My husband walked into my office, took one look at the explosion of papers surrounding me, and asked, “What the **** happened in here?” There I was, sitting on the floor poring over every study and article I could find on how Adult ADHD affects parenting (all in preparation for presenting on the topic at the CADDAC conference on ADHD in Toronto May 30-31). With all the various angles and possibilities to cover — ADHD is no one-size-fits-all condition, after all — it felt very overwhelming.
A few days later, with the presentation finally Powerpointed, I met a 40-something mother who also felt overwhelmed — by living the topic I’d only been writing about. Definitely more challenging!. This top-of-her-class attorney had adjusted fairly well to her first child’s arrival some seven years ago. Four years later came her second daughter, the sweet-faced little spitfire whose photo she proudly shared with me from her iPhone. That’s when this stay-at-home mom’s organizing skills — tenuous, even at times humorous, since childhood — hit the skids. Read the rest of this entry »