Our Blog: Upward Alabama

Sleep Problems...Symptom or Disorder?

By Misti Norton, Ph.D.

Posted: February 1, 2025

Are sleep problems a symptom or an independent disorder? They can be both! Sleep challenges are a component of many disorders. Indeed, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5th addition (DSM-V) lists disturbed sleep as a symptom of depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Although sleep problems are not an explicit symptom of disorders such as OCD, ADHD, and autism, clients with these diagnoses frequently report that their sleep is poor. If low-quality sleep is a symptom, will treating depression, anxiety, or PTSD also fix sleep? In many cases, sleep problems persist even after other symptoms have been successfully relieved. Does it make sense to start with addressing sleep or addressing the other disorder?

What is Executive Functioning Coaching for ADHD?

By Susan Rathmell, Ph.D.

ADHD

Posted: January 14, 2025

The gold-standard therapy approach for clients who want to learn to manage their ADHD symptoms is Executive Functioning Coaching. Sometimes people think that this term means that only individuals who are professionals in executive-level jobs are appropriate for this therapy. That is a common misunderstanding. Executive Functioning in this instance actually refers to the specific parts of the brain and the tasks associated with them that the therapy addresses. ADHD generally involves abilities that are grouped together under the title Executive Functioning, which is a fancy way of referring to the following types of tasks: sustaining attention and avoiding distraction, committing day-to-day information to memory and being able to recall it later, organizing and following through with assignments and projects, regulating intense emotions, and fitting in socially with peers and colleagues.

What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? Is it treatable?

By Misti Norton, Ph.D.

OCD

Posted: December 31, 2024

We’ve all probably heard someone described as “so OCD” and you may have even identified yourself this way! Many fans insist on wearing their lucky shirts to watch all Alabama or Auburn football games and may even have other rituals that they always do leading up to Game Day. My Granny and I took a wonderful trip to Ireland together many years ago and had the opportunity to kiss the famous Blarney Stone, which would allegedly give us the gift of eloquence. She wanted to disinfect the stone prior to kissing it! Are these actions indicative of OCD?

Do I (Or My Child) Have Autism, ADHD, or Both?

By Kathleen Ramsey, Ph.D.

Autism & ADHD Evaluation

Posted: December 13, 2024

You may be surprised to learn that until 2013, both ADHD and Autism could not be diagnosed together – According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), a person could only have one or the other. As the field has learned more about neurodevelopmental conditions through research, we now understand that ADHD and Autism can not only co-occur, but that that is actually the norm rather than the exception! In fact, somewhere between 50-70% of autistic people also have ADHD. Colloquially, you may have heard of this as “AuDHD.” Many people who have ADHD display some traits of autism despite not meeting full diagnostic criteria, and vice versa. It can also be tricky to tell the two conditions apart at times due to symptom overlap and how similarly the conditions can present. So how do we tell them apart, and how do we know when someone has both? Let’s dig into these two conditions a bit more.