First online Canadian ADHD magazine coming Saturday

For years, Canadians dealing with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD have been turning to American publications for information and support.

But a new Canadian magazine is changing that.

 Everyday ADDvice is the first online magazine aimed at helping Canadians dealing with ADHD.

“I want them to know that they’re not alone,” says founder Karen Ryan, who lives in Vancouver.

Ryan discovered the lack of resources for those suffering with ADHD in Canada when her son was diagnosed with the disorder at the age of seven.

“We have other organizations that advocate for ADHD but the only other ADHD magazine I found on the market was from the US,” she says.

“Finding contributors is also a challenge.”

Ryan says that because of the lack of ADHD support in Canada, she also had a hard time finding concrete information about Canadians suffering with the disorder.

“Trying to pinpoint Canadian stats on ADHD is like trying to find a needle in a haystack and I don’t know why.”

Nova Scotia voice

Keith Gelhorn, an editor for Everyday ADDvice and owner of ADDvocacy ADHD and Life Skills Coaching Ltd. in Eastern Passage, says the magazine will “give that lived experience” to readers.

“Any way to raise awareness here in Canada is huge,” he says.“It’s the most common mental health condition in children but the resources just aren’t there.”

Inside

The magazine will feature a combination of professional opinion and personal stories from those dealing with ADHD. Ryan says around 60 per cent of the articles will be geared to parents and coaches but the magazine will also include advice for adults living with ADHD.

It will also touch on mental issues associated with ADHD, such as anxiety disorders and depression.

The first issue, which goes online Saturday, is focused on time management and ADHD.

It will also include the personal story of a tutor working with a student with ADHD who, Ryan says, “learned more from the student than the student did from him.”

Ryan says that the busy nature of websites can sometimes “seem confusing” to people with ADHD, and that an online magazine will benefit them because it is “much easier for them to navigate.”

“If ADHDers are going to look at a website they will probably get frustrated and move on because that’s just how they are,” she says.

A new issue of the magazine will be published every two months. Ryan says she eventually hopes to get enough support to publish monthly.