Help me help her help him

July 26, 2009 10:23 AM

What's the best way for a non-computer oriented person to tap into the blogosphere support network for help with her ADHD child?

During my aquafit class this morning, my instructor and I were talking about computer things and blogs, and though she's a little afraid of computers, she seemed interested in the idea of being able to blog about her life with her ADHD and behaviourally challenged son, and get support from other parents with similarly challenging children.

I'd like to help her do that, and while I can handle the technical end of things (getting her set up with her own blog on Blogger or WordPress) easily enough, I don't know where to point her to get other ADHD Moms reading her blog and offering support, or which blogs she might want to read.

I could google, obviously, and find some ADHD resources, but I'm really looking for personal recommendations of blogs or blog networks or social networking sites that have helped you if you're the parent of an ADHD child.

posted by jacquilynne to computers & internet (4 comments total)

CHADD is really the go-to place for this sort of thing. There's not a lot available without logging in [free] but once you poke around the communities section, there are a lot of people dealing with various ADHD topics, including parenting, being a partner of someone with ADHD and all the rest. Might be a good place to start, being a reader first before trying to go the whole blog route unless she's really feeling like she wants to not just read/learn but also contribute right off the bat.
posted by jessamyn at 11:19 AM on July 26 [1 favorite]

Yahoo Groups has many groups for ADHD. the first one listed is for parents.


http://health.dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/1600013482
posted by stray thoughts at 6:43 PM on July 26

I was going to suggest CHADD as well. Some newer books out there (I have none to recommend in particular, but better libraries should be pretty up-to-date) will probably have some resource links in the back that she should check out.

Most importantly, I echo the point about being a reader before she is a blogger. That'll help her become more familiar with the ways in which people communicate, what's out there, where her niche might fall, etc. You'll be able to do all of the techy things that will help her blog be more accessible (like adding an RSS feed, etc.), but of course the number one thing she can do to get more readers is to make good comments on other people's blogs. She might also benefit from something very simple like a "Blogging for Dummies" book or something.

The way I always dive into something I know little about is to find a few examples of what I would like to be like and work from there. Say, "Okay, I really like how this person has her links, and I think that being in a blogring would be super helpful, and this person is very personal but somehow writes about things in a way that speaks to what a lot of people go through." Then she can cobble together what she likes.
posted by Madamina at 7:27 AM on July 27

I get support from a Yahoo group for mothers of kids like mine in my area. I sometimes read national or international groups, but prefer my local one -- we can tell each other about specific doctors, events, schools, etc.

I agree about CHADD for the ADHD aspect. Conduct Disorders can be helpful for the behavioral side of things.
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:16 PM on July 27