metro
Help For The Distracted
Author provides tips to women with ADHD.
Ronelle Grier
Contributing Writer
I
f a trip to Costco leaves you over-
whelmed, controlling the clutter in
your home or office has you sty-
mied and being on time is harder than
your daughter's AP chemistry class, you
just might be a "Queen of Distraction:'
that is, a woman with ADHD (Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).
For those facing the particular chal-
lenges ADHD poses to women, the
new book by author, therapist, con-
sultant and coach Terry Matlen, The
Queen of Distraction: How Women with
ADHD Can Conquer Chaos, Find Focus,
and Get More Done (New Harbinger
Publications, 2014), offers a wealth of
useful information and practical tips.
Matlen will be participating in the
Jewish Book Fair's local author pro-
gram Sunday, Nov. 10, from 10 a.m.-
noon at the Jewish Community Center
in West Bloomfield.
The author writes from experience
that is professional as well as personal
as a wife and mother who struggled
with her own ADHD symptoms for
years before receiving an official diag-
nosis. While researching the topic many
years ago in order to help her daughter,
Mackenzie, Matlen came across a book
on adult ADHD.
"It was like a light bulb went on.
I saw myself — being disorganized,
procrastinating, being overwhelmed,
especially when I had children:' she
said. "I thought something was wrong
with me."
After Matlen was diagnosed, she
began a treatment plan and started
seeing impressive results almost imme-
diately.
"I found ways to make my life better,
and it was so dramatic; she said. "As I
learned more about myself, I had this
desire, as a social worker, to help other
people:'
Matlen describes ADHD, which is
also known as ADD, as a neurobio-
logical disorder that affects executive
brain function, which involves plan-
ning, organizing and paying attention
to details; and self-regulation, which
includes distractibility, impulsivity and
difficulty following through on tasks
and projects.
"I tell women, 'you're not flawed;
you're not dumb — you have a neuro-
biological difference in your brain that
18
November 6 • 2014
nosed and not properly treated."
She estimates more than 5 million
women in the United States have
ADHD, and many of these women
end up being treated for depres-
sion instead of the underlying
cause.
"I get emails every single day
from frustrated women who can't
get dinner on the table and have
trouble finishing the laundry, even
though they may have two college
degrees;' Matlen said. "The wom-
en's self-esteem gets hit — they
feel like complete failures."
Some of the strategies Matlen
Terry Matlen
addresses in her book include
setting up systems to help with
T1.RRY M AT I. E N M SIN
morning routines, using visual
iird
',\ R1 SC.)1,DEN, LW"
cues, avoiding sensory over-
load in public places, choosing
The
a wardrobe that simplifies the
daily "what to wear" dilemma,
accommodating hypersensitiv-
ity to noise or certain types of
clothing, using a timer to break
down daunting tasks, setting
up a "comfort zone," working
backwards to make it to appoint-
ments on time and various other
approaches to common issues.
"We do all these strategies and
accommodations for our kids,
but we don't do it for ourselves;'
Matlen said.
Learning new techniques and
getting the appropriate treatment,
which may include medication
Cali C011f4bUT
and psychotherapy, often leads to
NIO • ' L)'11 i1.
drastic changes in a short amount
of time.
needs to be understood and addressed",'
"I want to give women hope,"
Matlen said.
Matlen said. "Life may be difficult
After doing volunteer work for local
because you don't know what's happening
chapters of organizations such as ADDA to you, but it can be treated successfully
(Attention Deficit Disorder Association) and life can be so much better for you"
and CHADD (Children and Adults
Matlen recently started an online
with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity
group coaching program called "Queens
of Distraction; which has more than
Disorder), Matlen launched her own
100 members who participate in vari-
website, addconsults.org . The site
includes links to local and national
ous online discussions and activities
resources, e-workbooks on clutter con-
through a private Facebook page.
trol and record-keeping, blog posts, a
"It's a community of women where
regular newsletter that has more than
we support each other yet still hold
10,000 subscribers, an online forum
each other accountable Matlen said.
and a virtual store with planners, orga-
"We have a blast:'
nizers, timers, books and a wide variety
Matlen also wrote Survival Tips for
of other products designed for indi-
Women with ADHD: Beyond Piles,
viduals with ADHD.
Palms, & Post-its (Specialty Press/
Matlen decided to focus on women
A.D.D. Warehouse, 2005). For more
with ADHD because she believes they
details, visit www.addconsults.com or
are "totally misunderstood, misdiag-
www.queensofdistraction.com.
I 0111T.V.
ueen
Distrota.ction
❑
Legacy
Award
Madeleine Berman
is honored for her
commitment to arts.
M
adeleine H. Berman, whose commit-
ment to the arts has influenced and
shaped the arts scenes in Metropolitan
Detroit, Michigan and nationally, received the
Americans for the Arts Legacy Award at its
National Arts Awards event in New York last
month.
Berman, of Franklin, was honored along with
Richard Serra, David Hallberg, and Vicki and
Roger Sant, who received the Eli and Edythe
Broad Award for Philanthropy in the Arts. The
Broads are native Detroiters.
Presenting Berman with her award was Detroit
Symphony Orchestra CEO Ann Parsons, who
joined Berman, her husband, Mandell "Bill," and
two dozen others who traveled to New York for
the gala.
Berman was one of the seven original members
of the first Detroit Arts Council. She was also
appointed in 1981 by Gov. William Milliken to the
Michigan Council of the Arts and was reappointed
in 1983 by Gov. James Blanchard, who elevated
her to vice chair. She originated the idea of the
Governor's Arts Awards while an early board
member of Concerned Citizens for the Arts in
Michigan.
She has served twice as a member of the
President's Committee for the Arts & Humanities,
appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994 and
President Barack Obama in 2009.
More recently, she has been the driving force
behind the envisioning and building of the
Madeleine and Mandell Berman Center for the
Performing Arts in West Bloomfield and remains
invested in its success.
She has served on the board of Americans for
the Arts since 1989. Americans for the Arts is
dedicated to building broad public support, strong
leadership and increased resources for the arts
and arts education. Its National Arts Awards raises
funds to support work in policy, research, visibil-
ity advocacy and professional development.
❑