There are many ADHD resources on the Internet.
The YouTube channel HowToADHD is the best one.
When clients and their families to me about ADHD resources, one of the very first that I bring up is HowToADHD. It is a masterful YouTube channel hosted by Jessica McCabe that is informative, funny, and thoughtful.
The best ADHD Resource on the Internet is HowToADHD. The channel has been running since 2016 and currently has over 300 videos. Most are between 5 and 15 minutes long. They cover dozens of issues related to ADHD, including succeeding at school, handling chores, relaxation techniques, ways to keep organized, managing friendships and romantic relationships, etc.
Why is it so good?
These videos are full of clinically accurate information. In addition, Ms. McCabe speaks from experience. Diagnosed with ADHD as a 12-year-old, she includes real-life perspectives and anecdotes in her videos. They are full of humor and energy that most therapists would love to match in their patient sessions.
Many modern Internet content has become a mess of copying and pasting what other, usually non-expert, creators have already posted. HowToADHD is full of recent academic research made accessible to anyone. It also includes unique stories from the host and her collaborators that offer fresh insights into living and managing ADHD.
There are hundreds (probably thousands) of books written about understanding ADHD, treating ADHD, and living with ADHD. Many of them are outstanding. I recommend my of my favorites to clients who have ADHD. But the problem is that many of them, even when very insightful, are pretty dry. And part of having ADHD is that reading dry material is very, very difficult (even when the person with ADHD really wants to read it!)
Anyone interested in learning more about ADHD can go to the HowToADHD YouTube channel and browse the videos by name. Find a topic that sounds interesting and watch the video. Come back whenever you want to. Skip the ones you are not interested in.
A big part of psychology is trying to combine good information (right thing) with effective ways to present that information to patients (right way).
Watching instructional videos on YouTube can be a wonderful method to learn things. HowToADHD has great content.
Right thing. Right way.
Who is the Best Audience?
In my experience, this channel is best for patients in their late teens and older. I have recommended the channel to children, younger teens, and their families. The feedback I have heard is that patients in their early teens and younger like many of the jokes, but that the concepts often go over their heads. Older teens and parents of clients have told me they find the channel more useful.
Of course, this is 2024, so there is HowToADHD on X, Reddit, Instagram, and all the other usual platforms. Ms. McCabe also recently had a book published on managing ADHD. She has been a guest on numerous podcasts and has even given a TED Talk. And these are all good. (I suspect. I haven’t read the book yet.) But my home base, my first recommendation, is always the YouTube channel.
I have lost count of how many times I have recommended HowToADHD to clients and their families. This is the kind of content that folks like me who grew up in the 80s and 90s thought would be all over the internet in the coming decades. We weren’t completely right, but sites like HowToADHD demonstrate the best of what the internet can be.
I recommend this channel to anyone looking to learn more about ADHD.
I hope you find it as helpful as I do.
David Nathan, MBA, PsyD, LP
I offer ADHD testing in St. Paul, MN. I would love to help you or a loved one if you are seeking an ADHD evaluation. For more information, please call me at (651) 337-3944.