Mr Len Russell, CEO of ADHD Australia, attended the ADDults with ADHD’s Annual Conference in Sydney on Saturday 26th October 2019. ADDults with ADHD have been running their annual conference for many years with a wide range of speakers and topics as well as a packed auditorium. This year was no exception in that there were over 140 registrations for the day.

ADHD Australia had a table at the event which enabled attendees to see what ADHD Australia had been doing this past year in submissions to government, collaborations with other groups, our newsletter and those attending were also able to take home our latest factsheet, “What is ADHD.

The morning welcome to open the day was made by Mr Ray Steele, President of ADDults with ADHD.

Mr Mark Brandtman. ADHD Coach, Mentor, Educational Consultant, started off the speakers with his topic of “ADHD COACHING vs THERAPY”.

After an early morning tea break we were back in the conference room to hear Dr Keith Chee, Consultant Psychiatrist, talk on the topic of “CO-MORBID CONDITIONS in ADHD.” His talk really opened up how ADHD is not always alone it’s the co-occurring conditions which also can complicate the life of a person with more than just their ADHD. He spoke also about some of the treatments and therapies available.

Dr PETER Hoey, an Adult Psychiatrist, then spoke on “ADHD: WHY IT’S SO TREATABLE.” And explored some of the biological and psychological underpinnings of ADHD.

After a quick and filling lunch, Monica and Jonathan Hassell, ADHD & EF Coaches from Brisbane held us captivated via a web link on the topic of “BUILDING a LIFE on ADHD’s INHERENT STRENGTHS.” They spoke about Executive Functioning and how and why it’s important to know how its affects those living with ADHD. They also focused on the strengths of ADHD rather that always on the negatives.

Dr AMANDA Mullin, Clinical Psychologist spoke about “EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE & EMOTIONAL REGULATION.” She had some great tools and handouts which made following her talk easy.

The afternoon was rounded off with a talk from Mr David Hong, a Family & Couples Therapist and Credentialed Mental Health Nurse, on the anticipated topic of “EXPANDING the SYSTEM WHEN WORKING with ADHD ADOLESCENTS & THEIR FAMILIES.” He interspersed his talk with real life examples of how working in a holistic manner from Coach, parents, Student and the school can really turn around the outlook of a young person with ADHD into a positive lifelong experience.

You can download the ADDults with ADHD Annual Conference Program here to see a full list of the speakers and their topics.

To find out more about the ADDults with ADHD group please visit their website at: https://www.adultadhd.org.au/.

All in all Len said “…that the day was not only informative and instructive but allowed the ADHD Community to really get together and understand that living with ADHD does not mean you have to be alone…there are groups that meet…like the ADDults with ADHD…that support the ADHD community from a practical standpoint.”

ADHD Australia