Speaker 1: Welcome to the Therapy for Black Girls Podcasts, a weekly
Speaker 1: conversation about mental health, personal development, and all the small
Speaker 1: decisions we can make to become the best possible versions
Speaker 1: of ourselves. I'm your host, Dr Joy hard and Bradford,
Speaker 1: a licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia. To get more information,
Speaker 1: visit the website at Therapy for Black Girls dot com.
Speaker 1: And while I hope you love listening to and learning
Speaker 1: from the podcast, it is not meant to be a
Speaker 1: substitute for a relationship with a licensed mental health professional. Hey, y'all,
Speaker 1: thanks so much for joining me for session sixty six
Speaker 1: of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast. Today, I'm bringing
Speaker 1: you an incredible episode about everything you need to know
Speaker 1: about a d h D. And I'm joined by one
Speaker 1: of my favorite psychiatrist, Dr Dawn Camilla Brown. Dr Brown
Speaker 1: is America's favorite a d D expert and she's also
Speaker 1: a double Board certified Child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist. She
Speaker 1: is the owner, CEO, and sole practitioner at a d
Speaker 1: D wellness center and has two private practice locations in Texas.
Speaker 1: She is a pioneer of the mental health movement and
Speaker 1: a nationally recognized a d D coach, public speaker, author,
Speaker 1: and professional mentor. Dr Brown was diagnosed with a d
Speaker 1: h D while in the final year of her child
Speaker 1: psychiatry fellowship program. Because of this, she personally understands the
Speaker 1: potential impact of this chronic, debilitating disorder not only on
Speaker 1: affected individuals, but their families as well. Without quality management,
Speaker 1: this disorder can cause academic and work difficulties, pours of confidence,
Speaker 1: and strained relationships. Dr Brown believes that mental health professionals
Speaker 1: are essential in providing balanced and supportive information about a
Speaker 1: d h D, ensuring individuals and their families received proper
Speaker 1: management recommendations that are effective. Dr Brown is originally from Flint, Michigan.
Speaker 1: She earned her doctorate degree and completed her residency in
Speaker 1: general adult psychiatry in just three years at the St.
Speaker 1: Louis University School of Medicine. She furthered her education by
Speaker 1: completing an additional two year fellowship in Child and Adolescent
Speaker 1: Psychology at the Manager Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Speaker 1: at the Bailer College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. And
Speaker 1: a fun fact, Dr Dawn is also my classmate from
Speaker 1: Xavier University of Louisiana where we had lots of psyche
Speaker 1: classes together. Dr Dawn and I chatted about the symptoms
Speaker 1: of a d h D, why the diagnosis is often missed,
Speaker 1: how to know if your child might need to be
Speaker 1: evaluated treatment for a d h D, and she clears
Speaker 1: up some common misconceptions about medication. If there's a lightbulb
Speaker 1: moment for you during the episode, or something you think
Speaker 1: others need to hear, please share it on social media
Speaker 1: using the hashtag tb G in Session. Here's our conversation. Well,
Speaker 1: thank you so much for joining us today, Dr Dawn.
Speaker 1: You are so welcome. I am honored to be a
Speaker 1: guest on your show. Thank you so much. Absolutely, I
Speaker 1: am very excited to have you. So I am doing
Speaker 1: an entire series all about UM or including other guests
Speaker 1: who graduated from Xavier. So I'm very excited. I knew
Speaker 1: that I wanted to have you on UM to talk
Speaker 1: about all things a d h D, since that definitely
Speaker 1: is your specialty. Oh wonderful. I love when Xavier to
Speaker 1: get together. You know, it's a wonderful. It's always a party. UM.
Speaker 1: But yeah, like you love to share exciting ventures what
Speaker 1: we're doing, so right, Yeah, so can you start dr
Speaker 1: Dawn by telling us exactly what a d h D is. Sure, So,
Speaker 1: a d h D is what we call a brain disorder.
Speaker 1: It's actually a disorder of the executive functioning. So it's
Speaker 1: acutive functioning is how a person learns, how they memorize information,
Speaker 1: how they listen on, how they process information. And it's
Speaker 1: in the frontal lobe of the brain. So it's kind
Speaker 1: of the where if you put your hand on your forehead,
Speaker 1: that's actually the main area that is impacted by a
Speaker 1: d h D. A d h D affects our attention
Speaker 1: and affects our level of activity as well as our
Speaker 1: degree of impulse control. So if those areas, those three
Speaker 1: areas are impacted, usually on observation, you would find that
Speaker 1: a person may have difficulties in sitting still. They they
Speaker 1: appear very restless, um they may appear in the the days
Speaker 1: off in space or not really pay close attention to you.
Speaker 1: They're not giving you that eye contact as well as
Speaker 1: the level of impulsivity. So these behaviors usually are kind
Speaker 1: of done where they kind of at before they think
Speaker 1: about what they're doing. So cutting people off, cutting people
Speaker 1: in front of line, answering for people um, you know,
Speaker 1: those are some of the common impulsive behaviors that are
Speaker 1: commonly seeing, particularly in children as well as in built.
Speaker 1: So those three areas are impacted, and so there are
Speaker 1: different types, correct, Dr Dorn, That is correct. That is correct.
Speaker 1: There there are actually three main categories that we identify
Speaker 1: that people have problems with when we discuss a d
Speaker 1: H d UM. The first category is commonly found in
Speaker 1: kids and ADO lessons, and that's called the combined of type.
Speaker 1: So that are our kids who have problems with imp control,
Speaker 1: hyperactivity as well as in attention. And then the next
Speaker 1: type is the predominantly and attentive type, where I see
Speaker 1: most adults and fairly amount of females have UM, where
Speaker 1: they you know, again whose focus not able to have
Speaker 1: sustained focus or may appear to be games and often space.
Speaker 1: And then finally the hyperactive impulsive type. UM. So these
Speaker 1: are individuals who can focus but are very restless and
Speaker 1: it's hard for them to kind of sit still for
Speaker 1: long periods of time. Okay, So I think that there
Speaker 1: are likely a variety of different people listening. There may
Speaker 1: be some people listening who are wondering, oh, is this
Speaker 1: a concern for myself, people who maybe have been diagnosed,
Speaker 1: but there are likely also some parents who are listening
Speaker 1: UM who may wonder like, is this something that I
Speaker 1: should get my child checked out for? So do you
Speaker 1: have any ideas about UM, like what kinds of things
Speaker 1: might a parent be seeing that would results and then
Speaker 1: wanting to get their out evaluate it? Definitely, you know,
Speaker 1: one thing to keep in mind as a parent is
Speaker 1: that kids are very active, They're very robunctious, they're curious,
Speaker 1: there can be very impulsive. So these are natural tendencies
Speaker 1: UM that you will commonly see kids with us. Okay,
Speaker 1: what we find in a d h D is that
Speaker 1: it's recurrent, so it's it's it's these common symptoms that
Speaker 1: I just discussed that are consistent and they occur in
Speaker 1: all environments and they interfere with the child's functioning. So
Speaker 1: usually when I see children in my office, is they
Speaker 1: have a history of of getting in trouble for not
Speaker 1: staying seated in their seat for over a period of time.
Speaker 1: They may actually cut you know, other kids in line,
Speaker 1: not follow directions, become very forgetful, um show and decline
Speaker 1: and great. So as you can tell, you know, these
Speaker 1: are actually interfering with their ability to do well and
Speaker 1: cool and and as I stated before, they occur in
Speaker 1: all environments, so not only in school, but you also
Speaker 1: see at home where parent has to constantly remind the
Speaker 1: child to clean up their room or you know, remind
Speaker 1: them to follow their directions. Um, you know they they
Speaker 1: commonly leave things around and and and basically not put
Speaker 1: things into place in their respectful place. So it's it's
Speaker 1: it's common symptoms that recur most days out of the week. Okay,
Speaker 1: And what does that evaluation look like? Dr Done. I'm
Speaker 1: sure that there are lots of different kinds of evaluations,
Speaker 1: Like the way you would do an evaluation would be
Speaker 1: different from what I would do as a psychologist. So
Speaker 1: could you talk a little bit about what the evaluation
Speaker 1: process is for making the diagnosis of a d h D. Yes,
Speaker 1: you know that that's a very good question. And that's
Speaker 1: that's a question that may um parents or even adults
Speaker 1: are not aware. So one is that despite the fact
Speaker 1: that you know, you being a psychologist, UM and I
Speaker 1: being a psychiatrist, Yes, we may actually um engage the
Speaker 1: community with different types of evaluations. Even with the child psychiatrist,
Speaker 1: which I am, UM, we actually do valuation is differently
Speaker 1: as well. So now to child, psychiatrists are alike as
Speaker 1: far as I always they evaluate a h D, but
Speaker 1: being an expert in a d h D, I actually
Speaker 1: make sure that everyone that I see has to have
Speaker 1: some type of objective testing. What that means for kids
Speaker 1: is that commonly I use what we known as rating
Speaker 1: behavior Rating scales UM of Vanderbilt connors are common rating
Speaker 1: skills that are used in my clinical practice where they
Speaker 1: are asking a number of questions in areas of activity, attention,
Speaker 1: impulse control. They also flow. An example of the Vanderbilt
Speaker 1: also contains areas that may point to risk factors for anxiety, depression,
Speaker 1: of learning disabilities, conduct behaviors. And so these skills are
Speaker 1: given to teachers, they're given to your child's parents, UM
Speaker 1: and any other caregivers that are close in touch with
Speaker 1: the child, including coaches. It's very important that we have
Speaker 1: any adult person that is in fault, that has a
Speaker 1: close connection that can actually be able to answer these
Speaker 1: questions because it's actually going to give us the information
Speaker 1: that we need and how the child is performing in
Speaker 1: different areas of his or her life. So that is
Speaker 1: what I commonly use for kids. UM in addition to adults,
Speaker 1: I actually have a computerized that sam it's funds of
Speaker 1: twenty thirty minute computerized tests that I actually have in
Speaker 1: my office called a TOBA. It's used here in Great Britain,
Speaker 1: and it's actually looking at inattention as relates to an
Speaker 1: individual's a d h D. So these are two common
Speaker 1: objective tests that I give. But there is not one
Speaker 1: single test R d h D. And that's what a
Speaker 1: lot of individuals are aware of. You know, we don't
Speaker 1: have a blood sample to say that an individual as
Speaker 1: a d h D. This is based on clinical evaluation.
Speaker 1: So that's why it's important to have that a level
Speaker 1: of objectivity, meaning asking questions in different environments of that individual, UM,
Speaker 1: so that we can understand how they behave, how they perform,
Speaker 1: how they're producing in those environments. So that's one test. Now,
Speaker 1: the other part of the advisation is seeing me and
Speaker 1: so we call or refer to that as the subjective evaluation.
Speaker 1: So I actually have like forty five minutes of questions. UM.
Speaker 1: What I do different in my practice is I sent
Speaker 1: out a list a lot of questions to the parents.
Speaker 1: It's about twenty five pages and it talk you know,
Speaker 1: it's ask questions in the areas of child development, pregnancy,
Speaker 1: of the mom um, you know, if they're medical problems,
Speaker 1: if they're any mental health other mental concerns, if they've
Speaker 1: been on medicines before. So it actually gives a history
Speaker 1: of the child's experience as relates to medical health and
Speaker 1: mental And then when they come in my office, I'm
Speaker 1: already aware of some of the concerns that the parent
Speaker 1: has and so we're able to focus on what matters most,
Speaker 1: and that is for me to conduct and complete a
Speaker 1: comprehensive valuation that looks at a d h D and
Speaker 1: actually evaluates and rules out other disorders that may book
Speaker 1: like a d h D. So it's a very comprehensive,
Speaker 1: which means a very ferrale evaluation. UM that is done.
Speaker 1: It usually is done between two appointments. UM. But you know,
Speaker 1: at the second appointment we then can discuss treatment plans
Speaker 1: or you know, other recommendations if a d h D
Speaker 1: is not evident. So you mentioned something dr doing that,
Speaker 1: I want to go back to you said something about um,
Speaker 1: you're you're also questioning to make sure that they are
Speaker 1: not struggling with something that may look like a d
Speaker 1: h D. What are some of the things that may
Speaker 1: be kind of confounding that like that, Okay, this looks
Speaker 1: like a d h D, but actually it's something else.
Speaker 1: What are some of those other factors that may be
Speaker 1: an issue. Yeah, So when I actually conducted valuations, to
Speaker 1: keep it simple, I actually look at four areas of
Speaker 1: a person's lifestyle. UM. One is the biological factors, to
Speaker 1: psychological factors, three social factors, and then four like spiritual
Speaker 1: religious factors. And so that's kind of usually my approach. UM.
Speaker 1: So when we consider biological factors that may resemble or
Speaker 1: mimic a d h D symptoms, UM, I often look
Speaker 1: at UM a person's medical history. So if they are,
Speaker 1: for example, not sleeping, well, UM, that could actually look
Speaker 1: like a d h D because he can set the
Speaker 1: person's in attention or energy levels, UM, fibroid of abnormalities
Speaker 1: even in heads. You know. Unfortunately, UM, there is there,
Speaker 1: especially they have a significant family history I look at
Speaker 1: to make sure that we rule that out. Vitamin D
Speaker 1: deficiency has been in the news lately. There was actually
Speaker 1: um oh a few UM studies that came out. There
Speaker 1: were very prominent last year that looked at vitamin D
Speaker 1: excuse me insufficient UM as it relates to a d
Speaker 1: h D and then it was known that we we
Speaker 1: have we're not producing enough voting d UM. It can
Speaker 1: definitely affect the person's cotton to functioning. So again, how
Speaker 1: they think, how they process information, their level of attention
Speaker 1: and learning ability. So if you look at that, that
Speaker 1: also looks like a d h D as well UM,
Speaker 1: and so that that actually is very important to keep
Speaker 1: in mind, especially for health practitioners when they order blood
Speaker 1: work UM. We also look at the family history. So
Speaker 1: if the parent or sibling on uncle, grandparent UM actually
Speaker 1: has a d h D or has been diagnosed or
Speaker 1: presumably have symptoms UM, then it's likely about a fifty
Speaker 1: percent chance that the child of the parent UM and
Speaker 1: usually a higher comportance rate, so basically a higher rate
Speaker 1: of the sibling has a d h D as well UM.
Speaker 1: So that is something that we want to keep in mind. UM.
Speaker 1: Some psychological factors could be how a chie will perceives
Speaker 1: themselves in the world. So if the child is UM
Speaker 1: is a developmental stage where they're trying to identify who
Speaker 1: they are, they're trying to fit in behaviors, So different
Speaker 1: types of behavior and how they engage with other individuals,
Speaker 1: how they see themselves in the world. UM. Usually those
Speaker 1: kind of factors are not necessarily look as a d
Speaker 1: h D, but it's something that we want to consider.
Speaker 1: We want to kind of see ourselves in the child's
Speaker 1: eyes and and make sure that you know, at their
Speaker 1: their developmental age that they are able to UM, understand
Speaker 1: you know, their significance in the world, understand their defense
Speaker 1: mechanisms if they're healthy defense mechanisms UM that they're displaying.
Speaker 1: And usually you know, that's kind of how we process
Speaker 1: if they are doing well, you know, at their stage.
Speaker 1: But you know, commonly it's not necessarily a risk factory
Speaker 1: h D, but we do see additional risk factors where
Speaker 1: we come to social factors. So if there's any type
Speaker 1: of stressors going on in the home, UM, if there's
Speaker 1: any bullying going on, you know, in the school or
Speaker 1: any other environments that the child is subjected to UM.
Speaker 1: You know, social factors that definitely can impact the child's
Speaker 1: ability to learn in school where they're not making the grades,
Speaker 1: they're not focusing because they're concerned about the bullying that's
Speaker 1: next to them. I mean, these are really common factors.
Speaker 1: So they should definitely be considered. And then finally of
Speaker 1: spiritual factors. And so usually I don't necessarily I mean
Speaker 1: I always ask the child about their spirituality, and you
Speaker 1: would be surprised at how many child would talk about
Speaker 1: that our children. Excuse me, um, but usually we don't
Speaker 1: necessarily find you know, risk factors is particularly more commonly
Speaker 1: seen in biological as well as social factors. Okay, got it.
Speaker 1: So yeah, So like you said, there are a lot
Speaker 1: of different things. Like I know, anxiety often comes up
Speaker 1: right like that. It may look like a d h D,
Speaker 1: but actually the child is anxious, may be related to
Speaker 1: bullying or something else going on in the environment or
Speaker 1: other social environments. Yes, that's correct, and anxiety is actually
Speaker 1: one of the most common um, what we call coal morbility,
Speaker 1: so the very common other mental disorder that we often
Speaker 1: see a child exhibit um features of anxiety when they
Speaker 1: particularly may have a d h D, but it's not
Speaker 1: identified and therefore not treated. So we want to look
Speaker 1: at anxiety, We want to look at depression as well
Speaker 1: as you know, behavioral disorders such as oppositional defiance disorders,
Speaker 1: conduct disorders, and then there are other disorders of mental
Speaker 1: health that are commonly associated with a d h D,
Speaker 1: and so kiddos who may have are beyond the autism spectrum.
Speaker 1: UM that is a common um mental disorder that may
Speaker 1: have a d D symptoms as well as Tourette's disorder
Speaker 1: or syndrome. So you know, a d D is not
Speaker 1: only a risk factor for other disorders, but it actually
Speaker 1: can be UM symptoms of of of a disorder as
Speaker 1: well or in the in addition into another disorder. Excuse me,
Speaker 1: got you? Got you? So let's talk a little bit
Speaker 1: about UM adults dot dom because I do think some
Speaker 1: people are shocked about, like adult a d h D.
Speaker 1: Like you know, there may be there thinking like well,
Speaker 1: how could they have gone their entire life and nobody
Speaker 1: noticed that? UM? So can you talk about like what
Speaker 1: the evaluation process might look like or is it different
Speaker 1: for adults who may be struggling with a d h D.
Speaker 1: It is, it's different. UM. I will say that this point,
Speaker 1: five million children have diagnosed with d h D. It
Speaker 1: is the most common and talk disorder in kids and
Speaker 1: adolescent But surprisingly there's ten million adults have been diagnosed
Speaker 1: with a d h D and majority are not aware.
Speaker 1: As you mentioned, UM, a d h D is recognized
Speaker 1: as a childhood disorder. And so with that recognition, many
Speaker 1: adults UM and maybe assumed or have been told um
Speaker 1: that it's something that they they grow out of, even
Speaker 1: if they had it as a child. Um, that is
Speaker 1: something that even if they didn't identify it as a child,
Speaker 1: it's something they can't encounter an adulthood. The jury is
Speaker 1: still out, is you know, you can develop a DC
Speaker 1: symptom as an adult, especially if you didn't have it
Speaker 1: as a child. As a child, but UM, in my
Speaker 1: professional opinion, UM, a d h D has always been
Speaker 1: there if you have it as an adult. So I
Speaker 1: often see adults when they actually have been through a
Speaker 1: number of divorces, they've been through a number of motor
Speaker 1: vehicle accidents, UM, multiple job failures, UM, and they just
Speaker 1: kind of depressor and they have anxiety disorders because they're
Speaker 1: just not you know, functioning at their optimal level in life.
Speaker 1: And that can be in relationships and jobs, you know,
Speaker 1: their own personal goals. And so that's when I tend
Speaker 1: to see adults. I also see adults when their children
Speaker 1: are diagnosed UM, and so the process is different. UM.
Speaker 1: You know, I'm not going to ask an adults balls
Speaker 1: you know, to feel out of forms for me, because
Speaker 1: that's you know, that is actually violating their their privacy.
Speaker 1: But what I do offer, again, it's like a subjective
Speaker 1: valuation where I actually ask a lot of questions about
Speaker 1: their history. It is very important that I recognize that
Speaker 1: they've had symptoms before the age of twelve. It used
Speaker 1: to be before the age of six, and now it's
Speaker 1: before the age of twelve where they have where they've
Speaker 1: actually recalled problems with and attention and puls control and
Speaker 1: hyperactivity and or hyperactivity um. And so we go all
Speaker 1: the way back to Elbertary school days. I asked them
Speaker 1: how they've performed at school, what were they're upbringing, like
Speaker 1: what were some forms of concern that teachers reported on
Speaker 1: the report cards? So these are some common questions that
Speaker 1: may ask. And then I actually kind of walked through
Speaker 1: their journey of life up until the current situation of
Speaker 1: what brings them into my office and what concerns they
Speaker 1: have today. And so that is part of the subject evaluation.
Speaker 1: And then as I say that before, the object evaluation
Speaker 1: for me is either I can refer them out to
Speaker 1: a psychologist like yourself, or I would actually conduct the
Speaker 1: actual computerized I am in my office says, and that
Speaker 1: is an immediate answer that I can receive when we
Speaker 1: can discuss results. So with the subjective valuation and the
Speaker 1: objective valuation support one another, then we have a diagnosis
Speaker 1: that we need to talk about, and that's a d
Speaker 1: h D. So that's how it works. That's really interesting
Speaker 1: that you're going. And I think a lot of people
Speaker 1: would probably be interested in knowing more about the relationship piece, right,
Speaker 1: because I don't think we often I think because it
Speaker 1: typically comes up in childhood, we think about it impacting
Speaker 1: like academics, right, But when it when it has been missed,
Speaker 1: it definitely can cause issues in relationships. Can you talk
Speaker 1: more about that? I can, So this is not commonly
Speaker 1: discussed on I'm so happy you raise this um important
Speaker 1: concept because the the interesting piece about a d h
Speaker 1: D that me of providers failed to educate patients on
Speaker 1: is that there is a mood component to a d
Speaker 1: h D. Um. You know, sometimes when I see individuals,
Speaker 1: they may present themselves as being diagnosed with bipolar disorder
Speaker 1: with depression and anxiety. And being an a d h
Speaker 1: D expert, I yes, I evaluate for all those sources,
Speaker 1: but I always evaluate for a d h D, right,
Speaker 1: And so a d h D could actually book like
Speaker 1: some so bipolar disorder. It can book like symptoms of
Speaker 1: depression as well as anxiety. So if you consider of
Speaker 1: a d h D having a mood component, you can
Speaker 1: also and understand its impact on relationships. So I have
Speaker 1: a d h D all right, And I wasn't diagnosed
Speaker 1: until adulthood in my early thirties, and I had no idea.
Speaker 1: I had no idea. I actually was told that I
Speaker 1: had test taking anxiety. I struggled in medical school, and
Speaker 1: so when I went to a psychologist, a d D
Speaker 1: wasn't even considered because I was doing well and with
Speaker 1: my grades. I didn't fill any classes, but I just
Speaker 1: struggled with test taking. And I was really good at
Speaker 1: all test taking, even not written. And so you know,
Speaker 1: anxiety disorder was diagnosed from me, a performance anxiety. But
Speaker 1: when I looked act and I think about my relationships, um,
Speaker 1: I would say that I really didn't have any particular
Speaker 1: challenges with relationships. But I didn't notice that if I
Speaker 1: was one on one with something on one with someone,
Speaker 1: then I was more keen to listen to what they
Speaker 1: were saying. Um, But if I didn't have an interest
Speaker 1: in the kind and the conversation, then I would find
Speaker 1: myself thinking about other things or I would, you know,
Speaker 1: planning my day in my head while the person is
Speaker 1: talking and pretending to listen. This is common for you
Speaker 1: for individuals and a d h DS. So if you're
Speaker 1: an adult out there and you're wondering if you have
Speaker 1: a d h D, you know, some of the common
Speaker 1: symptoms that I often evaluate for are when you're in
Speaker 1: conversations with one another person, UM, and you're finding yourself
Speaker 1: not really listening, You're actually thinking about other thoughts. You
Speaker 1: have a lot of thoughts going on in your head. Um,
Speaker 1: you can't remember what the person saying, You're not giving
Speaker 1: them eye contact. You know. These are some very common
Speaker 1: symptoms UM that at those with a d h D
Speaker 1: dealt with on the daily basis. Others could be very
Speaker 1: being distracted by a person's environment. UM. Usually when I'm
Speaker 1: a I'm a huge sports fan and so I may
Speaker 1: watch to play, but it's usually a person in the
Speaker 1: stance on TV that I'm looking at. So we may
Speaker 1: find detailed attention to what's in the background, and this
Speaker 1: is very common with those with a d h D
Speaker 1: as well. So when we're asked about who's wedding and
Speaker 1: the score and who scored that, commonly we can't answer
Speaker 1: that question because we're so focused on who's in the
Speaker 1: crowd looking at the same game that we're trying to
Speaker 1: look at. UM. And in relationships again, you know, UM,
Speaker 1: some of the things that are concerning are the fluctuating
Speaker 1: and these the poor frustration tolerance. When we're talking to
Speaker 1: someone that we love and you know, we we forget
Speaker 1: that they asked us to do something or pick some
Speaker 1: dinner up, you know, after get after work. You know,
Speaker 1: those are some of the things that we call me forget.
Speaker 1: So you often find us having a lot of notes around,
Speaker 1: a lot of of sticking notes around, maybe many alarms
Speaker 1: on our phone. So you know, again, if this is
Speaker 1: something that you do automatically, you may want to UM
Speaker 1: consider being evaluated, especially if it's interfering with your relationships.
Speaker 1: At work, um, not following through your the demands of
Speaker 1: your job, not completing task on time. You're often find
Speaker 1: yourself at home doing word that's supposed to be completed
Speaker 1: during the day. You're up from your death, socializing a
Speaker 1: lot you're drinking a lot of coffee, which is a stimulant.
Speaker 1: You know, again, some key factors in areas that may
Speaker 1: actually point to a d h D. So I'm not
Speaker 1: necessarily saying that you have it. All I'm suggesting is
Speaker 1: that these are very common day to day behaviors that
Speaker 1: are dol Son finding the wrong. It's just kind of
Speaker 1: their sense of normalcy. But in fact, when we have
Speaker 1: a d h D and it's not necessarily obvious, these
Speaker 1: are some common um symptoms are signs that you may
Speaker 1: find UM in a person as a d h D.
Speaker 1: And you really raised a great point Dr Dawn and
Speaker 1: sharing your own you know, like late diagnosis, right, because
Speaker 1: I think what happens, and you know, I used to
Speaker 1: do evaluations for a d h D in my practice.
Speaker 1: I think what happens typically is people who are really
Speaker 1: high functioning and like very successful, have just been able
Speaker 1: to figure out ways to manage their life throughout like
Speaker 1: high school and college. But then they get to somewhere
Speaker 1: like medical school or an environment that does really challenge
Speaker 1: them in all of the coping strategies that they had
Speaker 1: kind of fall apart, and now they're like fault there
Speaker 1: their full force to look at okay, what actually is
Speaker 1: going on. So then that's when someone like you would
Speaker 1: come in the office and say, hey, I'm really struggling
Speaker 1: when I don't you know I didn't before. That's exactly right,
Speaker 1: you I mean, you get to knowl right on the head.
Speaker 1: And that's exactly what my experience was. UM, coming from
Speaker 1: a personal experience, I actually so you know, the advantage
Speaker 1: point that I had was that I actually attended monastery school.
Speaker 1: I attended Madnet School. So to give you a little
Speaker 1: bit more for nation about those two types of setting
Speaker 1: school settings, they're usually very creative, you know, work at
Speaker 1: your own pace as far as the monetary school UM.
Speaker 1: And then the Magnet program is more like one on
Speaker 1: one teaching higher level functioning. UM, you may actually get
Speaker 1: pulled out of class to do other type of projects.
Speaker 1: So yes, you know, it wasn't really obvious. I mean
Speaker 1: I was known as a social butterfly. UM. I would
Speaker 1: get in trouble for my conduct, but not my grades.
Speaker 1: And so you know, nothing was wrong. I just talked
Speaker 1: a lot. And the thing about girls with a d
Speaker 1: h D is that they can present differently. You know,
Speaker 1: usually they have a predominantly inattentive type where you're not
Speaker 1: obviously see them coming out of their seats or jumping
Speaker 1: on tables and things of that nature, but they may
Speaker 1: actually be looking at you but not really paying attention
Speaker 1: to what you're you know, what you're saying and what
Speaker 1: you're teaching, so you don't even recognize that they have
Speaker 1: a d g D. But they actually struggle in the
Speaker 1: areas that are not so obvious. So that's again like
Speaker 1: talking a lot or maybe um in their grades. But
Speaker 1: how I compensated for my deficits was that I studied
Speaker 1: a lot and I had two parents who were educators,
Speaker 1: where I couldn't come home, you know, with anything less
Speaker 1: than what my potential was. And so you know, I
Speaker 1: had the supportive factors that you know, actually allowed me
Speaker 1: to kind of go through throughout high school and even college,
Speaker 1: you know, attending sat University of Louisiana, you know, joy
Speaker 1: that you know, we attended a small school when there
Speaker 1: were small classes, We had instructors, we had drill classes
Speaker 1: of smaller even smaller classes, which reinforce the information. You know,
Speaker 1: So if I attended that school, that actually you know,
Speaker 1: continued with my kind of magnet and private schoolings was like.
Speaker 1: But then when I went to medical school, I'm talking
Speaker 1: about a hundred page homework assignment for one class when
Speaker 1: I was taking four others at the same time, right,
Speaker 1: so a lot of work, and I was known to
Speaker 1: kind of rewrite my notes and I didn't know again
Speaker 1: another compensation, I was re writing my notes on what
Speaker 1: I was reading, highlighting and different colors, putting tabloes everywhere,
Speaker 1: and so again I was compensating having a d h D.
Speaker 1: Did not know, but study for hours and hours, so
Speaker 1: losing sleep, sacrificing time on doing other things to kind of,
Speaker 1: you know, decrease my anxiety, maybe skipping out on classes
Speaker 1: because I had to catch upon others. So it caught
Speaker 1: up to me. It caught up to me. And then
Speaker 1: you know again test taking. You know, you have a
Speaker 1: lot of information to study for a vocal school and
Speaker 1: these tests are very time orchestrated and their hard questions
Speaker 1: in my opinion, so you know, yeah, that's when I
Speaker 1: first struggled. That's where I first struggled, and so it's
Speaker 1: very eye opening for me. So you mentioned Dr Don
Speaker 1: that it can look different in girls, right that you
Speaker 1: know a lot of times girls will present with more
Speaker 1: of the inattentive factors. I'm wondering if there are any
Speaker 1: cultural factors that we need to pay attention to, like
Speaker 1: or is there anything related to black or African American
Speaker 1: culture that also we need to kind of be making
Speaker 1: sure we're bringing into context in this conversation. Yes, I
Speaker 1: would say that, UM, I would say probably five ten
Speaker 1: years ago. UM, you know, there was a lot of
Speaker 1: clinical research studies out there that actually showed that UM,
Speaker 1: African American boys were more likely to be diagnosed with
Speaker 1: a d H d UM without proper diagnosis. And the
Speaker 1: view on that was in relation to cultural insensitivities as
Speaker 1: far as black boys being very full, punctious and hyper
Speaker 1: active or or having over activity in their classes or
Speaker 1: different environments, and so they were taken to pedutricians and
Speaker 1: just giving a diagnosis without you know, any you know,
Speaker 1: evidence based medicine use such as these rating scales that
Speaker 1: could actually confront the diagnosis. So that led to a
Speaker 1: lot of black boys unfortunately being this diagnosed, which further
Speaker 1: the stigma in the American community. And so UM part
Speaker 1: of that UM has basically led you know, some African
Speaker 1: American families not to want to pursue mental health disorders
Speaker 1: or even a d h d UM even if there
Speaker 1: are some signs real signs there. And so for the
Speaker 1: last about five years that the studies have shown that
Speaker 1: that actually misdiagnosis have decreased and we're actually on an
Speaker 1: upward journey to making sure that every person is diagnosed
Speaker 1: appropriately UM, safe measurements are used, management is effective, and
Speaker 1: that they're not spirencing side effects, and that it's benefiting
Speaker 1: the child because they're actually functioning optively. UM. So that's
Speaker 1: kind of one aspect. We also saw back in about
Speaker 1: ten eight to ten years ago that the ratio of
Speaker 1: boys to girls was higher UM in boys than girls.
Speaker 1: It was on a nine to one ratio. Now we're
Speaker 1: seeing as a twenty fifteen that that ratio is actually
Speaker 1: steady coming UM to equal equilibrium. So more girls are
Speaker 1: being diagnosed because we're now able to identify those certain
Speaker 1: level of inattentive symptoms that you know we've been talking about. UM.
Speaker 1: Living in Texas very diverse state. UM, I actually see
Speaker 1: patients throughout Texas through telling medicine or tell up psychiatry
Speaker 1: as we call it. So I see patients on the
Speaker 1: monitored while they're in their doctor's office as well as
Speaker 1: Illinois and I commonly UM engaged in minority communities. And
Speaker 1: what I'm finding is that more and more minorities are
Speaker 1: coming in UM and a lot of teachers and I
Speaker 1: plaught my teachers out there. You know, they can't necessarily
Speaker 1: by law, suggest that a child being ah D, but
Speaker 1: they're actually communicating with their parents more and more about
Speaker 1: their concerns that they're observing about their child in class.
Speaker 1: UM coaches are also doing incredible job and being educated
Speaker 1: and also talking to parents, and then even parents and
Speaker 1: grandparents are actually you know, concerned about their child, the
Speaker 1: childhood green child's performance in school. So I'm saying that
Speaker 1: the level of education UM is actually increased and people
Speaker 1: are tuned and keen to understanding this disorder a little
Speaker 1: bit better, even the minority community UM and actually seeking treatment.
Speaker 1: So that actually is very gratifying to see in witness. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it sounds like and I do. I'm glad to hear
Speaker 1: that there is much more education around that because you know,
Speaker 1: when you think about it, like your child is at
Speaker 1: school for lots of ours during the day, right, and
Speaker 1: so they your teachers and coaches will have maybe even
Speaker 1: more experience being able to observe the child in multiple
Speaker 1: different settings to be able to give some of that
Speaker 1: diagnostic information. You're exactly right, you know, I say, you
Speaker 1: know that's where your child's been. You know, fifty percent
Speaker 1: of it has or her time. So it's just as
Speaker 1: equally as important that we actually attain that information UM
Speaker 1: in certain classes, at certain parts of the day, UM
Speaker 1: with the child, considering the child's interests in the class.
Speaker 1: I mean, there's a lot of things that we need
Speaker 1: to consider that helps determine if a child is doing
Speaker 1: well in particular course. And so you know it can
Speaker 1: be self times confusing, UM, but you know again, objective
Speaker 1: skills help us. You know, the teacher's input help us.
Speaker 1: Time helps us as well, and understanding if this is
Speaker 1: something that we really need to identify or look further
Speaker 1: into and then therefore manage. So let's talk now about treatment,
Speaker 1: Dr Dawn. UM. So I know that there is lots
Speaker 1: and lots of misinformation out about medication that's used for
Speaker 1: a d h D. So I want you to talk
Speaker 1: a little bit about like the medical ways that are
Speaker 1: used to treat a d D as well as if
Speaker 1: there are other ways that you can manage a d
Speaker 1: h D symptoms that don't require medicine definitely. So yeah,
Speaker 1: So basically the as a psychiatrist, as a child psychiatrist,
Speaker 1: my main role is to evaluate if a medication can
Speaker 1: be helpful for a mental health condition. And so, of course,
Speaker 1: being you know, a medical doctor, I've prescribed medications for
Speaker 1: a disorder. So my main form of treatment for a
Speaker 1: d h D would be medication, but my second, because
Speaker 1: I specialize in a d h D, I'm also a
Speaker 1: d h D coach. So let's start with medication management first. Um,
Speaker 1: there's a there's two distinct classes of medications that are
Speaker 1: commonly used to manage a d h D. There are
Speaker 1: non stimilants and their stimulants. So the stimulant class is
Speaker 1: kind of the first line. It's kind of the first
Speaker 1: class that usually, especially providers such as myself would go to.
Speaker 1: It's a very good class of medicine. Um, there is
Speaker 1: a lot of stigma surrounding the stigma mean excuse me,
Speaker 1: the the stimulant medications mainly because in the wrong hands
Speaker 1: or if it's used appropriately, it can cause some you know,
Speaker 1: significant consequences such as addictions. UM and natural high or
Speaker 1: not natural, but a person may not necessarily respond well
Speaker 1: to it, and they may appear to be high. It
Speaker 1: can be company misused as a a sense, but if
Speaker 1: it's in the hands of the person who has a
Speaker 1: d h D and it's taken properly, it can really
Speaker 1: make a one a d degree difference in a person's lifestyle.
Speaker 1: And I know because that happened with me. The stimulant
Speaker 1: classes at the top of the medication chain. What I
Speaker 1: mean by that is that they're very effective in what
Speaker 1: they're designed to do. They're very efficient in meeting the
Speaker 1: goal of helping a person assisting a person with being
Speaker 1: able to have sustained focus. An average person can focus
Speaker 1: for about twenty minutes now, and with social media involved,
Speaker 1: we're actually seeing that all the way down is seven
Speaker 1: minutes seven minutes. And so if you think about a
Speaker 1: person who has problems with their inattention, such as our attention,
Speaker 1: such as a d h D, that actually maybe cut
Speaker 1: in half two three to three or four minutes, right,
Speaker 1: and so it's important that we manage this appropriately. The
Speaker 1: similar medications are quick and what they do, they're taken
Speaker 1: every day, they're in and out of the system, and
Speaker 1: um people do find on them if that's what they need.
Speaker 1: So stimilate medication examples would be riddalent um at all,
Speaker 1: focal and dextrian violence eb GIL. There's a host of
Speaker 1: stimulants out there. There's some that are actually being and
Speaker 1: studied right now, and it takes about twenty years for
Speaker 1: medication to go through proper valuations, studies and trials to
Speaker 1: make sure that it's going to be a safe use
Speaker 1: of management for UM the population. So these medications are
Speaker 1: in any medication for that matter is study from these
Speaker 1: twenty on average and twenty years, so it's very safe
Speaker 1: if it's used propriately, properly. Then we have the nonsimilate class.
Speaker 1: So the nonsimilate class is basically a class of medications
Speaker 1: that are commonly used as kind of the secondary class UM.
Speaker 1: These medications can also be used in conjunction with someone
Speaker 1: who doesn't do very well with stimulance, or they may
Speaker 1: have other disorders that the stimulants would actually you know,
Speaker 1: impact how they functioned, or if they're taking other medications
Speaker 1: that may interfere and have a drug for interaction with
Speaker 1: the stimulants UM as well as you can usually sometimes
Speaker 1: kids do well with combination treatment. So we may have
Speaker 1: them on a stimulant and a non stimilant to make
Speaker 1: sure that they're functioning throughout the entire day. So some
Speaker 1: of asamas of the non stimmic medications with the stra
Speaker 1: terra quantity or cap they um intunive. You know, these
Speaker 1: um were differently in the brain than the stimulants. The
Speaker 1: reason why stimulates are cost stimulates is not because they
Speaker 1: stimulate people. The reason why they're cost stimulates is because
Speaker 1: they stimulate certain chemicals to be released from the area
Speaker 1: of the brain that's impacted by DH. So remember that
Speaker 1: frontal lobe that was talking about where you could take
Speaker 1: your hand and put it to your frontal kind of
Speaker 1: your forehead. That's the area that is found to not
Speaker 1: produce enough of certain chemicals like dopamine northa mafrin when
Speaker 1: a person is a d h D. So what is
Speaker 1: important about taking your medicine we have a d C
Speaker 1: is that you must say your medicine every day because
Speaker 1: you're not. Your brain is not making epail of what
Speaker 1: it needs in order to have good focus the stainment.
Speaker 1: So that's why I'm going to take your medicine every day.
Speaker 1: And that's kind of the biological need of having a
Speaker 1: medication on board, but not about about people don't respond
Speaker 1: well to stimulants. So we have other type of managements
Speaker 1: that may work. UM. We have ended the pressence that
Speaker 1: may actually help with some type of impulse control. UM.
Speaker 1: We actually and then that's medication. But we have a
Speaker 1: d h D coaching, So I actually meet with patients
Speaker 1: UM a part of my practice as well as my brand,
Speaker 1: and we talk about time management skills, organizational skills. UM.
Speaker 1: We actually talk about how their days of structure. UM.
Speaker 1: I get an understanding with their day's life. You know,
Speaker 1: usually have a d h D. You feel like you
Speaker 1: don't have enough time, but there is enough time. You
Speaker 1: just have to structure your day to where you see
Speaker 1: that there's enough time. So there's a lot of visualization
Speaker 1: to these appointments UM, because we use different parts of
Speaker 1: our brains. Important to highlight that area. UM. There's also
Speaker 1: kinds of behavioral therapy UM that is often used with
Speaker 1: a d h D. As we stated, there can be
Speaker 1: some new components to a d h D. So we
Speaker 1: want to make sure that our anxiety is managed. If
Speaker 1: we have like mild oppressive symptoms, that's managed Okay, our
Speaker 1: frustration tolerance is you know, tolerated UM, so CBT or
Speaker 1: cotton some type of degree of therapies are very helpful
Speaker 1: and it's also important to individual family therapy. I mean
Speaker 1: commonly that is not considered. But you know, if a
Speaker 1: child is to have a d h D and there
Speaker 1: to take medicine and the parent that's not you know,
Speaker 1: sure they are sure. It's important for the family to
Speaker 1: be educated so they can continue to understand how they
Speaker 1: can best support their child or their friendly remember that
Speaker 1: is living with a d h D because they d
Speaker 1: h D isn't lifelong disorder. So you want to have
Speaker 1: like an all star team around you. Is important to
Speaker 1: have the teachers support. This is important to have your
Speaker 1: family members, coaches, your relationship, you know, people that your
Speaker 1: intership with, so you know, as long as you have
Speaker 1: that support, people really can flourish when they have a
Speaker 1: d h D. So I know, don't you're doing that.
Speaker 1: Something that often comes up UM, like you mentioned a
Speaker 1: little earlier, is like parents having concerns actually starting their
Speaker 1: children on medication and lots of worries about that. What
Speaker 1: kind of UM information would you like to offer for
Speaker 1: parents who may be you know, afraid of starting their
Speaker 1: children on medication. Well, you know, I always talked to
Speaker 1: my parents. I'm meeting where they are, And I first
Speaker 1: started by saying, you know, I would be concerned if
Speaker 1: you were not concerned. You know, having having the childhood
Speaker 1: diagnosed with a d D can be can be scary
Speaker 1: for parents. Um, hearing that this could be a lifelong
Speaker 1: disorder where potentially you know, their soner daughter is going
Speaker 1: to be taking medication for the resternal life can actually
Speaker 1: sound scary as well. UM, so it's important to get
Speaker 1: it right. And so I started off by saying this,
Speaker 1: and we're going to do the proper way to diagnose this.
Speaker 1: We're going to make sure we follow a protocol to
Speaker 1: make sure that this you know, your childhood a d
Speaker 1: h D. And then let's start the conversation of how
Speaker 1: this works. And so I often draw in my session.
Speaker 1: I showed them the picture of the brain. I draw
Speaker 1: the brain. I'm not a good draw anyway, join and
Speaker 1: I actually, you know, set the tone by creating a
Speaker 1: picture of what's happening in their child's brain, what happens
Speaker 1: when they have an h D and it's not managed,
Speaker 1: and then what happens when it starts management, and I
Speaker 1: relate that to their functioning, and I relate that to
Speaker 1: the areas of concerns that they're presented with, and if
Speaker 1: we were to treat an D how those areas can
Speaker 1: actually improve. So that's kind of how I start. I
Speaker 1: don't enforce men, you know, treatment on anyone. I educate,
Speaker 1: I promote, I encourage UM, but I want to make
Speaker 1: sure that they make an informed decision. So that's what's
Speaker 1: important that those parents are in the driver's seat. They're
Speaker 1: gonna decide for their child based upon you know, my
Speaker 1: clink experience, my professional experience, my personal experience that this
Speaker 1: is a disorder that definitely needs to be managed if
Speaker 1: it is there, but there's different ways to manage it.
Speaker 1: And so you know, again it's a balance between meeting
Speaker 1: the parents and the child way they are and then
Speaker 1: providing professional and expertise UM that will actually promote their
Speaker 1: child's well being to make sure that they're functioning optimally.
Speaker 1: So we address the concerns that they have, the address
Speaker 1: of pusts that they have, and then we kind of
Speaker 1: go from there. So I know that you also just
Speaker 1: released a book Dr Dawn um d H D Lifestyle
Speaker 1: Series Volume one, So that leads me to believe that
Speaker 1: there will be multiple volumes in this series. But I
Speaker 1: am sure that this could be a good resource for
Speaker 1: people who are struggling with this. So can you tell
Speaker 1: us a little bit more about the book. I would
Speaker 1: love to. Yes, I'm so excited. It's my first book
Speaker 1: I dreamt of writing, you know, a book about a
Speaker 1: d D for too long a time now, And so
Speaker 1: this is the first volumele ones the ADC Lifestyle Series
Speaker 1: Volume one Secrets from an m D with a d
Speaker 1: h D. And in volume one I discussed building balanced
Speaker 1: mills and exercise routines for children. Now as psychiaddress again,
Speaker 1: you know, my main management in my office is medigation
Speaker 1: management UM as well as a d C coaching. But
Speaker 1: I am a holistic provider outside of the office, and
Speaker 1: so in my personal brand this is what I do.
Speaker 1: I talk about other forms of management that are just
Speaker 1: as important as medication management. So we're talking about balanced meals.
Speaker 1: You want to make sure that the best fuel source
Speaker 1: for the brain is basically given to your child, especially
Speaker 1: they have a d h D. So, for example, if
Speaker 1: you want to get my book, you're more than welcome
Speaker 1: to go get my book. It's that by Dr Dawn's
Speaker 1: book dot com UM. But in that protein, protein is
Speaker 1: the best fuel source for the brain. It's the brain
Speaker 1: is able to break down protein. When you eat protein,
Speaker 1: you get fuel full faster. Usually I give you a
Speaker 1: little tiffit here. When a child is a d h
Speaker 1: D and they're on their medication management, sometimes it's hard
Speaker 1: for them to eat or they may have appetite suppression.
Speaker 1: So I may actually suggest, hey, give your child protein
Speaker 1: stack around three thirty four o'clock in the afternoon. This
Speaker 1: is usually they're outside of school or during the summer day,
Speaker 1: may be, you know, outside from their summer program, and
Speaker 1: you will find that their focus actually improves after they
Speaker 1: have this protein snack while the medicine is kind of
Speaker 1: glowing out of their systems. So food supplements UM are
Speaker 1: very resourceful. Minerals, vitamins are very key to make sure
Speaker 1: that their brain is getting what it needs in order
Speaker 1: to function as best. So there's a lot of chapters
Speaker 1: on that, and then we talk also about exercise for
Speaker 1: change for children. My favorite is proiety. It teaches discipline,
Speaker 1: it teaches UM. It allows you to the childhood focus
Speaker 1: on UM. You know, basically accomplishing certain goals. Um. So
Speaker 1: it's a reward system with color belt accomplishments and build
Speaker 1: confidence of esteem. It builds friendships as they focus on
Speaker 1: why they're there. I love comriety for a person who
Speaker 1: has a d h D and used just at the
Speaker 1: end of the day. So it's it's best used whereafter
Speaker 1: they're done with their workout, they can go to sleep easier.
Speaker 1: So yeah, so you know, I I highlight some of
Speaker 1: those key areas outside of medicine that are just as
Speaker 1: equally as important to help manage your child's a d
Speaker 1: h D. So, besides your book, Dr Dawn, what other
Speaker 1: resources might you suggest for people who are wanting to
Speaker 1: maybe read more about a d h D or figure
Speaker 1: some of this out for their kids. Sure. I have
Speaker 1: an online TV show. Um it's basically based off of Facebook.
Speaker 1: Um it's basically you go to Doctor dawns Liken D.
Speaker 1: I actually feature at least once a week, um, something
Speaker 1: in the area of a d h D and other
Speaker 1: mentalk disorders. UM. I also have an upcoming podcast that
Speaker 1: I'm featuring next month. So um it's actually catered to
Speaker 1: supermom So super moms and my this definition is to
Speaker 1: find as those mothers who parent children a d h D.
Speaker 1: They're my super moms. They have alls our kids, and
Speaker 1: we basically talk about we start by talking about them. UM. So,
Speaker 1: I've done webinars, have done UM challenges on my my
Speaker 1: Facebook lives where I address moms. It's all about moms
Speaker 1: and moms. This is where we talk about the struggle
Speaker 1: of you feeling that you're being judged, You feel like
Speaker 1: a failure as a parent, You blame yourself, you know.
Speaker 1: We kind of talk about that, what that looks like,
Speaker 1: how you can overcome that so that you can open
Speaker 1: the door to you know, helping your child. UM basically
Speaker 1: champion during d h d um so we talked about
Speaker 1: what a dh D is. You know. Some of the
Speaker 1: things we talked about today, the um joy UM, how
Speaker 1: you can get diagnosed, What key players should be a
Speaker 1: part of your child's all star team of what home
Speaker 1: routines are important, What school essentials are important to make
Speaker 1: sure that the child's deceeeding, What sleep hygienes or life
Speaker 1: appetite hygiene. We really talk about the lifestyle of a
Speaker 1: child who is a d h D. UM I refer
Speaker 1: to different websites um that are found that are very resourceful.
Speaker 1: Um chat dot or is a recourse resourceful at website?
Speaker 1: Ad to do with a d D two magazine on
Speaker 1: nice resourceful website. Um, my website that be going. It's
Speaker 1: like m D I have a blow up un there
Speaker 1: and I talked about nothing but a d D. So
Speaker 1: there are a lot of resourceful websites out there where
Speaker 1: parents can learn. And I understand that it can be
Speaker 1: very confusing and complex because there are also information out
Speaker 1: there that is not necessarily evidence space. So you want
Speaker 1: to make sure that you actually talk to your doctor. Um,
Speaker 1: when you talked to a mental professional who can guide
Speaker 1: you to the right resources that can actually give understanding
Speaker 1: or answers to the concerts that you have or regard
Speaker 1: c A d h D So dr down. You already
Speaker 1: told us your website is Dr Dawn psych md dot com.
Speaker 1: Are there any social media handles that you want to
Speaker 1: share where people can find you online? Yes, Um, it's
Speaker 1: Dr Dawn so c R D A W N P
Speaker 1: S Y c H M D and that that's my
Speaker 1: name on my on my social media platform. So that's Facebook. Um,
Speaker 1: it's YouTube, it's like roun Twitter, linked in, pinterests UM,
Speaker 1: so I'm on all social media as UM platforms as
Speaker 1: that name Dr Dawn's like m D perfect and all
Speaker 1: of that will be included in the show notes so
Speaker 1: people can find that really easily. Well, thank you so
Speaker 1: much for sharing all of your expertise with us today,
Speaker 1: Dr Dawn, I really appreciate it. You're welcome, and thank
Speaker 1: you for having me. Dr Joy, I really appreciate UM
Speaker 1: you are allowing me to come on your podcast and
Speaker 1: basically just promote the education, awareness and a d h D.
Speaker 1: Hopefully if we dispel some mints today and as well
Speaker 1: as encouraged individuals out there, whether they be young or old,
Speaker 1: that if they are concerned of having this what I
Speaker 1: call superability UM, that they can actually seek help with
Speaker 1: the mental professional and kind of go from there. So,
Speaker 1: thank you so much for this opportunity. Thank you. I'm
Speaker 1: so grateful that Dr Dawn was able to share her
Speaker 1: expertise with us today. Be sure to check out the
Speaker 1: show notes to get more information about her practice, her book,
Speaker 1: and the resources that she suggested. You can find them
Speaker 1: at Therapy for Black Girls dot com slash Session sixty
Speaker 1: six if you're looking for a therapist in your area,
Speaker 1: make sure to visit the directory at Therapy for Black
Speaker 1: Girls dot com slash directory. And if you want to
Speaker 1: continue this conversation and join a community of other sisters
Speaker 1: who listen to the podcast, please join us over in
Speaker 1: the thrive tribe at Therapy for Black Girls dot com
Speaker 1: slash tribe. Make sure you answer the three questions that
Speaker 1: are asked to gain entry. Thank y'all so much for
Speaker 1: joining me again this week, and I look forward to
Speaker 1: continue in this conversation with you all real soon. Take
Speaker 1: good care, par actor fi oftor par at p oft
Speaker 1: oftor c