I’ve been a member of the Australian and New Zealand ADHD Professionals Association for several years now. Assessing and helping people with ADHD is one of my ‘special interests’ – that is Psychologist speak for an area I’ve done additional training in (quite a bit more) and have an interest or preference in working with.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve been quietly extending my work to include adults with ADHD, having started off working with children, youth and families with ADHD nearly 2 decades ago. Often these people have not been diagnosed until adulthood. We have been using CBT, Schema Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and sensory emotional regulation to help them with their mood and general wellbeing. As well as ADHD specific interventions to help with executive functioning. This is a very new field of treatment and study. Clients, professionals, teachers and researchers are all learning together how to help people with ADHD feel better, be healthier, learn better, and lead life with less friction. It’s not an easy thing sometimes, but I’ve seen that improvement is absolutely possible.
I’ve attended a number of AADPA conferences and enjoyed this year’s most. It was great to learn about new research into ADHD – what it is, how it can be assessed, intervention and how to work with people with ADHD as a professional. I learnt more about:
- Cognitive markers of ADHD (how ADHD might show up in how person thinks as measured by neuropsychology assessments)
- Intervention with people with ADHD plus other neurodivergent and mental health needs.
- The emergence of GP led assessment and case management for people with ADHD in Australia, UK and NZ.
- Using tech to manage ADHD symptoms
- Services for helping Teachers understand and assist people with ADHD in school
- And much more ..
