The Impact of a Life of ADHD: Understanding for Clinicians and Clients

Course overview

The Impact of a Life of ADHD: Understanding for Clinicians and Clients is a 3-hour online continuing education (CE) course that highlights the ways in which ADHD impacts every aspect of a person's functioning and discusses the importance of educating clients and normalizing their difficulties as an aid to the treatment process. This course is divided into two sections. Section 1 explores the direct affects and secondary outcomes of a lifetime of undiagnosed and untreated ADHD, followed by an important discussion o how to share this information with clients to de-stigmatize the difficulties they have encountered. Although we will try to avoid sweeping generalizations about ADHD, there are certain characteristics that are common enough to bear in mind as we highlight the executive, academic, occupational, psychological, and social aspects of adult functioning that are impacted by ADHD. The course often considers the effects ADHD has on children's lives, rather than the effect on adults' lives. This is because there is much more data available on children with ADHD than adults, so we are left to extrapolate, and what happens in childhood does indeed carry forward to adulthood. The second section outlines the concept that education is a therapeutic technique. Education about the effects of undiagnosed and untreated ADHD on an adult's life is crucial. We will look at how to help clients understand ADHD, frame it as something treatable, and instill hope and optimism for the future, supporting them to become sufficiently motivated to work at and follow their treatment program. This education can be provided directly in session or though recommended books, articles, or websites. Course #31-40 | 2022 | 42 pages | 20 posttest questions