Karen Griffith Gryga's Blog (37)

The Weight of the World and Empathy

Hi everyone! I know it has been a while since my last post. Life got to be too much and I had to step back from some things for a while. Do you know how sometimes you know things but you don’t really realize things? Well I had one of those realization moments recently.

I feel like I have a fair amount of connectivity with other mothers. A lot of it is either online or connecting with those that I know in person through emails, texts and so forth. Being a working…

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Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on March 22, 2010 at 1:53pm — No Comments

Visual Checklists and A Guinea Pig

MEET OUR GUINEA PIG CHARLIE

As many of you know, having a child with ADHD or working memory issues creates a challenge when trying to get them to take responsibility for multi-instruction tasks. We have had a difficult time getting our son to be independent and to take on responsibility. Some of this is probably our fault. He works so hard with his learning disabilities and ADD that we probably baby him too much otherwise. However, he was begging –… Continue

Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on December 3, 2009 at 10:27am — No Comments

ADHD Medication and Side Effects

According to discussions I have had with many doctors and therapists, no one should have to suffer through terrible side effects of ADHD medication. There are many medications to choose from and each one reacts differently to an individual's body chemistry.

Putting your child on medication for ADHD or ADD is not an easy decision or one that should take lightly. I, however, have seen firsthand the power of what the medication can do for a child. It… Continue

Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on November 19, 2009 at 7:21am — No Comments

A Testimonial for ADHD Medication

In this video I share what we have immediately seen with medication for our son's ADD. It is a testimonial for anyone consider medication for their child.

I wanted to provide you with a quick update on our journey with ADD. As of a couple of weeks ago, we put our son on Adderall on a very low dose. The results have been immediate! Although I agree that ADHD and ADD are overused terms in our society, ADHD truly is a neurological disorder that can respond… Continue

Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on October 15, 2009 at 7:53am — 1 Comment

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: Before and After ADD Medication

BEFORE MEDICATION

AFTER MEDICATION…

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Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on October 15, 2009 at 7:51am — No Comments

ADHD - Can You Educate Other Simply Or Are We Destined for Rudeness?

Wow, the response to last week’s post, What I Would Want a Mother of a Typical Needs Child to Know” (http://www.lipstickwisdom.com/2009/09/15/what-would-i-want-a-mother-of-a-typical-needs-child-to-know/), has been tremendous. I have seemingly been able to verbalize in my post what many mothers of special needs children feel in their daily life. Frustration with a lack of… Continue

Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on October 15, 2009 at 7:31am — No Comments

What I Would Want a Mother of a Typical Needs Child to Know

Recently a question was posed on the web which asked, as a mother of a special needs child, what would you want a mother of a typical needs child to understand? As a mother to both a special needs child and a typical needs child, I found the question very difficult to answer.

Recently there was a discussion question put out on the web which asked what I would want a mother of a typical needs child to know about mothering a special needs child. As a mother to… Continue

Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on September 16, 2009 at 11:39am — No Comments

Making Homework Time Easier

Homework can be a frustrating time for any parent. This is especially true if your child has ADHD or learning disabilities. Here I share some times I have gained from first hand experience that make homework time a lot easier and enjoyable. Good luck!!

For many of us parents, homework time can be a very frustrating part of the day. This is especially true for those of us who have children with ADHD or learning disabilities. How can you work with… Continue

Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on September 16, 2009 at 11:36am — No Comments

Working Memory -- Can It Be Improved??? YOUR Feedback is Needed.

Working memory problems seem to be prevalent in those with ADHD and learning disabilities. Mainstream thinking to date has been that a person's working memory is rigid and cannot be changed. Recently research is changing that thinking and software based training may, in fact, improve an individual's working memory. I will share my experiences in future videos and I try out what is currently available.

I am soooooo confused!! I have heard so many… Continue

Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on August 20, 2009 at 9:29am — No Comments

Plain English NOW for Evaluations!!!

Evaluations. Academic Tests. The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-III. Cognitive Testing (WPPSI-III). The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency. And the list goes on …

Have you ever read an evaluation report sharing the results of such tests? What is desperately needed is evaluation results that are written in PLAIN ENGLISH. “Plain English” is a generic term for communication styles that emphasize clarity, brevity and… Continue

Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on August 20, 2009 at 9:23am — No Comments

ADHD and Transitions

Ever feel like you have just had a V8 moment? I recently did when I realized that ANY change in activity is a “transition” for my son. For a while, I have known that a change in our normal routine such as going away for the weekend, going on vacation or starting back at school were transitions and could produce great anxiety for our son.

Now that he has been officially diagnosed with ADD (ADHD – inattentive), I realize that any change in activity is a transition. Different types of… Continue

Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on August 11, 2009 at 3:39pm — No Comments

Entering the Turbulent Waters of Medication?????

We went to our local Children’s Hospital last week to get a second opinion on the ADD (ADHD – inattentive) diagnosis of our son. We had him tested through our school district in the late spring which originally led to the diagnosis and to additional insights into his learning issues.

A diagnosis of ADD is not surprising to me because of the running commentary from his teachers all year long and my observations. The toughest part to face is that this is going to be a lifelong struggle… Continue

Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on August 11, 2009 at 3:33pm — No Comments

The Bigger Picture of ADHD/ADD That You Might Not Know

Managing ADHD in the classroom requires a tight collaboration between the family, the teacher and the school administrators. Many people, including teachers, are not well educated about ADHD and some still have the prejudice that the child is lazy or a discipline problem. The fact is ADHD is a neurological disorder that can make every day tasks that are second nature to those without ADHD/ADD seem like an insurmountable task for those with ADHD.

The standard definition of… Continue

Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on August 11, 2009 at 3:00pm — No Comments

Powerful Approach to Reading with Your Kids

On this video are practical powerful tips for reading with your child that can dramatically improve your child's reading capabilities especially for elementary school children. Our son has language based learning issues and this approach has helped him tremendously.

As a parent you know that reading is extremely important. Studies show that the more children read, the better readers and writers they become.

Now as you know, our son has… Continue

Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on July 17, 2009 at 12:09pm — No Comments

Do You Embrace Your Feelings? (Our ADHD Journey Segment 4)

The recent diagnosis of ADD (ADHD inattentive) for our son has resulted in a major framework shift or me. Learning that he has a lifelong disability that will make life more difficult than it already is causes waves of sadness to come over me. I realize that in order to move on from these feelings, I need to face them and embrace them and then let them go.

Learning Issues, ADD and Grief

So I call my little peanut, my… Continue

Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on July 10, 2009 at 7:37pm — No Comments

ADHD and Anxiety (Our ADHD Journey Segment 3)

Anxiety issues as well as depression and learning problems tend to coexist with ADHD. Some children, however, are incorrectly diagnosed with ADHD when in fact they have an anxiety disorder. Other children have both symptoms of anxiety disorder and ADHD but the medications for one can actually cause more harm than good.

Any treatment option for a child with ADHD needs to look at the child holistically and make sure that all factors are taken into account and… Continue

Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on July 10, 2009 at 7:34pm — No Comments

Our Personal Journey with ADHD -- ADHD and Temper Tantrums (Segment 2)

In this continuing series, I share the struggles and insights that I have gained from working with my amazing son with ADHD. In this segment, I discuss ADHD and temper tantrums and offer practical advice on how to handle your child while in the midst of a tantrum. Thanks for watching!!

Sorry it has been a while since I made my last video log. It has been a crazy time with graduations and end of school year activities!!

Continuing on with… Continue

Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on June 22, 2009 at 9:30am — No Comments

Join Me For An Ongoing Series of Our Journey with ADHD -- Segment 1 (Come visit www.lipstickwisdom.com)

We have recently learned that my son has been diagnosed with ADHD, the inattentive form. In this video I discuss ADHD and share with the viewer our journey on discovering ADHD, ADHD therapy, mainstream medication as well as more holistic approaches to learning issues.

I invite the viewer to join me on this journey as me and my family learns about this neurological disorder.

I have something new to share – my son has recently been diagnosed with… Continue

Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on June 8, 2009 at 10:03am — No Comments

Organic Foods -- What do You Know?

I have been thinking more and more about focusing on organic foods within my family. This thinking has been triggered mostly by my worries regarding my son's learning issues. I have always heard about the "benefit" of organic foods but had not really taken the time to research what it all meant.

This week I did. I have found very useful information from throughout the web and gathered it at www.lipstickwisdom.com under Organic Foods. I have done all of the leg work for… Continue

Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on May 22, 2009 at 9:54am — No Comments

Kinetic Or Physical Learning Ideas for Kids with Learning Issues

In this video, I discuss kinetic or physical learning approaches that I use in my son's homework routine in order to help him learn more effectively. We use a physical alphabet cheer for spelling words among other activities.

We have lots of information on Learning Issues at Lipstick Wisdom (www.lipstickwisdom.com) -- Come Check It Out!!

I mentioned before that kinetic learning is the best learning methodology for my son – so I wanted to… Continue

Added by Karen Griffith Gryga on May 22, 2009 at 9:00am — No Comments