Understanding ADHD - Shrinking It Down - MGH Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds

Understanding ADHD – Shrinking It Down

Text in front of blurry background - All that's innattentive is not ADHD.

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By Ellen Braaten, PhD and Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Topics: Mental Illness + Psychiatric Disorders

Tune in wherever you get your podcasts – just search for “Shrinking It Down.”

We all get distracted and disorganized. Today, it seems more than ever with digital media consuming our lives. We bet you’ve even wondered, at some point in your life, whether you might have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Heck – do we all have some form of it? Like all things in mental health, it’s complicated. Not all that’s inattentive is ADHD. In today’s episode, our co-director Dr. Ellen Braaten joins Gene to really delve into what ADHD is, what it’s not, the different ways it can present in kids, and things we can do to manage it.

Thanks for joining in the conversation. If you have questions or comments about ADHD, write to us!

Media List

Driven to Distraction (Edward Hallowell, MD)
Doctors in the US have less time to treat patients (Univerzita Karlova)
What is ADHD? (Video – Mass General Hospital for Children)
How Do You Measure Executive Function Skills in Kids? (MGH Clay Center)
Intro to Processing Speed (MGH Clay Center)
What If My Child Has an Anxiety Disorder? (MGH Clay Center)
Learning Disabilities 101 (MGH Clay Center)
What Are the Different Types of Evaluations? (MGH Clay Center)
“We Don’t See Time; We Feel It” (ADDitude)
Is It Safe to Use Stimulants to Treat ADHD? (MGH Clay Center)
Pete’s Story: Living With ADHD (MGH Clay Center)

Also, watch this short video for more from Dr. Ellen Braaten and Dr. Gene Beresin about recognizing ADHD in your child:

Podcast episode produced by Sara Rattigan

Video produced by Michael Dillon

Music by Gene Beresin

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Ellen Braaten, PhD

Ellen Braaten, PhD, is executive director of the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program (LEAP) at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), an associate professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, and former co-director for the MGH Clay Cente...

To read full bio click here.

Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Gene Beresin, MD, MA is executive director of The MGH Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, and a staff child and adolescent psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also...

To learn more about Gene, or to contact him directly, please see Our Team.