Connecting online is beneficial for lots of obvious reasons but one of the most positive aspects for interacting on sites like Facebook, Twitter and other social places is that they connect people with ADHD. Adults and children with attention problems who might not otherwise have an outlet or place to meet, or are embarrassed or shy about their issues, can reach out online and find help and support through social network sites.
Facebook has quite a few social groups for ADHD support including:
- National Resource Center on AD/HD: A Program of CHADD,ADHD
- ADHD Solutions
- ADHD Moms
- Children & Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and
- ADD Crusher, a popular ADD strategy site for adults
Twitter and online blogs are good places to find support and interact with others who have ADHD. Simply type "ADHD" and blog or twitter into any search engine and find hundreds of options.
But online networking sites can be big time waste of time, too for anyone with attention problems. Those with ADHD or ADD have to learn to balance the unlimited distractions of online information.
LeechBlock is an add-on for Mozilla. As they describe it- is a " simple productivity tool designed to block those time-wasting sites that can suck the life out of your working day. " They go on to say, tongue in cheek, that you know which ones those are -- they rhyme with 'Blue Cube', 'Pie Face', 'Space Hook', 'Hash Pot', 'Sticky Media', and the like." To use LeechBlock, you simply note which sites you want to block and how often or when you want to block them.
Using LeechBlock:
- Select up to six sets of sites to block, with different times and days for each set.
- Select sites within fixed time periods (for example, you can set times for certain sites to not be accessible between 8am and 6pm), after a specific time limit (say, 10 minutes in every hour), or with a combination of time periods and time limit ( 10 minutes every hour between 8am and 6pm).
- Opt to have a password that allows you access extension options, which helps slow down and reconsider what you are doing and if it is time-wasting.
This Mozilla add-on feature really helps people with ADHD or attention problems keep online distractions at bay.
TweetDeck is a personal real-time browser that allows you to keep all your social networking in one place -including Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Google Buzz and others. TweetDeck can be set up on PCs, Smartphones, iPads, and other devices to consolidate and streamline social networking time.
With ADHD, one has to learn to balance everything, including computer time. Thankfully the technology that provides the myriad of resources for socially connecting also gives us ways to manage the distractions.
Sources:
- Tweetdeck
- LeechBlock
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be used for diagnosis or to guide treatment without the opinion of a health professional. Any reader who is concerned about his or her health should contact a doctor for advice.
Elizabeth Richards - Elizabeth Richards has published almost 200 articles for Suite101 since 2007 as a Contributing and Feature Writer.
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