=== Center of Attention ===
Newsletter of CHADD of Northern California
Also at: http://www.chaddnorcal.org/newsletter
13 September 2004

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>> IN THIS ISSUE <<
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*Calendar of Events
*Announcement/Article: Hoarding and Cluttering 2004
*Please Tell Us
*Subscription Information
*CHADD Information

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>> CALENDAR OF EVENTS <<
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This calendar only has events for the next 3 or 4 weeks listed. It
also does not list some other CHADD groups which may be closer to you
and it does not list some non-CHADD events. For a thorough calendar,
including directions, look at: http://www.chaddnorcal.org/schedule
and also http://www.chaddnorcal.org/schedule/otherevent.htm.

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Santa Clara - 9/14/2004, Tues. 7:15 - 9 pm
Support Group for Partners! -- Support and community-resource
information for the partners of folks with ADHD. PLEASE NOTE: This is
NOT a support group for people with AD/HD, nor for couples, nor for
parents. It is EXCLUSIVELY for PARTNERS of people with ADHD, and
others will have to be turned away.
Friends Meeting House, Palo Alto - Contact: Gina Pera: 888-759-9758
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Contra Costa - 9/15/2004, Wed. 7 - 9 pm
Walnut Creek Adult General Support Meeting -- Ongoing, confidential
support groups for Adults with ADHD -Open Discussion.
710 South Broadway, Walnut Creek - Contact: Donna Love: 925-687-4324
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Santa Clara - 9/15/2004, Wed. 7:15 - 9:30 pm
Bonnie Emerson, Asst. Principal, Modesto -- Will discuss parents' strategies.
Friends Meeting House, Palo Alto - Contact: Silicon Valley Warmline:
650-949-5472
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Napa - 9/16/2004, Thu. 7 - 9 pm
Parent/Guardian Support Group -- Focusing on education,ADHD
strengths,and strategies to manage challenges.(it's good to call
first to confirm the date/time and to inquire about the meeting's
topic).
St. John's Lutheran Church, Napa - Contact: Karen Shepard:
707-452-8970, or ksnapa@...
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San Mateo - 9/18/2004, Sat. 8 am to 5 pm
"Healing Anxiety, Depression and ADD" - with Dr. Daniel Amen as
keynote speaker. -- Kitty Petty ADD/LD Institute's Ninth Annual
Symposium
Tyco Electronics Corporation, Menlo Park - Contact: Kitty Petty
ADD/LD Institute: 650-329-9443 or visit www.kpinst.org/
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San Francisco - 9/20/2004, Mon. 7 - 9 pm
Adult Success Group -- Share skills and strategies for success at
home, in the workplace, in relationships, etc.
First Unitarian Universalist Church, San Francisco - Contact: Rachel
Rosenfeld: 888-759-9758
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Contra Costa - 9/21/2004, Tues. 7 - 9 pm
Danville Adult Meeting: -- Topic followed by Group Discussion
Los Cerros Middle School Library, Danville - Contact: Liz: 925-886-8735
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Marin - 9/21/2004, Tues. 7-9 pm
Adult Support Group, with SueZee Poinsett, Professional coach and
organizer. -- Free, drop-in peer-support group. Talk with others who
really understand. And share and develop life skills. In addition, if
you want to work on skills for sorting and purging papers, bring your
paper piles.
Marin Community Mental Health, Greenbrae - Contact: Beverlee: 415-789-9464
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Marin - 9/27/2004, Mon. 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Parent Resource & Support Group -- Call for directions in Mill Valley.
Mill Valley Home, Mill Valley - Contact: Victoria Vogel & Holly
Seerley: 415-383-6048 or 415-924-6656
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Online - 9/28/2004, Tues. 4 - 6 pm PST
"Ask The Expert" Chat -- Sandra Reif, MA, will chat on "Back to School" Issues
Online Chat, Internet - Contact: Chat Web Page: www.chadd.org - Support - Chat
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Alameda - 9/28/2004, Tues. 7 - 9 pm
Adult Support Group --
Lynnwood United Methodist Church, Pleasanton - Contact: Pattie: 925-548-3997
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Contra Costa - 9/28/2004, Tues. 7 - 9 pm
Danville Parent Meeting: -- Topic followed by Group Discussion
Los Cerros Middle School Library, Danville - Contact: Liz: 925-886-8735
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Sacramento - 10/5/2004, Tues. 6:45 p.m.; 7-9 pm
The New ADHD and Bipolar Disorder -- Presented by John Capel PhD.
Sutter Center for Psychiatry, Sacramento - Contact: Greater
Sacramento CHADD: 916-552-1557
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Stanislaus - 10/5/2004, Tues. 7 - 8pm
Modesto Support Group -- (No children please)
Doctors Medical Center, Modesto - Contact: Bonnie: 209-523-4939
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San Francisco - 10/6/2004, Wed. 7 or 7:30 TBA
Jonathan Mooney speaks! (Hold the Date) -- Parents Education Network
(PEN) and Convent of the Sacred Heart High School presenting.
Donation requested at the door.
Syufy Theater, San Francisco - Contact: Parent Education Network
(PEN): PENBayArea@...
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Santa Clara - 10/6/2004, Wed. 7:15 - 9:30 pm
Mark Schiller, M.D. -- Will discuss guiding medications with
electroencephalography
Friends Meeting House, Palo Alto - Contact: Silicon Valley Warmline:
650-949-5472
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San Francisco - 10/6/2004, Wed. 8:30 am - 4:30pm
The Mental Health Association of San Francisco Presents: Hoarding and
Cluttering: Solutions 2004. -- Confirmed Presenters include: Sanjaya
Saxena, MD and Ann Levine, Esq. Registration online in a few weeks;
No one turned away for lack of funds.
Marines Memorial Club - 609 Sutter, San Francisco - Contact: Mental
Health Association of San Francisco: 415-241-2926 or visit
www.mha-sf.org
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Santa Clara - 10/7/2004, Thu. 7:15 - 9:30 pm
Kitty Petty ADD/LD Institute - Discussion, Sharing Successful
Strategies with other ADDults. --
Friends Meeting House, Palo Alto - Contact: Kitty Petty ADD/LD
Institute: 650-329-9443 or visit www.kpinst.org/
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Santa Clara - 10/12/2004, Tues. 7:15 - 9 pm
Support Group for Partners! -- Support and community-resource
information for the partners of folks with ADHD. PLEASE NOTE: This is
NOT a support group for people with AD/HD, nor for couples, nor for
parents. It is EXCLUSIVELY for PARTNERS of people with ADHD, and
others will have to be turned away.
Friends Meeting House, Palo Alto - Contact: Gina Pera: 888-759-9758
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Alameda - 10/13/2004, Wed. 7 - 8:45 pm
Tri-Valley Parent Support Meeting -- Possible speaker to be announced.
Thomas J. Hart Middle School, Pleasanton - Contact: JoAnn Matone: 925-484-2173
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Alameda - 10/16/2004, Sat. 9:00a.m.-12:00p.m
"The Reluctant Writer: What's Going On?" Featuring Regina G.
Richards, M.A. -- The First in Northern California - International
Dyslexia Association's Series: Writing Research, Writing Practice.
Tickets $40-$55.
UC-Berkeley Extension International Center, Berkeley - Contact:
International Dyslexia Association: 650-328-7667 or visit
www.dyslexia-ncbida.org
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San Francisco - 10/18/2004, Mon. 7 - 9 pm
Adult Success Group -- Share skills and strategies for success at
home, in the workplace, in relationships, etc.
First Unitarian Universalist Church, San Francisco - Contact: Rachel
Rosenfeld: 888-759-9758
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Online - 10/19/2004, Tues. 4 - 6 pm PST
"Ask The Expert" Chat -- Sam Goldstein, Ph.D. will chat on Resiliency
Online Chat, Internet - Contact: Chat Web Page: www.chadd.org - Support - Chat
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>> ANNOUNCEMENT/ARTICLE <<
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Editor's Note: This Conference comes highly recommended. For an
archived article on Hoarding and Cluttering, see:

http://www.chaddnorcal.org/newsletter/articles/hoardclutter.htm


Hoarding and Cluttering 2004
By Rob Wheeler, Mental Health Association of San Francisco

Compulsive hoarding, defined as the acquisition of and failure to
discard a large number of possessions that appear to be useless or of
limited value in an attempt to decrease stress and anxiety, is a
relatively intractable symptom of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
(OCD). Not everyone with OCD exhibits hoarding behaviors, but for
those who do, it can be an extremely difficult problem to overcome.
Those who hoard compulsively often respond poorly to standard
pharmaceutical and psychotherapeutic treatments for OCD and it can
become disabling.

An estimated 7-8 million people in the United States suffer from OCD
and as many as one-third of them exhibit compulsive hoarding
behaviors. While hoarding is generally considered to be symptomatic
of OCD, recent research by Dr. Sanjaya Saxena, Director of the UCLA
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Research Program, suggests that this
assumption may not be accurate. His research, focusing on
neuroimaging of the brains of compulsive hoarders, shows anatomical
differences from those of people with other forms of OCD and from
those of healthy control subjects without OCD. These biological
differences may indicate that compulsive hoarding is distinct from
other forms of OCD. Dr. Saxena has found that the areas of the brain
that control the executive functions (e.g., memory and decision
making) are mildly atrophied in those who hoard compulsively.
Interestingly, deficits in executive functions are implicated in ADHD
as well. Dr. Saxena reports using stimulant medication in addition
to antidepressants to treat compulsive hoarding.

Furthermore, compulsive hoarding is often a feature of several other
psychiatric disorders in addition to OCD, such as attention deficit
disorder, anorexia, and depression and can be caused or aggravated by
increasing age or physical disabilities. Indeed, hoarding may be
best treated as a distinct problem in itself.

On Wednesday, October 6, 2004, the Mental Health Association of San
Francisco (MHA-SF), a non-profit citizens' organization dedicated to
improving the mental health of residents in the diverse communities
of San Francisco through advocacy, education, research and service,
will present their annual conference on compulsive hoarding.
"Hoarding and Cluttering: Solutions 2004" is a daylong conference
that will address innovations in the research and treatment of
compulsive hoarding. In the keynote address, Dr. Saxena will discuss
"Understanding and Treating Hoarding and Cluttering."

In addition to Dr. Saxena, Ann Levine, Esq., Co-Director of the
Mental Health Advocacy Project of the Law Foundation of Silicon
Valley will address "Legal Rights and Responsibilities." Finally,
Terry Prince, CPO-CD, Executive Director of the National Study Group
on Chronic Disorganization, will moderate a panel presentation
entitled "Seeking Solutions: Working Toward Recovery." Included in
this panel will be Dr. Roland Rotz, a psychotherapist who is using an
innovative comprehensive treatment in collaboration with a
professional organizer, Heidi Schulz, CPO-CD, who will also be
present on the panel. In this treatment, psychotherapy is augmented
by in-home coaching by a professional organizer. Dr. Rotz reports
significant reductions in hoarding behaviors using this method with
clients.

In all its programs, MHA-SF works with people and families challenged
by mental illness and with the agencies that serve them to promote
prevention, access to services, leadership, and independence. MHA-SF
has organized the Hoarding and Cluttering conference annually for
several years as a way for consumers to find resources and solutions,
and for service providers to keep up with the most recent innovations
in the field.

For more information about "Hoarding and Cluttering: Solutions 2004,"
visit the MHA-SF website at www.mha-sf.org. Registration for the
conference in currently underway. You may register with a credit card
online or print the registration form and register by sending a check
through the mail. The cost for the conference is $50. Register
before September 22 for a $10 "early bird" discount. As with all
MHA-SF programs, no one will be turned away for lack of funds,
therefore, those who cannot afford the registration fee may choose an
amount between $0 and $40 that is affordable.

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>> PLEASE TELL US <<
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We thank members for their responses to the Newsletter. Any comments,
suggestions, or criticisms will be greatly appreciated. Please
continue to help us make this newsletter and CHADD of Northern
California more beneficial to you all.

We also invite readers to share their experiences with us and other
members. Please feel free to write to us about anything that you
would like to see published.

You can e-mail your comments to us at Lew@.... Simply
replying to this e-mail will also send your message to the editor.

Lew Mills, Editor

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>> CHADD INFORMATION <<
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* See the up-to-date schedule
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About the Newsletter:

The Center of Attention is CHADD of Northern California's bi-weekly
newsletter. The newsletter is designed to keep you up to date with
CHADD of Northern California's activities and updates in the field.

* CHADD Works to Improve the Lives of People with
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder through Education, Advocacy,
and Support *

Contact:

--

Lew Mills, PhD, LMFT
Editor, "Center of Attention"
CHADD of Northern California, Chapter # 504
mailto:Lew@...
http://www.chaddnorcal.org/newsletter
Fax or Voice Message: 510-291-2950
Toll Free 888-759-9758