(NAPSI)—ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder defined by impairing levels of inattention, disorganization, and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity. For people with ADHD, these behaviors are more severe, occur more often, and interfere with or reduce the quality of how they function socially, at school, or in a job.

Does your child with ADHD struggle in the morning?

Does your child with ADHD barely complete basic daily tasks, such as getting dressed, brushing teeth or simply eating breakfast? If so, you are not alone. In a survey of 200 parents with children diagnosed with ADHD, more than 90 percent felt that ADHD symptoms negatively impacted their early morning routine.

For families with children affected by ADHD, the early morning routine is challenging at best, chaotic at worst. Problems can impact every member of the family and set a negative tone for the rest the day. Dr. Ann Childress, a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at Center for Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Inc. has many patients—and families—who struggle every morning simply to get out the door. Here are some of the most common questions she receives from these families—and her responses.

Why does my child with ADHD have so much difficulty in the morning?

The early morning routine can be especially challenging for people with ADHD. Getting ready for the day requires ongoing focus and depends upon our ability to remember and manage multi-step information, a capacity psychologists call working memory. Both children and adults with ADHD struggle with deficits in focus and/or working memory.

Getting ready for the day also requires us to finish many complex activities in a short time, such as completing a hygiene routine, making and eating breakfast, or packing a backpack, all before the school bus pulls up or the car pool arrives. Research shows that, when compared with typical peers, people with ADHD find it harder to gauge the passage of time—and thus find it more difficult to complete these early morning activities on time.

My child takes medication for ADHD that usually works. Why are mornings still so hard?

For individuals who rely on a stimulant medication to help them during the day, the early morning can still represent an ADHD blind spot. What does this mean? Most stimulant medications are taken in the morning with breakfast and they may take some time to work (anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours).6 Thus ADHD patients will not necessarily experience the benefits of ordinary stimulant medication in the early morning hours, making the morning routine one of the most difficult parts of the day for the patient-and for his or her loved ones.

My entire family has been negatively affected by one member’s early morning ADHD symptoms. What can I do to help?

Parents and caregivers can use behavioral strategies to improve specific behaviors that may prevent children from getting ready in the morning. Tactics to help children complete morning activities may include the following, either alone or in combination:

• Setting multiple alarms to encourage timely completion of different tasks
• Using behavior charts and incentive programs
• Creating and using sequencing charts to outline the steps of critical activities
• Utilizing checklists.

Some families choose to alter how they administer stimulant medications. In these cases, one parent or caregiver will wake and dose the child in the wee hours, approximately two hours prior to the family’s usual wakeup time. Next, the parent will encourage the child to go back to sleep, hoping the medication will take effect before breakfast.7 However, this routine often proves disruptive for both parent and child, both of whom may have difficulty returning to sleep.?

If you think ADHD has an impact on your mornings, consider taking a quiz at theADHDmorningquiz.com. The interactive quiz helps identify ADHD symptoms that make the morning routine a challenge. You’ll also be given access to a Doctor Discussion Guide to help start the conversation about mornings with ADHD.

Tips for Managing ADHD in the Morning

• Be a morning realist. Setting unrealistic goals can set you up for failure. Being realistic about the early morning routine and adding a little more time to get things done will benefit the entire family.
• Alarms aren’t just for waking up. Set ‘as you go’ alarms to make sure you’re not running overtime on each task. Remember to be practical about how long things may take.

Talking to Your Doctor

Once you’ve made the appointment with your doctor, start writing down what you want to discuss about your mornings with ADHD. Here are some suggestions from the Doctor Discussion Guide that you’ll find when you take theADHDmorningquiz.com:

• Describe any challenges during the early morning routine.
• How do these difficulties affect the rest of the day?
• What specific ADHD symptoms are a problem in the early morning?
• What actions have you taken to try to make mornings go more smoothly? How have those helped (if at all)?
• Would it be helpful to have an ADHD medication that works when you wake up?

To learn more about morning challenges with ADHD, please visit www.adhdmorning.com.

(NAPSI)—It’s important to evaluate your Medicare Prescription Drug Plan every year. Your plan benefits can change, including your prescription drug coverage, premiums, deductibles and pharmacy benefits. As you do your research, you may run into a few misconceptions. Walgreens vice president of specialty and retail pharmacy operations Rina Shah debunks five common myths about Medicare Part D.

Myth 1: Your Medicare prescriptions cost the same at all pharmacies.

Fact: You often pay less on copays when you fill a Medicare Part D-covered prescription at a preferred pharmacy in your plan’s network. These savings can quickly add up.

Myth 2: Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plans can require you to fill prescriptions by mail.

Fact: Medicare prevents plans from requiring patients to use a mail-order pharmacy exclusively.

Myth 3: Once you pick a plan, you don’t need to review it each year.

Fact: Changes in the prescriptions you take, plan design and coverage may cause your existing plan to no longer be right for you. Your insurance provider sends a letter that describes any changes to your plan. It is important to review these changes as they could impact your total cost.

Myth 4: It’s a good idea to pick a plan that a friend recommends.

Fact: While your friends may have good recommendations, their prescriptions and doctors are likely different from yours. Because copays for drugs are an important part of the overall Medicare costs, what works for your friend may not be the right choice for you.

Myth 5: Changing your plan means you must change your pharmacy.

Fact: Getting a new plan doesn’t always result in having to use a new pharmacy. When evaluating your plan options, always consider your preferred pharmacy as an important part of your evaluation.

When you start to research coverage, make sure your pharmacy of choice is in your plan’s preferred network. Walgreens is a preferred network pharmacy with many plans nationwide, which means you can save money on your copays.

For more information on tools to make prescription management easier, visit Walgreens.com/Medicare.

(NAPSI)—From blueberry pies with flaky buttery crusts to grilled buttered corn on the cob, summer is filled with delicious foods that bring people together. Now summertime eating is getting a makeover by swapping that pat, dab or dollop of regular dairy butter with dairy-free Plant Butter.

The trend toward plant-based eating has become a full-fledged food movement! With prominent foodies—chefs, celebrities, and authors—sharing their personal stories of switching to plant-based diets for taste, health, and better-for-the-environment reasons, more and more consumers are embracing delicious, nutritious foods derived from plants.

What’s a plant-based diet? It’s focused on foods mostly made from plants—not just vegetables and fruits, but also nuts, seeds, whole grains, legumes and beans. Plant-based diets also tend to be healthier because they are rich in fiber, good fats and added nutritionals, like vitamins.

Plant-based foods are showing-up in grocery stores across the country—including the dairy aisle. Like Country Crock® Plant Butter—a dairy-free, plant-based butter that tastes like dairy butter. It’s made from plant-based oils and features avocado oil, olive oil, or almond oil in sticks and tubs. It’s gluten-free, kosher, and is suitable for vegan diets as it’s stamped “Certified Plant Based” through the Plant Based Foods Association.

So what about a dessert to round out that summer BBQ? A berry swirl butter cake made with Country Crock® Plant Butter is easy to make and delicious. It is sure to stir up some talk when folks find out it’s made with Country Crock’s dairy-free Plant Butter! Try more recipes on www.countrycrock.com.

Berry Swirl Butter Cake

Makes: 8 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

1 cup (2 sticks) Country Crock® Plant Butter, softened (you can use Country Crock® Plant Butter with Olive Oil, Avocado Oil or Almond Oil)
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
¼ cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ cup seedless raspberry jam

1.) Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch square baking pan and line with parchment allowing extra to hang over the sides. Grease parchment.

2.) Beat Country Crock® Plant Butter with sugar in large bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

3.) Beat in eggs, one at a time, then milk and vanilla. Add flour and baking powder and beat on low speed just until blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.

4.) Stir jam until smooth. (If jam is thick, microwave 20 seconds then stir until smooth). Drop dollops of jam all over the top of cake and use a knife to swirl the jam through the surface.

5.) Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes before lifting cake out of the pan to cool completely.

Learn More

For more facts, tips and recipes, go to www.countrycrock.com.

Five Ways To Prioritize Your Family’s Physical And Mental Well-Being In Hurricane Season

(NAPSI)—The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts an average hurricane season this year, but as history has shown, the worst hurricanes are often unexpected. Last year, the seemingly mild Hurricane Michael rapidly turned into a category 5 storm, devastating parts of the Florida Panhandle. While many will stock batteries, flashlights and bottles of water, few will prep for health-related incidents or have a plan in place if a family member gets sick during a natural disaster. What’s more, such storms can be traumatic, causing stress and fear, even after they’ve blown over. It’s wise to prepare for that, too.

“In the wake of an imminent storm, many often forget that everyday life, including general illness, doesn’t stop in the midst of a natural disaster,” says Dr. Derek Bennetsen, a board-certified family physician. “Plus, the physical and mental health toll of a hurricane can be long lasting. Fortunately, you can learn effective and proven steps to prioritize your health. Have a hurricane plan that includes deciding how you and your loved ones will receive general medical care.”

Dr. Bennetsen suggests these steps you can take to prioritize your family’s health regardless of the weather:

1. Mind Your Medications. In the event of a hurricane or other disaster, getting to a pharmacy may be impossible, if it’s even open. Work with your treating physician or virtual care service to make sure your medications are stocked before a storm hits, and make sure you have a pharmacy finder in the event of evacuation.

2. Check Your First-Aid Kit. First-aid kits are rarely thought about until they’re needed. Make sure you have an ample supply of bandages, alcohol swabs and pain relievers, to manage everything from cuts and scrapes to headaches. Keep dust masks nearby and a whistle in case you need to signal for help.

3. Download the Right Apps. If power is out, conserve your cell phone battery. Get information from trusted sources. Download the Red Cross app at: www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/mobile-apps, to monitor more than 35 different emergency alerts that can help keep you and your loved ones safe. The FEMA app is also available, at www.fema.gov/mobile-app, for regular alerts from the National Weather Service. In case of evacuation or the need for care, seek out Red Cross shelters at www.redcross.org/get-help/disaster-relief-and-recovery-services/find-an-open-shelter.html. There you can get the help you need, including virtual access to doctors.

4. Be Smart About Stress. Hurricanes are stressful, even traumatic. Coping with the emotional effects of disasters is important for all ages. In the moment, try breathing exercises or tackling one item at a time on a to-do list and always consider talking to a psychologist or therapist. Telebehavioral health services such as BetterHelp (www.betterhelp.com) and Teladoc (Teladoc.com/therapy) are growing in popularity for successfully providing support on your terms, regardless of time of day or location.

“The need for quality mental health care in the face of disaster is so well documented and needed, and now, fortunately, with the prevalence of virtual care, we can connect people with the right therapist for their needs,” explains Dr. Chris Dennis, a Miami, Florida-based psychiatrist and tele-behavioral health provider.

5. Know Where to Access Care: A fever or infection is not going to wait for the storm to pass and may very well get worse if you wait. In many areas, doctors may also have evacuated or care will be difficult to access. Find out before the storm hits whether you have access to virtual care services. Disaster preparedness resources such as https://www.teladoc.com/disaster-hotline/ have thousands of physicians across the country including those who are board-certified to provide medical care.

“Whether it’s a child’s fever in the wake of a storm, or breathing issues, infections and or other illnesses incurred days or weeks after, we’ve helped patients get much needed care over the years. It’s so critically important to prioritize your health and know your options for care before you need it,” adds Dr. Bennetsen.

Learn More

For more information, visit www.Teladoc.com/disasterprep or Teladoc.com/therapy.