyperactive, Combined
Changes in criteria from DSM-IV to DSM-5
- Overlooked issues needing further explication
Sluggish Cognitive Tempo as distinct from ADHD
Distinguishing SCT from Inattentive ADHD
- Prominent discriminating symptoms
- Use of Barkley SCT Rating Scale
- Demographic differences
- Cognitive presentation
- Current SCT research findings
- Comorbidity with ADHD and personality traits
- School and academic correlates
- Family and social distinctions
Impairment associated with SCT
- Relative comparison with ADHD impairments
Possible etiologies Basic nature of SCT – differentiating from normal styles of cognition Treatment interventions for SCT
- Medication research
- Psychosocial treatment considerations
Limitations of SCT conceptualization Summary and consideration of factors that potentially establish SCT as distinct from ADHD Copyright :
28/08/2018
Part 6, Modules 1-2: Smart but Scattered Adults - Manage ADHD by Targeting Executive Skills
OUTLINE
The Executive in the Brain
- How the brain’s “control center” governs executive skills
- The impact of ADHD on frontal lobe functioning
- How effective behavior change revolves around executive skills
Assessment tools
- Executive Skills Questionnaire—a rating scale to help clients determine their executive skill strengths and weaknesses
- Workplace assessment tools to help clients better use their executive skill strengths and minimize the impact of their weaknesses
- Home management tools to help clients understand why they avoid some chores like the plague—and what to do about it!
- A rating scale to help partners understand each other’s profile and the impact of profile differences on relationships
The Impact of Executive Skills in the Daily Life of Adults with ADHD
- Executive skills in the workplace
- Goodness of fit between executive skills profile and the job
- Maximizing executive skill strengths
- Managing weaknesses
- Creating an action plan
- Executive skills in the home
- The concept of “effortful work”
- Matching executive skills profiles to appropriate tasks
- Effective roles for family members living with adults with ADHD
- Executive skills in relationships
- How the executive skills profiles of adults with ADHD affect those they live with
- The impact of mismatches and different executive skills profiles on relationships
- Tips for working with couples where one partner has ADHD
Key Strategies to Help ADHD Clients Cope with Weak Executive Skills
- Environmental modifications to reduce the impact of executive skill challenges
- Change the physical or social environment
- Modify tasks to make them more do-able
- Enlist the help of others
Strategies for Improving Executive Skills
- In the workplace
- 12 executive skills that impact productivity and behavior change
- Make a SMART goal
- Using a deadline
- Make a plan
- The importance of clear start dates
- Using technology to support behavior change
- In the home
- Find logical ways to share the work load
- Understand the start point
- Start small, build incrementally
- Practice, practice, practice
- Using visible reminders
- Motivators
- In relationships
- How different profiles signal tension points in relationships
- Keys to resolving conflicts arising from executive skill differences
- The liberal use of humor, patience, forgiveness, negotiation
- Using self-talk to motivate, problem solve and persist
- The power of positivity
OBJECTIVES
- Outline the key role executive skills play in understanding adults with ADHD.
- Compare and contrast assessment tools to determine clients’ profiles of executive skill strengths and weaknesses.
- Communicate with clients on the best way to restructure their environment to reduce the impact of weak executive skills.
- Build a realistic change plan that enables ADHD clients to improve executive skills in situations and settings they identify as problematic.
- Discuss effective strategies ADHD clients can use to cope with executive skill challenges in the workplace, the home and in relationships.
- Identify tools to enhance 12 executive skill domains.
Program Information
Objectives
- Outline the key role executive skills play in understanding adults with ADHD.
- Evaluate assessment tools to determine clients’ profiles of executive skill strengths and weaknesses.
- Formulate with clients on the best way to restructure their environment to reduce the impact of weak executive skills.
- Build a realistic change plan that enables ADHD clients to improve executive skills in situations and settings they identify as problematic.
- Determine effective strategies ADHD clients can use to cope with executive skill challenges in the workplace, the home and in relationships.
- Evaluate tools to enhance 12 executive skill domains.
Copyright :
16/12/2016