Be Awesome

Sometimes we all need a little reminder.

The Joy of Books

Spectacular video. Worth taking a minute to watch.

Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA)

For those of you who are not aware of it, the Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) is a great organization with which I am involved.

As the world’s leading adult ADHD organization, ADDA works diligently in advancing awareness, education and advocacy in the field of ADHD. They provide information, resources and networking opportunities to help adults with ADHD lead better lives.

For the last year or so, I have been working with ADDA’s College Committee. It has been a wonderful experience, collaborating with an amazing group of professionals  “to promote success by bridging the gap and facilitating the transition to college and providing resources to the community”. I was also given the opportunity to present two webinars, Transition 101:High School to College – An Overview and Bridging the Gap – A Campus Survival Guide. Both are available on the ADDA website, free of charge, to all ADDA members.

This past weekend, I had the honor of being elected to their Board of Directors, which is terrifically exciting. I am looking forward to another thrilling year of ADHD events. If you are interested in finding out more about ADHD or ADDA, drop me an email or give me a call. In the meantime, please take a minute to “like” the ADDA facebook page and check out the latest news.

Community Mental Health Conference

On Saturday, November 19 in Wilmington, Delaware, I will be presenting a workshop on ADHD and College at the Community Mental Health Conference.

Sponsored by The Mental Health Association in Delaware, the tenth annual Community Mental Health Conference will take place at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Wilmington. This year’s conference theme is “Communities Coming Together, Unite through Mind, Body and Spirit.”

Mayor James Baker of the City of Wilmington is slated to kick off the conference. A keynote panel will feature family members living, uniting, and coping with the challenges of ADHD. Dr. Bertice Berry, a native of Wilmington, Delaware is the keynote speaker. Dr. Berry is a sociologist, educator, author, lecturer, entertainer and comedian.

Other workshops will include suicide intervention, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia; re-entry; preventing trauma in children, adolescents and young adults; and engaging fathers for safe and stable families.

Give A Dog A Bone

Dog lovers and caring friends, Leahy Learning will be collecting dog bones, toys, kongs, nyla, and monetary donations for this great cause:

There will be a donation bin at the office, contact Meghan with any questions.

Midtown Men Perform at West Catholic

Did you see Jersey Boys? Do you wish you had? Would you like to see the original cast perform  in Philadelphia? Well, you are in luck. On Saturday, November 4th, you can be part of a private show, enjoy a delicious dinner prepared by Georges Perrier, and meet special guests Joe Piscipo and Big Daddy Graham. And it is all for a good cause.

As many of you know, I am a little nuts about “the learning”, as I like to call it. But there is one man who might rival my nuttiness in his love for education. That man is Mike Marone. A good friend and respected colleague, Mike and I met in graduate school, while studying counseling at Villanova University. Since then, we have had the opportunity to work together on a number of projects and serve on various committees and boards. Mike is the currently the Director of Ministry at West Catholic High School in Philadelphia, PA.

West Catholic has been struggling to raise money for their extracurricular enrichment programs. That’s where Mike comes in. As the Philadelphia Inquirer explains, “It is with the altruism of Robin Hood and the demeanor of a more strapping Friar Tuck that Marone, a former football player for St. John Neumann High School in South Philadelphia, approaches fund-raising for West Catholic.” He’s put together a great show on November 4th. Everybody from Leahy Learning will be there. Call 215-386-2244 ext. 232 for tickets. They are selling out fast.

City to Shore Ride 2011

Congrats to Erin Sweeney and all the ladies on another terrific ride this year!

Leahy Learning supports the Wild Hogs again this year in the City to Shore Ride.

Bridging the Gap – A Campus Survival Guide

On Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at 9pm EDT, I have been invited to present a webinar entitled, ”Bridging the Gap – A Campus Survival Guide”, for the Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA).

In our webinar, Dr. Lisa Mimmo Banister and I will discuss the college experience. It can be very overwhelming for all students, but especially for those with ADHD. So much has changed since their parents attended college, and often, parents are unaware of what can and must be done in order to empower their child to find success with confidence.

Our workshop will provide a survival guide for parents and students once they arrive on campus. The goal of our presentation is to provide clarity regarding academic, social, and environmental concerns. Attendees will be able also to understand how to identify the warning signs of mental health issues that commonly co-occur with ADHD, especially in the college environment.

If you are not a member of ADDA, you might want to consider becoming one today so that you can join us on Wednesday evening. Lisa and I are looking forward to sharing the information and resources garnered from our practices. If you have questions or content you would like us to address, drop us an email, we’d love to hear from you.

Awesome Autoresponse

Finally, someone has perfected the out-of-office email. Yahoo news has been kind enough to publish it in this entertaining article. The article breaks down the cultural nuances of the autoresponse message and analyzes the genius of a man named Josh Kopelman.

I will simply share his message with you so that we can all cut and paste and edit and head to the beach:

I am currently out of the office on vacation.

I know I’m supposed to say that I’ll have limited access to email and won’t be able to respond until I return – but that’s not true. My blackberry will be with me and I can respond if I need to. And I recognize that I’ll probably need to interrupt my vacation from time to time to deal with something urgent.

That said, I promised my wife that I am going to try to disconnect, get away and enjoy our vacation as much as possible. So, I’m going to experiment with something new. I’m going to leave the decision in your hands:

• If your email truly is urgent and you need a response while I’m on vacation, please resend it to interruptyourvacation@[redacted].com and I’ll try to respond to it promptly.
• If you think someone else at [the company] might be able to help you, feel free to email my assistant, and she’ll try to point you in the right direction.

· Otherwise, I’ll respond when I return…

Warm regards,

Josh

Enjoy the remaining days of summer!

Lost Albino Llama

On my way to a meeting in Center City today, came across this stapled to a phone poll on Locust Street. As usual, I had many questions. Oddly, though, my first thought upon seeing this was, what makes an albino llama burp?