Fidget to Focus

We’re excited! The Fall 2008 issue of ADDitude features an article we wrote called “Focus Factors: A little Fidgeting May Help ADHD Adults and Children Stay on Task”. My copy arrived in the mail today. The article starts on page 44. They included some good illustrative photos and I think it looks great. We also have a beautiful ad on page 74. Let us know what you think!

If you are not an ADDitude magazine subscriber, you can read the article online.

If you want to subscribe to ADDitude and read the Fall 2008 issue of ADDitude in full, SUBSCRIBE NOW!

Woman’s World magazine wrote about a Fidget to Focus devotee in their March 3, 2008 issue:

Ever have trouble concentrating? Susan Blake did too–all the time. And when she was finally diagnosed with ADD, medication didn’t work magic. But something else did…

The article goes on to talk about her struggles and how Fidget to Focus showed her the way to an answer. The article concludes:

“I always thought something was wrong with me,” Susan says today. “But all that fidgeting wasn’t a problem–it was the solution!”

It’s a great article and I wish we could direct you to a copy of it online. But Women’s World magazine doesn’t go there. Thanks, Susan, for being such a great advocate for what works!

An article we wrote called The Up Side of Wiggling was featured in the September 2007 issue of the New Jersey Family Magazine. It was just published online. You can read it here.

The Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) has created a brochure with information everyone should know about ADHD in the workplace. It talks about the issue and bullet points key information about disclosure, accommodations, resources (including Fidget to Focus), and more. Download your copy!

Dr. Patricia Quinn cites Fidget to Focus in her article on how to deal with ADHD in the work place. Read her article: “Stretch Your Attention Span: ADHD at Work: Six Strategies for Adults with ADHD Who Want to Gain and Maintain Focus at Work”.

This article was originally published in the December 2006/January 2007 issue of ADDitude.

To read that issue of ADDitude in full, purchase the back issue and SUBSCRIBE NOW to ensure you don’t miss a single issue.

In the Ask the Expert section of the November 2006 issue of ADDitude magazine, a woman wrote that her boss was opposed to her knitting during meetings. You wrote that she should try some other, perhaps more discrete, mindless activity to help her stay focused (see Staying Focused).

I found many mindless activities in my local dollar store!

Your book lists the Alert Program web site as a Resource. When I checked out the products there I discovered that at the dollar store I had purchased a reflex ball, similar to ones priced from $5.95 to $15.95 on the website, for–you guessed it–only $1.00!

I also wanted to add that The Atlas Pen and Pencil Co. sells bendable pencils, velvet pencils and other sensory-type writing tools on the web site ForTeachersOnly.com.

- Anne (from email)

ADDitude magazine ran this review of Fidget to Focus by Kerch McConlogue in 2005.

Fidget to Focus was Terry Matlen’s Book of the Month in last July’s issue of ADDitional News. She just posted her article online had you can read it here.

Yesterday she wrote:

Today’s letter is F

F is for FIDGET.

Fidget: (N): An object used to self-calm or focus. (From the Terry Matlen ADD Dictionary) Actually, when I looked up the word “fidget“, there was no noun definition. So…

Years ago, when I was a student, I found myself having to write down every single word my teacher spoke, as a way for me to concentrate on what was being said. I used this method even more so in college, and when there was nothing to write down of importance, I found myself doodling all over the margins and any other white space remaining on the page. It certainly worked in keep my attention from wandering.

So if you are your child REALLY needs to move, play with a manipulative, etc.  in order to concentrate, don’t fight the urge!

Read the rest of her blog post here.