On Thursday, November 5, Storm King’s Director of Academic Support David Mendlewski joined more than 1,000 members of the global ADHD community at the 2020 Virtual International Conference on ADHD. During his presentation, he discussed his brainchild “Focused Riding”– a unique program that combines mountain bike skill-building with personal development and academic support.

The event, hosted by CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), ADDA (Attention Deficit Disorder Association), and ACO (ADHD Coaches Organization), provided participants with three days of ADHD-focused science, education, and other essential information in an interactive, virtual format.

“The Focused Riding program is designed to increase attention, focus, and mindfulness for students with ADHD and executive functioning challenges,” explained Mr. Mendlewski, who is an avid mountain biker and a mountain biking coach. “I got the idea after a friend, whose 14-year-old son was diagnosed with ADHD, told me how mountain biking had helped the boy improve his focus and his organizational and time management skills in school. It seemed only natural to combine my 20-plus years of working with kids with attention deficit disorders and other learning challenges with my passion for mountain biking.”

 

 

Focused Riding has been offered as a summer program at Storm King for the past several years and its popularity continues to grow. According to Mr. Mendlewski, the program’s mixture of rigorous riding and daily exercise, academic work, healthy eating, and limiting the use of electronics has been the key to its success.

 

 

“I was thrilled to be chosen to present Focused Riding to such a wide audience at the International Conference,” explained Mr. Mendlewski. “It was a pleasure to share some of my philosophies on why this program benefits students with ADHD and learning differences and to talk about the specifics of the program. Likewise, connecting with colleagues from all over the country including educators, mental health clinicians, coaches, advocates, as well as adults with ADHD, and parents and caregivers of children with ADHD was invaluable.”

 

 

“As Focused Riding and the success of the program continue to develop, I hope to bring this presentation to other audiences in a similar format around the country,” continued Mr. Mendlewski. “I also have an article coming up in the January 2021 issue of Attention magazine, so stay tuned for more to come on Focused Riding.”