Casey Dixon ADHD Coach & Strategist MindfullyADD Dixon Life Coaching

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Symptoms Casey Dixon ADHD Coach & Strategist MindfullyADD Dixon Life Coaching

2 Your ADHD Road Tripà Destination Mindfulness How Research on Mindful Awareness Practices for ADHD and the AIM Model of Goal Pursuit Can Help Relieve ADHD Symptoms Casey Dixon ADHD Coach & Strategist MindfullyADD Dixon Life Coaching Wynne Kinder Mindfulness Educator MindfullyADD Kinder Associates Wellness Works in Schools

6 Being together We have a total of 90 minutes together. We will try to leave time for questions at the end. If you have a question jot it down so you don t forget. And, if you think of one later just stop by the MindfullyADD booth. Feel free to stand up or move around if you need. Turn off alerts on phones and computers, but feel free to use technology to take notes, record, or take photos.

7 What we will cover today Results of recent studies into how mindfulness works for ADHD. Tips for ADHD-informed mindfulness practices. Take a three stage road trip with mindfulness as your destination. We ll even get to try out some mindfulness practices. And, look at some resources to help develop the mindfulness habit.

8 Mindfulness & Meditation MINDFULNESS Paying attention to the moment. Open, non-judgmental awareness. Can be done anytime (while eating, walking, doing dishes, or pausing while writing a report.) MEDITATION Formal practice. Enhances your ability to be more mindful. Concentrates your attention on breath, object, or words. Takes a posture and certain length of time.

9 MindfullyADD MINDFULNESS CREATED FOR THE ADHD MIND Feet, Seat, or Hands

10 The Zylowska Study Mindfulness Meditation Training in Adults and Adolescents: A Feasibility Study 2008 WHY THIS STUDY IS IMPORTANT 78% of participants who practiced mindful awareness reported reduction in their ADHD symptoms. That means that nearly 8 out of 10 of them felt less ADHD.

11 Since then

12 The Bueno Study Mindfulness Meditation Improves Mood, Quality of Life, and Attention in Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, 2014 WHY THIS STUDY IS IMPORTANT The ADHD group started out lower in mood, quality of life, and attention, but made large gains in all three areas after 8 weeks of mindfulness practice. They were all meditation novices at the beginning of the study.

13 Mindfulness Benefits for ADHD Increased attention control More effective resistance of distractions Increased self-monitoring Better working memory Less impulsivity Better at coping with stress Improved relationships and parenting Improved mood, less depression and anxiety Reduced behavioral problems Stronger overall Executive Functions Better overall quality of life

14 Benefits of Mindfulness For ADHD Increased Attention Control! Better Working Memory! Stronger Distraction Resistance! Reduced Behavioral Problems! Less Impulsivity! Improved Relationships! Improved Mood! Better Handling Stress! Better! Self- Monitoring! Stronger Executive Functions! "2015"MindfullyADD" "h3p://mindfullyadd.com""

15 The Smalley Study Mindfulness and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder 2009 Blue Yellow Green Researchers found that people with ADHD have a "decrease in conflict aienjon." They also noted that people who pracjce mindfulness have an "increase in conflict aienjon. BUT people with ADHD who pracjced mindfulness had fairly rapid gains in their ability to control their conflict aienjon.

16 The Smalley Study Mindfulness and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder 2009 WHY THIS STUDY IS IMPORTANT "Self-transcendence is a character trait associated with an experience of being part of something greater than oneself, a relationship of self to the universe at large.

17 The Mitchell Study Mindfulness Meditation Training for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adulthood 2014 WHY THIS STUDY IS IMPORTANT This study took the findings of other studies and put it all together, defining a new standard of ADHD-informed mindfulness practice. They reported that internet only mindfulness practice showed greater improvement in total ADHD symptom severity

18 ADHD-Informed Mindfulness Includes education about ADHD Starts with really short practices Uses both being still and moving meditations Emphasizes mindful awareness practices over formal meditations

19 MindfullyADD MINDFULNESS CREATED FOR THE ADHD MIND Sensory Practice

20 MindfullyADD MINDFULNESS CREATED FOR THE ADHD MIND Movement Practice

21 ADHD-Informed Mindfulness Uses visual imagery Ends with lovingkindness to honor your practice Uses reminders, cues, and other external supports Develops a self-coaching voice

22 MindfullyADD MINDFULNESS CREATED FOR THE ADHD MIND Pebble Practice

23 ADHD-Informed Mindfulness Deals with how to handle posture, movement, thoughts, restlessness, and both good and bad feelings Uses the STOP practice Encourages a Mindfulness Buddy Doesn t ask you to force your mind to be blank, simply notice thoughts in the moment and watch them pass through your mind. Reminds you not to worry if you think you re no good at meditating. The important word in mindfulness practice is practice.

24 Road Trip Elliot Berkman and David Rock of the NeuroLeadership Institute reviewed goal setting models, applied what we know from neuroscience, and developed a new model. Their model is called AIM, which stands for Antecedent, Integration, and Maintenance. In the AIM Model, pursuing a goal is likened to planning and taking a road trip.

25 Your ADHD Road Trip The Road Trip metaphor helps to achieve the high level of intentionality needed to create a lasting change with ADHD. To take a road trip, you need to plan your trip, hit the road and deal with road blocks, and set the cruise control when you re on the right road. If your destination is mindfulness, you need to plan your approach, set started and make adjustments, and stay motivated to stay on the right road.

26 Plan Your Trip As-if you could follow your plan without any issues or problems getting in your way, what would you want your mindful practice to look like? Ask yourself questions like these: How frequently do I plan to meditate? How long do I plan to sit or move in meditation? What is the best time of day for me to try? Do I need any supplies, such as a meditation cushion, bench, or timer? Where will I practice meditation? Do I have one or two mindfulness techniques to try? How often do I want to do these? How will I cue/remind myself to do them? How will I keep track of how I am doing?

27 How will you cue or remind yourself to pracjce mindfulness or meditate?

28 Hit the Road & Deal with Road Blocks Your plan will include the all of the details you need in order get started. Pick a start date and hit the road. Check in with yourself to make sure all of your plans are working. Make microchanges if your plan isn t working, if you get bored, or if you get distracted. Examples of micro-changes: Change the time of day for mediating Choose a new, guided mindfulness practice Set a new type of alarm to remind you Hang up a sign with a cue word or picture, change it when you start to ignore it Print your meditation practice calendar on a different color paper Is there one small adjustment you can make to your plan to make it work better for you?

29 What types of micro- changes might help keep your mindfulness pracjce feeling fresh and on the front burner?

30 Set the Cruise Control Once things are going well, you will need to stay motivated to keep going Read about the benefits of mindfulness online. Join a local meditation, mindfulness, or yoga class. Reward yourself with an immediate, tangible reward for meditating (like lighting your favorite scented candle during meditation). Enlist a Mindfulness Buddy someone that you can talk with about your practice, will go to classes with you, will partner with you in your goal to be more mindful.

31 Stay mojvated using rewards. What are you trying to approach by pracjcing mindfulness? What are you trying to avoid by pracjcing mindfulness?

32 MindfullyADD MINDFULNESS CREATED FOR THE ADHD MIND Final Resting Practice

33 Developing a mindfulness practice is a proven technique to support those with ADHD. To develop a habit of mindfulness, plan for success in the same ways you d plan for a trip. Plan, adjust, and then enjoy the ride.

34 Resources to get you started Online ADHD-Informed Mindfulness Books Classes MindfullyADD provides exclusive, ADHD-informed content, based on research ( mindfullyadd.com). Visit to learn, practice, and participate. The Mindfulness Prescription for Adult ADHD by Lidia Zylowska Mindful Parenting for Adult ADHD by Mark Bertin Teaching Mindfulness Skills to Kids and Teens ed. by Christopher Willard & Amy Saltzman (Chapter 3: Mindfulness with Special-Needs Populations by Wynne Kinder & Christen Coscia) Mindfulness and ADHD: Tele-class with Elizabeth Ahmann Mindful ADHD: Cultivating Calm, Compassion and Clarity with Mark Bertin The Article AIM: An Integrative Model of Goal Pursuit, by Elliot Berkman & David Rock, Neuroleadership Journal, Vol. 5, 2014

35 Your ADHD Road Tripà Destination Mindfulness How Research on Mindful Awareness Practices for ADHD and the AIM Model of Goal Pursuit Can Help Relieve ADHD Symptoms Casey Dixon Success Strategist MindfullyADD ADHD Coach Dixon Life Coaching Wynne Kinder Mindfulness Educator MindfullyADD Kinder Associates Wellness Works In Schools

Create the Mindfulness Habit for ADHD. Casey Dixon, SCAC, BCC, M.S.Ed. Mindfulness and meditation practices by Wynne Kinder, MBSR, B.A.Ed.

Create the Mindfulness Habit for ADHD Casey Dixon, SCAC, BCC, M.S.Ed. Mindfulness and meditation practices by Wynne Kinder, MBSR, B.A.Ed. Contents 03 Introduction 06 Chapter 1: Mindfulness for ADHD 09