Postgraduate Study

Comment

Comment by Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, SCAC on November 19, 2011 at 7:39pm

Simple suggestion from the I-net "olden days."  

There was once a group called CLAD (cleaning ladies with ADD!) - ordinary ADD folk whose houses were horrific.  

They all signed on to the CLAD group (aol at the time), chatted "live" for a short period about what they needed to do THAT day - then signed off for a longer period to DO that.  When the time was up, they logged back in to document what they were actually able to get DONE, id areas where they were struggling so had to take smaller bites, etc.

 

Something like that - a virtual coaching circle - could work for writing, yes?  You would probably have to tweak the time-frames considerably, but the regular check-in's for accountability would work, I'm sure.  The group itself would decide whether to be a TeleBridge meeting or a private

chat group on a website somewhere, but both work if you take them seriously (on the one hand), and remember to have FUN with it (on the other)

Suggestion from my ADDCoach training - buddy up, with phone numbers.  YOU are responsible for your own AND your bud's attendence (BOTH of you).  So if one of you shows up and the other doesn't, you call to find out if they are ok, etc. - then report back to the group)

xx,

mgh (Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, SCAC, MCC - blogging at ADDerWorld and ADDandSoMuchMore - dot com!)

Comment by Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, SCAC on November 19, 2011 at 7:18pm

I have been flirting with going back for a Ph.D. in Neuropsych for decades - this is my first actual STEP in that direction, small thought it may be.

More than financing it (and ADD self-management, along with disclosure, accommodations, etc.) -- my BIGGEST fear is statistics!!  

I'm dyscalculate ("math facts" don't stick, can't even manage "dinner math," phone numbers, addresses, ages, dates - all a wash in MY brain -- and I am a touch "aphasic" where symbols are concerned -- arithmetic esp. - "squiggles" to my mind.)  

I'm great with words and concepts, but it's not unrealistic to worry that I might wash out by t-totally flunking statistics!!!!!

Jumping through the admin hoops of disclosure, getting grad transcripts together (long story there!), etc. would eat my life with a spoon -- dreading that part keeps me "self-educated" only!  

I HATE feeling "stupid" when I try to explain my struggles with arithmetic my non-ADD PHD buds ("Just memorize," they say - or, merely, "You can do it!" or, the BEST - from a neuropsych: "Practice counting backwards by threes" - Honey, if I could do that I wouldn't BE dyscalculate!!). NO help at all -- so year after year goes by.

 

QUESTIONS:

• What was actually jumping into the Ph.D. waters LIKE for you guys?
• How did you manage your ADD tendencies from "good idea" to "enrolled in a program?"  
• What were the actual steps of the process?
• How tough did it turn out to be, vs. how tough you THOUGHT it would be.
• How did you choose your specific field of study - your school - your dissertation topic???  Did your ADD dx figure into these decisions at all? "Should" you have factored it in?

 

Bizarre, I know, but those end steps that most people scream about don't look so daunting to me because I've learned how to manage that kind of stuff -- but the beginning ones are A BEAR!!  (Talk about activating a startle response!!! In SPADES.) 

THANKS - any help appreciated.

xx,

mgh (Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, SCAC, MCC - blogging at ADDerWorld and ADDandSoMuchMore - dot com!)

Comment by Jacquelyn Hedden on August 19, 2011 at 8:00am

I also started a Dissertation Writing Group through meetup.com.  Once I schedule a writing session with others, I have no choice but to show up and sit down to work.  Sessions last betweenn 4-5 hours, and I've scheduled between 3-4 sessions a week.  This is helping me immensely!

Comment by Jacquelyn Hedden on August 19, 2011 at 7:58am

Did the most helpful thing I've done for myself since starting my diss two years ago - I hired a writing coach (who happens to have ADD and has been doing scholarly editing for over 20 years)!  If you're struggling, I highly recommend finding a coach you can work with. 

Comment by Jacquelyn Hedden on July 10, 2011 at 7:19am

My mtg went . . . well, it was a typical ADHD mess for my diss director and for myself. She was 30 minutes late. While I waited for her, I tried to read my chapter I'd printed out. I COULDN'T COMPREHEND A SINGLE THOUGHT ON 18 PAGES OF WRITING. I'd heard of people w/ADHD sometimes not being able to read, but I'd never experienced this before and became very upset.

By the time she arrived, I was beside myself with anxiety (as if I hadn't been before). I told her what I was experiencing. We tried just talking, but I was too preoccupied. I told her I was going to go over to the counseling center and ask someone there to help me. Which I did.

The counselor agreed to work with me (which has not proven helpful) and suggested 3 upcoming seminars conducted by the Learning Support Services Dept: time mgt, procrastination, and motivation. While I don't mean to be negative and do plan to go to these seminars, I doubt 3 50-minute seminars can "fix" me.

Desperate, I hired a writing coach whose 2 sons have ADD. She is proving extremely useful, as is my newly formed diss writing group, and I now have hope that I'll actually finish.

The only tools my diss director and I have used are a digital recorder for our mtgs (so I could play it back later) and patience on both sides.

How did your mtg go?

Comment by Liz on July 9, 2011 at 1:30pm

Jacque,  I just wanted to check in and see how the meeting with your dissertation director went last week... :)

 

Also, I was wondering exactly how you have been working with your dissertation director specifically related to your ADHD, and what has worked and what has not worked... 

Comment by Jacquelyn Hedden on June 29, 2011 at 8:35am

Liz,

Thank you for sharing.  I've spent almost 10 years working on my PhD.  Halfway through I found out about my ADHD, but have only recently become aware of specific ways it's impacted my progress, or lack thereof.

 

What you plan to say to your committee sounds just right to me.  Spot on.

 

I'm lucky, in one way, that my diss director has ADHD.  In fact, her working with me and my ADHD is what led her to get tested and diagnosed!  On the other hand, her ADHD means that my work has frequently shifted directions and undergone major revampings.  (This is a recent realization.) 

 

I'm meeting with said director today and must admit to not having made progress over the last month.  Hard.

 

I'll check out your blog!

Comment by Liz on June 29, 2011 at 8:27am

I should have mentioned this in my last post...

 

I started a blog about being in grad school with ADHD... If you have time (haha!), check it out :)

http://adhd-girl.blogspot.com/ 

Comment by Liz on June 29, 2011 at 7:49am

A little over a year with not much progress on my dissertation; mostly this has been attributable to a long bout with depression, but also has a lot to do with the ADHD.  I was diagnosed just about three years ago.  I've learned a lot since then, especially in the past year, about how to get through grad school with my ADHD brain.  

 

I have a committee meeting tomorrow, where I will have to explain my long period of not much progress, and convince my committee to give me one more chance to finish my dissertation.  It will be my first time meeting with all 4 of them together since my prelims in December 2008.  Right now I'm planning on telling them about the depression and ADHD, not so much as an excuse, but more as an explanation, and also so they know what difficulties I am facing in completing this.  I plan to keep it short, less than five minutes, and positive - let them know that I was set back, but that I've learned a lot about how my brain works, and that I know I can do this, although it still might take a bit longer than a 'normal' person for me to finish up.

 

Here's my question - does anybody else have experience telling their committee about their ADHD?  I'm worried about running into the same "ADHD isn't real" attitude I've run into in the non-academic world, or that they will somehow think I am less capable... Does anybody have any advice or stories to share?

 

Thanks!!!

Comment by Jacquelyn Hedden on January 12, 2010 at 4:13am

Vanessa,

I say go for P & P for one semester, esp since your motivation is love of learning. If that turns out to be something you change your mind about you can always go back to addiction studies. Nothing is etched in stone.

Within my major, I jumped around a lot. This behavior, brought on by my love of learning NEW and interesting stuff, has caused me to have to study a lot more, but also brought me great joy, though meant that it's taken me longer to complete my PhD.

Maybe some of my jumping around was from impulsivity. The only time this has gotten me into real trouble was when for my dissertation I decided to wander from the literature focus I'd taken 98% of my grad coursework in, over to a rhetoric and composition focus so that I could write my dissertation on ADHD and college writing. In retrospect, I think I made a mistake. I could've written the ADHD paper AFTER I got my PhD.

From having switched horses in mid-stream, I understand how daunting and overwhelming facing the need for knowledge acquisition in a new field can be, esp. a the grad level. One professor once told me, "Jacque, you don't have to make this harder on yourself than it already it. There's nothing in the PhD handbook that says the harder you work the smarter you are."

Can you use some of the addiction stuff you've studied in the field of P & P, allowing you to bring a new, fresh perspective to that field? That could generate a lot of exciting work for you and allow you to make great contributions to both fields.

You could try going into P&P for a semester. If during that time, you decide you want to go back to your original focus, you can!

This post may make you more confused, but hopefully it will give you things to think about. Sorry so long. Just something I've A LOT of experience in! :)

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page