Children with ADHD have faulty offswitch for mindwandering

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AS_mom
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28 Jan 2011, 1:50 am

Thanks Moog for the information. :) I had a look at the website and I will follow the other links/videos for further information. I used to practice more of a meditation "prayer" but haven't for awhile but giving a mantra for focus would probably work for both my children as they have other anxiety issues as well P.T.S.D. etc. It is worth trying as a I'm not keen on more meds at the moment.



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28 Jan 2011, 8:31 am

Moog wrote:
AS_mom wrote:
My brain wanders when something does not interest me or a conversation lacks interest. My son 13 runs into problems with school work, unless he is interested in what he's studying he does not remember, this is something he just recently shared with me and I really have know idea what to do. He had Structure of Intellect testing done last summer which showed his memory was really bad and we have worked on various modules in an attempt to build up his memory but to no avail as far as I am concerned. Luckily we home school so we can spend extra time when it is needed, but he was totally switched off when he was in school, as was I. Clearly it also affects other areas of his life although we have not considered any medication.


Medication is the usual strategy.

I outline my meditation strategy in this thread. Well, it's not mine, I borrowed it.

I've never taught a child how to meditate,so I've no idea how that would go.

When I read with my niece who has terrible attention span, I prompt her to concentrate every time I can tell her mind is wandering. I don't really get enough time with her to make it into a routine thing. The problem with an outside prompt is that they don't learn to do it for themselves.

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postp3336023.html#3336023

I've been told meditation is good, too, but I never really figured out how to meditate. I follow the exercises people tell me to, but I dunno if it's actually working or not.



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28 Jan 2011, 9:26 am

syrella wrote:
Moog wrote:
AS_mom wrote:
My brain wanders when something does not interest me or a conversation lacks interest. My son 13 runs into problems with school work, unless he is interested in what he's studying he does not remember, this is something he just recently shared with me and I really have know idea what to do. He had Structure of Intellect testing done last summer which showed his memory was really bad and we have worked on various modules in an attempt to build up his memory but to no avail as far as I am concerned. Luckily we home school so we can spend extra time when it is needed, but he was totally switched off when he was in school, as was I. Clearly it also affects other areas of his life although we have not considered any medication.


Medication is the usual strategy.

I outline my meditation strategy in this thread. Well, it's not mine, I borrowed it.

I've never taught a child how to meditate,so I've no idea how that would go.

When I read with my niece who has terrible attention span, I prompt her to concentrate every time I can tell her mind is wandering. I don't really get enough time with her to make it into a routine thing. The problem with an outside prompt is that they don't learn to do it for themselves.

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postp3336023.html#3336023

I've been told meditation is good, too, but I never really figured out how to meditate. I follow the exercises people tell me to, but I dunno if it's actually working or not.


I had this problem, for several years in fact. I flailed around trying a bunch of different things until one day, I just realised I was doing it. In those days I could have benefited from a real relationship with a real teacher, but I was a lot more social phobic.

The positive effects have crept up on me. It is really hard to see progress from just a few sits. It's like that idea of the frog being boiled. If the temperature rises slowly, the frog cannot perceive the change.

I've been toying with the idea of perhaps attempting to run a kind of online meditation workshop/thread here on WP. I might get around to it soon.


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28 Jan 2011, 10:42 am

TallyMan wrote:
I too am a perfectionist and can concentrate very deeply on things that stimulate my mind but have massive problems motivating myself to do anything else - even very important financial / income related things. It is seriously messing with my life.

:lol: Oh yes. My central heating has all but packed up (clogged, needs flushing) and I'm down to a couple of functional radiators. It's been like that for almost two years and I've just got used to using electric heaters instead. This doesn't help the electricity bills but can I motivate myself to doing something about it? No. Not interested enough, and the fact that it gets a bit cold in here sometimes has become a mere minor inconvenience.
I think about doing it, but wander off onto something else instead.

Three years ago I bought a beautiful organ pedal-board and three keyboards with the intention of building a proper console (at the moment it all gets done by hand, using a MIDI-based music editor) and learning to play properly.
In order to design the console I got a rather neat CAD package but instead of actually following through and completing the project, I learned instead that the package was great fun and spent hours tinkering with it. The console design part got "mostly" done but it's now just another file on the computer, and the keyboards sit in my living room gathering dust.
Meanwhile, the enthusiasm and interest in making music continues - using the old MIDI-based, round-about manual method.

If something's really interesting and I get involved with it, there's no stopping me. If it doesn't immediately grab my attention as interesting then it might as well not exist.
There's a trick in maintaining that initial "needs doing/completing" trigger and working through the required steps to completion, but I have no idea what it is. :roll:


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28 Jan 2011, 4:40 pm

AS_mom wrote:
Thanks Moog for the information. :) I had a look at the website and I will follow the other links/videos for further information. I used to practice more of a meditation "prayer" but haven't for awhile but giving a mantra for focus would probably work for both my children as they have other anxiety issues as well P.T.S.D. etc. It is worth trying as a I'm not keen on more meds at the moment.


You're very welcome, hope it helps.

Mantras; I don't use them, never liked them, nor counting either. But I think they might be the easiest meditation object to 'grasp', so I might bear them in mind for teaching purposes. Thanks!


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28 Jan 2011, 4:49 pm

Moog wrote:
Mantras; I don't use them, never liked them, nor counting either. But I think they might be the easiest meditation object to 'grasp', so I might bear them in mind for teaching purposes. Thanks!


I never got on with mantras or counting either. I don't think they are helpful for Aspies or people with obsessive compulsive tendencies such as me... because I count all day long anyway! The best meditation technique I've found to be highly effective (for me at least) is Zen shikantaza. What technique do you use?


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29 Jan 2011, 3:46 am

TallyMan wrote:
Moog wrote:
Mantras; I don't use them, never liked them, nor counting either. But I think they might be the easiest meditation object to 'grasp', so I might bear them in mind for teaching purposes. Thanks!


I never got on with mantras or counting either. I don't think they are helpful for Aspies or people with obsessive compulsive tendencies such as me... because I count all day long anyway! The best meditation technique I've found to be highly effective (for me at least) is Zen shikantaza. What technique do you use?


My technique is anapanasati which means mindfulness of breath. I keep my attention on the breath as it passes the point between my upper lip and nostril until I build a big pleasant physical sensation in my head, then I switch to focusing on that.

http://www.leighb.com/accesscon.htm

I am slightly familiar with Shikantaza, and I believe the primary difference is that it's a lot like a 'do nothing' meditation. Not trying even to concentrate, just letting things occur and pass? I think it's a bit different from what I do and recommend for ADD heads, but I can definitely see how it could benefit.

If my premise is correct then I think Shikantaza is for development of equanimity, that is allowing what is to be, letting go of any desire to make anything particular happen. Whereas anapanasati is more about actively generating concentration.

Actually, I might switch to a more Shikantaza style meditation for a while, I think I could use a bit more balance.


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kruger4
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29 Jan 2011, 9:05 pm

So there are several ways of meditating right? Which are the best, easy, useful?

Also do you think that mediation is the trigger that can cause a life to take a turn for the better?



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30 Jan 2011, 9:17 am

kruger4 wrote:
So there are several ways of meditating right? Which are the best, easy, useful?


Best is subjective, and it depends on your needs and personal preferences.

The three major 'pillars' of Buddhism as I see it are Concentration, Wisdom, and Kindness.

When you engage in a meditative practice, you will be working on all three, though often there will be an emphasis on one or another.

I've outlined a basic concentration practice on my blog here:

http://recollection.posterous.com/a-bas ... instuction

Quote:
Also do you think that mediation is the trigger that can cause a life to take a turn for the better?


It can be. It was for me. The point of it is life transformation. Like everything else, you get back what you put in.

How meditation can change a person is quite a complex and subtle thing.

If I come back to the '3 pillars' again then the major changes we would see after sufficient practice would be:

1. Concentration: Developing an ability to calm and concentrate the mind, which means we can be more consciously aware of what we bring our attention to.
2. Wisdom: We can use our concentration to discern reality more clearly, without illusion or delusion, and make better choices in our lives.
3. Kindness: We become more compassionate, and the way we relate to ourselves and others changes for the better.


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