All it takes is one quick google search and you can find a wealth of information (and misinformation) on ADHD. We hear many common myths about ADHD from parents and people in the community. So today, we want to set the record straight by sharing some statistics and research. Let's go ahead and dive into our top 5 myths and facts of ADHD.

1) Myth: ADHD isn't a real disorder; it is the result of poor parenting.

This is a common myth. And if you are a parent of a child with ADHD, more than likely you have heard a lot of advice and criticism about your parenting. Let us set the record straight - there is no research to support that ADHD is caused by bad parenting. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental or brain-based disorder. It is strongly heritable, meaning it is often passed down from parents to their children. Approximately 65-75% of children with ADHD will have the diagnosis because of genes (aka a family member probably had that diagnosis as well). Approximately 25%-35% of cases of AD...

After receiving your child’s diagnosis of ADHD, it can be an overwhelming task trying to find the best treatment option to help both your child and family. Many of you do a quick google search or join a Facebook group and attempt to sift through the never-ending recommendations. Unfortunately, this can sometimes lead to more confusion and overwhelm. There are so many factors involved in getting help for your child, including options for in-person therapies where you live, cost, time involvement, and effectiveness of the treatments.

Today, we are discussing one of the most effective, non-medical treatment interventions for ADHD—behavior therapy!

Behavior therapy is the only non-medical treatment for ADHD with a large base of scientific evidence. Because of this, it is recommended that behavior therapies begin as soon as a child receives an ADHD diagnosis. Behavioral therapies also do not produce the unwanted side effects that occur with medication that are a concern for most parent...

“I tucked my kids in last night and said, ‘See you in the morning!’ and then we laughed and laughed. Saw them 16 more times before sunrise.” - Unknown

A question I was sure to never miss when first meeting a family, whether for an evaluation or therapy, was, “How’s sleep for your child?” The most common reaction from parents? An eye roll.

I get it. As a mom to two little ones, it seems unfair the discrepancy between how much I love sleep and how much they, well, don’t.

But, before I could really help any family better understand their child’s development, increase their connection, respond to challenging behaviors, or manage worries… we had to make sure that sleep wasn’t a contributing factor. We’d be fighting an uphill battle to address these issues with an overtired child.

Often times, we are able to “clean-up” sleep with some quality sleep hygiene practices. And no, sleep hygiene is not about going to bed clean (though that doesn’t hurt!). Sleep hygiene, or positive sleep...

You know when you first have a baby, and everyone says things like, "The days are long but the years go by fast!" and other irritating, um, insightful comments like that? In some ways, parenting during this pandemic feels very similar. On one hand, my (Katie's) kids have already eaten all of the snacks and done every single thing on the to-do list by 8:47 a.m., leaving me to wonder how we are ever going to make it through the day! On the other hand, it's already well into April... excuse me, what? How is time able to go so fast and yet so slow at the same time? For all of us, things are just crazy right now.

Check in time 

So... we want to check in with you! Tell us, how are you doing? Let me just say that you are all on our minds these days. Truly, we just want to know how we can serve you best. As we Skyped for our team meeting last week, our originally planned blog post topics seemed a little bit trivial when we started thinking about everything going on in the world. So we shifte...

It seems that in the past few weeks, we went from feeling like the COVID-19 virus was no big deal to much of our country shutting down indefinitely. We are all living in a state of uncertainty about the future, and we all know that uncertainty breeds anxiety.

After doing a series of blog posts related to anxiety, we thought it was appropriate to do a post this week on how Mallory, Katie, and I are managing these rapid changes in our own lives. On the blog today, we are each taking turns talking about how our families have been affected, how we are managing our own anxiety, and how we are talking to our kids about the virus.

Lori’s Family

This past week was our spring break. Fortunately, we had planned to have a low-key spring break anyway, as we have a Disneyland trip planned for early May. However, my parents were scheduled to come out over their spring break (my mom is a high school math teacher), and they had to cancel their trip. This was hard news to tell my kids, but they took...

Helping others improve their quality of life and discover the best version of themselves is what I (Ty) live for. I'm not 100% sure when this passion started for me, but my mom often tells a story of me as a first grader that may explain it…

Growing up, my mom was a special education teacher in the Milwaukee Public School District, so it made the most sense for me to attend the school that she worked at. For those of you not familiar with Milwaukee, the majority of the public schools in the district were pretty rough and the kids, even rougher. As a 7-year-old though, I didn't think anything of it and I was stoked to make some new friends at my new school. Being the social and friendly little dude that I was, I quickly made friends with the coolest kids in the class. At first quarter conferences, my teacher breezed through my academic progress stating how proud she was of the progress I was making in reading and math and then came a “BUT”. She went on to express her concern with the "...

We want you to take some time to celebrate your accomplishments over this past year! Be proud of the goals you met and all the amazing experiences you had. We also want to reflect a little on areas for improvement in the new year. As you think back on the year, did you find it difficult to have positive interactions with your child on a day to day basis? Were you feeling overwhelmed by your child’s behavior or emotions and unsure of how to help? If so, now is a perfect time to sit down, get out a pencil and paper, and start making some parenting goals for the new year. We know you might be planning resolutions right now, so on the blog we are sharing 7 tips for making goals you can crush in 2020!

We love providing you with inspirational quotes and parenting tips, but we also realize that this information may not actually result in change without a clear plan. For instance, when we do therapy with families, we work with both parents and children to create clear goals and actionable ...

Over the past few months, we have been sharing about executive functions: what they are, why they are so important, and how we as parents can support children with ADHD, autism, learning disorders, and language challenges with these skills. One question we consistently hear from parents is, “How do I know what skills are appropriate for my child at a certain age?” This is a great question! Many times, parents fall to one end of the spectrum; either they expect too much from their child, or they assume that their child cannot do tasks independently, and end up “over-helping,” which can accidentally make children more dependent on their parents (oops, I know that is NOT your goal!).

To help you understand where your child should be in their development, we have put together some information about what you can expect at various ages. Before we start, it is SO important to understand that every child is different! Executive function skills develop differently in everyone, so keep in mind ...

If I had a nickel for every time parents told me that they had already (without much lasting impact!) tried a reward system at home with their child—well, I would be a rich woman. Many of you who have a child with ADHD, an autism spectrum disorder, or executive functioning challenges have struggled with your child not listening or following directions at home, having frequent meltdowns, hitting peers or siblings, using disrespectful language, etc. So, you probably decided to try a rewards system to work on these skills. And--let me guess--your child’s behavior improved initially, but then a week later you were right back where you started.

Believe me, I know. I have been there, too, with my own kids. We start a cotton ball jar for following directions and showing kindness. A week into it, my kids are sharing well and following their morning and nighttime routines with ease. Another week later and I’m forgetting to give the cotton balls, my kids are taking 30 minutes to get dressed ...