Forums and On-line Help
By Umesh Jain
An active and interested community of ADDers can be found in the Totally ADD Forums and as we anticipate an expansion in 2012 we would love your input. Help us to determine the kind of issues that people struggle with and what kind of on-line support is really apt to be important to you and others. As always, I am hoping people will weigh in as to what they want.
A) I think ADDers want services and they are reaching to the community for help. I wonder if we should have a separate button that is just that- an on-line directory of physicians who are taking patients, a doctor-rating format and, if we extend this farther, an ability for people to find out what other non-medical services are available (ADHD Coaches, Specialized Teachers etc.).
B) People have basic questions on medications and that is OK because newly diagnosed people need to know how to get information easily and with a sense they can be confident with it. We have tried to address this in the Medication section by creating a header for each drug available and a component of each section that says, “Read me First”.
C) Managing forums are labor intensive and it is quick to see that there is just enough time to keep up with this process. I am proud to say, however, often times our own community has pitched in and fostered a protective and guiding role in tough situations and that suggests that may need a new heading, “Ask the Community”.
D) Maintaining the safety of the site is a critical function and one that we take seriously. We want to ensure that people feel that they are not going to be badgered and are supported when they ask questions. It is very labor intensive but it is a cost we have chosen to endure. It is one of the most expensive parts of our budget (and you can quickly see that we do not have any advertising on the site) so it is money that has to come from the sale of our products which subsidizes our web activities. This has been the model so far but that may change in the future. I am glad to say, however, we have had very few incidences of inappropriate problems and the small amount that we have had really have been people who are trying to use the Forums as a way of advertising themselves (which is inappropriate). But the community needs to know that we will not waiver on keeping the Forum safe. But if it is not, and it is actually deterring people from asking questions, then we need to know. What may seem like a safe place may be too intimidating for some people.
As for me, I will weigh in again starting in the New Year with more regularity but ask us questions and give us your opinions as to what you really want. I am hoping everyone will have a Happy Holiday until next time we meet.
9 Responses to “Forums and On-line Help”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to comment
-
Recent Blog Posts
- Your Roving Psychiatrist – Mexico
- The Comics + ADHD
- In The Abyss or In The Zone
- ADHD & Athletics: The Roving Psychiatrist
- A Bike Wheel Is Like A Doughnut
- The Power of Mentorship
- A Bicycle Built For Two…Hundred
- Favorite/Mantra Words Part 5 – Rules
- How I Did The Hardest Thing I Ever Did
- Favorite/Mantra Words Part 4 – Busy
- Pedal To My Mettle
- ADHD Down Under
- Making A Good Thing Better
- Your Roving Psychiatrist- Melbourne Australia
- Some Coaching About Coaches
- Favorite/Mantra Words Part 3 – OBEY
- The Detail Everyone Conveniently Overlooks – Part 2
- The Detail Everyone Conveniently Overlooks – Part 1
- Mantra Words Part 2 – “Deliver”
- No, no! I know!
- Favorite Words
- My Life On Hold
- I know better
- Happiness is…. Love
- Yes I’m a Yes Man
- Happiness is…..great sleep
- The ADHD – Tennis Matrix
- Happiness is a warm puppy
- THE UNIVERSAL CHALLENGE
- Can there be such a thing as too much happy?
-
Blog Categories
-
Hey cool! I found this thread by accident almost posting again on the UNIVERSAL CHALLENGE blog by Rick Green., a clicko, (that’s a typo with the mouse) I’ve been posting ideas for this thread here http://totallyadd.com/forum/topic.php?id=1309 cuz I didn’t want to start a new thread.
billd’s idea <Google – use it to search this site only.
sleep site:totallyadd.com
for example, will get you anything on THIS SITE ONLY containing the word sleep.
If you want to focus on sleep disorders, you would type:
“sleep disorder” site:totallyadd.com>><
is a great way to find topics/threads you're interested in, and there are a ton of other great ideas on that thread that could easily fit into this one. There's a bunch more too, ideas to help us navigate… I know I can try harder to write less, that will help.
I'm hoping billd and agnoscet think some more about my suggestion to them on that page I posted above. Today I have another doctors appointment, so I'm thinking if I can get on the right medication dosage, the rest is education and commitment. I can bring my web site back up, and work on catching up with the new html codes and get some kind of thing going to help us keep in closer contact. Up until a few months ago, I gave up on keeping up with the html code's… n java this java that, I used to really like jave script… Mostly work towards being much more part of the solution than just clowning around. (and more clowning around of course, just balanced) I do have that supposed 155 IQ that I got from a site my Mensa friend suggested to me. And that was after smoken a doob! about 12 years ago. I'll bet without being high I could score much higher, or I guess I should say, get a better score. Weed's the wrong kind of mellowing out that I need.
Anywayz, I'll be late if I don't get started, I've got to be there at 2:30, it's 12:57 (12:40 when I started to proofread/edit), that seems like wayyy too much time to me…. but deep down, I know if I don't get focused, take my dang 5 mg of generic Ritalin I'll show up stressed out, hungry and barely on time…
This is what Dr. Jain was talking about when he wrote about Internet addiction… time on the Internet is threatening my happiness and success.
Wish me luck you guys. I'll be back to study some more, and actually make some foreword progress towards getting my old web site back up again. I did get most of the graphics back onto this computer last week
Peace catz n doggies. Howl for me, (that's rootin for me in dogspeak)
This site has had some very odd spams lately, and one poster had her
avatar taken. perhaps an accident, but what are the odds?
It would be nice if there was some sort of regular site admin to deal with
spam and odd events that apparently harrass posters enough that they leave ..
the post was “overstayed my welcome”
It would be interesting to know how many active posters there are on this site, not just the number of “members” or those who have signed up.
Hi … i really like the site, it has helped. I find it difficult to do searches or to find comments of mine so i can see if there are answers, There doesnt seem to be enough solid information about the various drugs that are out. Are you allowed to copy and paste in the drug information sheets that the company makes and submits to the gov’t. ? I have found some but it is awful trying to go through layers of Canada Health Information .. laughs, Also, and no idea if this is reasonable, can you try to add information alerting us to recent findings about ADHA .. from reputable sources. I can google search but it is difficult to separate wheat from the crap. or what ever.
I dont know if it is possible, but if you were able to post the names of one or two people in each province who is trained in working with ADHD adult patients that might be helpful as Toronto seems to have many sources, other places not so much.
Some method of collecting the posts about coping methods that have helped .. ie exercise, might help if someone just wanted suggestions on how to deal with adhd
A book list would be cool, our library on Vancouver Island, has a good selection, but it would be
useful I think, if you or we, could post books that helped in a section where the list wouldnt go away and get lost … thankyou for all of this it is great
Some thoughts, by category:
A- keeping a provider list up to date seems labor intensive, however Mentalchaos is correct in that lots of doctors aren’t convinced ADHD exists. My own psychiatrist admitted he was, until recently, unconvinced. The 3+ years I’ve been with him has been a journey for both of us. Coaches and other allied professions/services might be helpful, I just don’t want this site to become as commercialized as many out there are. This is a special place- one worth protecting and supporting.
B- There are some questions and areas that are core to a site like this. Many of us know quite a bit about medications but new information is always coming out, and new people are always joining. They need the basics, and we all need a place to get any new info.
C- Forum management challenges will only grow as the site does. I cautiously support the idea of moderators, depending on some type of vetting process. Question- would it make sense to have area “specialists”? Not in the professional sense, but based upon some type of member rating and/or recommendation system. I realize this adds a large, perhaps controversial, component, but throw it out as a point for discussion.
D- Site safety is paramount. Many of us bring topics, concerns, issues, etc that are extremely sensitive- myself included. I feel safe here for 3 reasons:
1)The people here are my tribe; they understand better than anyone the w-i-d-e range of issues ADHD can encompass.
2) I’ve never been burned here; I’ve always been treated with respect and empathy, even if my particular issues aren’t understood by all.
3) Rick and Ava, Dr. J, Patrick and Janis, and all the other people who, not only are responsible for the finest video EVER done on adult ADHD, but devote enormous time, resources, money- and humor- to create and maintain a top flight website. The information contained, its presentation, and overall attitude & personality give a sense of family.
How do “we” – all of us- maintain the quality, grow the community, provide a safe environment for all – newcomers and older members alike, keep the commercial aspect to a minimum, and still address the real issue of resources ( $$’s)? The sale of products is one way, however I’m guessing not everyone using this site has purchased some/everything in the store. That’s not to say a store purchase is the price of admission to the site, or that anyone should feel compelled to “pay to play”. This site should be available for all.
That said- what about a fund-raiser? An online auction (I would personally love to bid on the actual post-it notes used in the video), or bake-sale (a dozen cookies with each visit- uhm…wait, bad idea), or such.
This should be fun; I’m sure the responses to this will be
As a fairly new member, I love this website and find myself reading old posts regularly. I agfgre with Carrie that a search engine of some sort might help members identify and isolate answers to specific questions they may have.
I think a listing of physicians who are familiar with ADD and accept the diagnosis would be great. My experience has been that not all practicioners are convinced that ADD is real. Maybe they could pay some fee to the website if a patient is referred through the site?
I am a consistant user of the medications area. As I am switched from med to med I search posts for similar experiences. This is a very valuable part for me.
I love and appreciate this site. Thank you to all involved for your time and effort. All of you are making a positive impact in my life!
I have only been a member of the site for a few days and truly enjoy it. The “ask the community” section would be great. I think it would be good if we had the ability to leave private messages to each other but I have never developed a web site and have no idea how much work would be involved in that.
Yes! The search for topics! It would be nice if there was some way we could back track our posts on our profile rather than just the “history at a glance”. That would be very handy!
my quick opinions – sorry to be so opinionated:
A) a definite NO to doctor-ratings, statistically they are useless, and often comments are by the minority disgruntled patient (and no feedback from the doctor in question) – I just don’t see the point in hosting that sort of thing. A listing of doctors who are accepting patients might be useful but it could be difficult to keep it up to date. A resource section listing alternate resources and what they are could be useful. It’s probably inevitable that you’re going to end up with coaches etc paying for advertising there, once again, is this useful to us? I don’t know, I can do a google search on ADD coaches pretty easily, as for finding a good one? a bit harder
B) personally I didn’t find the meds section useful since the descriptions were all very similar to me. But that’s just me. I struggle with technical descriptions anyway.
C) what I would suggest for improving the forums is adopting a style like many of the forums on the internet, it’s too hard to find a topic when you have to click, click, click. Forums for me are best when I can see all of the forums at a glance, with the recent topics showing rather than just a topic – not sure if I’m making that clear. Also, I cannot for the life of me get the bloody search function to work, several of us are trying to keep the sleep disorders thread alive because we’ll forget where to find it if we don’t (at least I will). I just don’t have much patience to search through the forums to find a thread. Usually I look at my profile to see what I’ve posted recently (but even that history disappears) and then look at what has been recently posted. I rarely go to a topic from the main forum listing because it’s very frustrating for me.
I’ve suggested this before but if the forum is that labour-intensive, it might be worth designating some moderators (I’m not applying for the job) who could approve new members (to keep out spammers) and perhaps recommend further action to the site moderator if they deem things are getting out of control.
I would also like to see a section on sleep disorders too, the information that sugargremlin came up with is too good to be buried deep with the miscellaneous section!
Also, shorter videos please. The one on women and ADD is almost an hour long, I have trouble finding the time to watch it.
Thanks for asking! I’m glad this website and forum is here. Hope my comments are helpful.