Edge Foundation Blog > Archive for May, 2011

Unique Scholarship for Students with ADHD Offered by Edge Foundation in Partnership with Shire

Award Includes a Year of Coaching to Ease the Transition from High School to Higher Education

Seattle, WA, May 24, 2011 – Students with ADHD struggle with the difficult transition from high school to higher education. Studies indicate that between 50 to 95 percent [1] of college students with ADHD drop out. Edge is pleased to partner with Shire to offer a unique new scholarship program aimed at students with ADHD. Twenty-five graduating high school seniors who will be starting a program in higher education in the fall of 2011 will receive a $2,000 scholarship and an offer of a full year of ADHD coaching services provided by the Edge Foundation. The deadline to apply is July 7, 2011 and scholarships will be awarded on August 9, 2011. Details available at www.ShireADHDScholarship.com.

“What makes this scholarship unique is that, these students will not only have access to a higher education, but they will receive additional tools to help them,” said Robert Tudisco, Executive Director of Edge Foundation. “The students will set goals and work with their coaches to stay accountable to the goals they have set for themselves. Edge coaches will help provide these students with structure, support and accountability as they leave home and continue their education. Edge coaches will help students learn the skills they need to provide these things for themselves.”

According to Kelsey Peterson, a college student who was successfully coached through the Edge model, “I was fortunate that my parents were able to send me to college, but the transition was very difficult because of my ADHD. It wasn’t until I started working with my coach that I felt empowered enough to take charge of my life and succeed.”

The scholarship recipients will be able to connect with their Edge Coach before orientation begins. Their coaches will help them to understand themselves well enough to learn to gravitate toward their strengths and also to navigate around their weaknesses. Says Tudisco, “We applaud Shire for recognizing the need for coaching and making it available proactively for students entering higher education. No student should have to fail in order to receive support.”

The Edge coaching model has been proven effective in helping students with ADHD regulate their own behavior, problem solve, prioritize, organize and otherwise bring balance into their lives. Last year, Edge concluded a two year study into the effectiveness of ADHD coaching on students in 10 colleges nationwide. The study results (available at edgefoundation.org) showed that the students who were coached showed dramatic increases in self regulation and an overall improvement in their approach to learning.

The Edge Foundation is a Seattle-based nonprofit organization that offers supplemental treatment for students with ADHD. Founded by Neil Peterson in 2005, its mission is to help every child, adolescent and young adult with ADHD to fully realize their own potential, personal vision and passion through personal coaching.

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Contact: Robert Tudisco 914-924-7597 rtudisco@edgefoundation.org

[1] Los Angeles Times, May 15, 2011, http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/15/health/la-he-ritalin-q-a-20110515

Edge Foundation Announces Unique Scholarship for Students with ADHD Offered in Partnership with Shire

Award Includes a Year of Coaching to Ease the Transition from High School to Higher Education

Seattle, WA, May 24, 2011 – Students with ADHD struggle with the difficult transition from high school to higher education.  Studies indicate that between 50 to 95 percent[1] of college students with ADHD drop out. Edge is pleased to partner with Shire to offer a unique new scholarship program aimed at students with ADHD.  Twenty-five graduating high school seniors who will be starting a program in higher education in the fall of 2011 will receive a $2,000 scholarship and an offer of a full year of ADHD coaching services provided by the Edge Foundation.  The deadline to apply is July 7, 2011 and scholarships will be awarded on August 9, 2011.  Details available at www.ShireADHDScholarship.com.

“What makes this scholarship unique is that, these students will not only have access to a higher education, but they will receive additional tools to help them,” said Robert Tudisco, Executive Director of Edge Foundation.  “The students will set goals and work with their coaches to stay accountable to the goals they have set for themselves.  Edge coaches will help provide these students with structure, support and accountability as they leave home and continue their education.  Edge coaches will help students learn the skills they need to provide these things for themselves.”

According to Kelsey Peterson, a college student who was successfully coached through the Edge model, “I was fortunate that my parents were able to send me to college, but the transition was very difficult because of my ADHD.  It wasn’t until I started working with my coach that I felt empowered enough to take charge of my life and succeed.”

The scholarship recipients will be able to connect with their Edge Coach before orientation begins.  Their coaches will help them to understand themselves well enough to learn to gravitate toward their strengths and also to navigate around their weaknesses.  Says Tudisco, “We applaud Shire for recognizing the need for coaching and making it available proactively for students entering higher education.  No student should have to fail in order to receive support.”

The Edge coaching model has been proven effective in helping students with ADHD regulate their own behavior, problem solve, prioritize, organize and otherwise bring balance into their lives.  Last year, Edge concluded a two year study into the effectiveness of ADHD coaching on students in 10 colleges nationwide.  The study results (available at edgefoundation.org) showed that the students who were coached showed dramatic increases in self regulation and an overall improvement in their approach to learning.

The Edge Foundation is a Seattle-based nonprofit organization that offers supplemental treatment for students with ADHD. Founded by Neil Peterson in 2005, its mission is to help every child, adolescent and young adult with ADHD to fully realize their own potential, personal vision and passion through personal coaching.

It happens more than you’d like.  It’s 10 a.m. and suddenly you realize, “Oops!  I forgot my 10 a.m. appointment!”  Don’t worry, you aren’t alone.  That’s one of the reasons why coaching is done by phone.  It’s hard to be late when getting to the appointment is as simple as picking up the phone.  And if you do forget your appointment, the coach can call you without missing a beat.

Eight other reasons for phoning your coach:

1. It makes your coach much more accessible to you – and a lot easier to be on time.
2. Driving takes time that a phone call doesn’t.
3. A 30-minute appointment takes exactly 30 minutes.
4. It’s easier to fit a phone call into a busy schedule.
5. When you call from your desk or bedroom, you have everything you need right in front of you.
6. You don’t have to get organized to go to the meeting.  That’s what the coach helps you do.
7. There are just not that many ADHD coaches nationwide who have been trained in the special concerns of young people with ADHD.  The phone gives you access to some of the best in the nation.
8. Students tend to be highly mobile.  Phoning your coach allows you to access your coach where ever you go.

You can also meet with your ADHD coach on Skype!

The 2010/2011 school year is in its final days.  Are you gearing up for finals?  Can’t wait for it all to be over?  Does this sound like you?  “I know I shouldn’t wait until the last minute and pull an all-nighter.  My work isn’t the best it could be, but it’s the only way I can get motivated.”

Getting back on track:

You can still get yourself back on track, even with a few days left.  And here’s how.

Assess your time:

• Make a calendar.  Get some paper, open up a spread sheet, or set up a Google calendar.
• Sketch out a calendar for the upcoming days remaining in the school year. Block out both the days and leave space for the hours of the day.  Here’s a weekly planner to give you an idea of what it might look like. (You can also download and print it.)
• Block out on your calendar plan all your classes and other critical time commitments (ex. job, sports — things you MUST do).
• Block out when you’ll be sleeping and eating.
• On the second page, list all the other things you have to get done.

Prioritize:

• Circle the items that have big consequences for not getting them done.
• Everything else is lower priority right now. You can even let them fall off the list for now.

Break your project into smaller bits:

• Identify all the steps you need to do to get a big project done.  For a paper, for instance, you need time to do research, brainstorm and/or write a draft, write the final draft, and hand it in.
• Block of time on your calendar for each of those steps.
• If it looks like you have extra hours left on your calendar plan, look to the next higher priority tasks and start scheduling them until you run out of hours in the day.
• Don’t forget to schedule some short breaks along the way.

Stick to your plan!

• Keep the plan with you 24/7. Put it in your agenda, or your phone.
• Keep checking your plan.  Stick to it to the best of your ability. If it’s 1:00 pm and your plan says you should be done with lunch and working on the draft, go work on the draft.
• Remember, it is an emergency plan to get you through a tough spot. One way or another, it will be over soon.

How an ADHD Coach can help

• If you find yourself in a last minute study crunch so much of the time it feels like a habit, and ADHD coach can help you avoid emergency situations in the first place.
• One of the characteristics of ADHD is a tendency to shoot from the hip, or the “ready, fire, aim” syndrome. A coach works with you over time to develop better planning and self-management skills; skills that will help you manage your time and your things so you’re on top of your work and the rest of your life and not overwhelmed and behind all the time.
• Once you’ve met your deadline, get yourself a coach. By working with a coach, you can stay on top of your work and have fun too!

Looking for quick low down of why an ADHD coach is for you? Here are 15 reasons to get a coach!

1. ADHD coaching works the same way as an athletic coach, only the game is life.
2. Your coach won’t make you work on things you don’t care about.
3. You set the agenda for your coach – not your parents (or partner or anyone else).
4. Your coach isn’t a punishment.
5. Your coach isn’t there to “fix” you.
6. You set the agenda.
7. You decide what’s important.
8. Your coach supports you and helps you stay on track.
9. Your coach understands the unique challenges of ADHD and may even have it him or herself.
10. Your coach doesn’t focus on your ADHD – unless you want them to.
11. You don’t even have to have ADHD to use a coach.
12. Your coach can help you figure out how to be more organized in a way that works for you.
13. Coaching reduces stress — helping you find ways to stop being late, stop losing things, manage your money, and get assignments done on time.
14. Your coach will also help you apply these new skills to achieving the things you want most in life.
15. You get to talk to your coach for 30 minutes (free) before you commit to working with her.