Children and adults with A.D.D./A.D.H.D. can not only survive, but thrive. Work and school success is directly related to winning strategies and effective structure. The first step is to identify which areas of life are difficult to manage. The second step is to evaluate one’s learning style: visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. The final step is to use the data to employ individualized strategies and maximize personal success.
Symptoms are as variable from one person to another as the individuals themselves. Therefore, the first step is to identify those which are causing frustration. Commonly experienced manifestations include, but are not limited to: hyperactivity, impulse control issues (i.e. blurting out non sequitors, frequently interrupting others, emotional over-reactivity), becoming lost in daydreams and fantasy thinking, difficulty following rules, submitting incomplete work or missing deadlines entirely, misunderstanding instructions, losing track of time, clutter, chronic disorganization and the consequent vulnerability to stress and emotional overload.
People with A.D.D. tend to be concrete thinkers. Visual learners, who learn through reading and observing, succeed by writing things down and utilizing flash cards as well as the computer. Auditiory learners, who learn through listening, succeed by utilizing a tape recorder, role playing, reciting facts, using acronyms, oral testing, and asking another person to read to them. Although most people with A.D.D. learn best through holistically taking part in an experience, some are more kinesthetic than others. These individuals learn best by physically touching materials, building things or moving them. Manipulatives are highly effective as are projects which require making something (i.e. collages, clay objects) and acting things out.
Winning strategies which are successfully employed with both adults and children include, but are not limited to: maintaining a “schedule of the day,” listing and crossing off completed tasks, dividing big projects into mini-steps, utilizing analog clocks and timers to stay on task, taking frequent breaks, reducing distractions, minimizing clutter, exercising regularly to release pent-up energy, writing down even simple directions and procedures, color coding folders, and using clear plastic boxes to organize possessions (people with A.D.D. tend to be “pilers” rather than “filers”).
The one most important ingredient to success is the willingness to reach out to others for help. The reason for this is two-fold. Firstly, people with A.D.D. are usually unaware of the manner in which their A.D.D. behavior contributes to life’s challenges. Invariably, others misinterpret their interrupting as rudeness, their forgetfulness as thoughtlessness, and the unintended effects of their chronic disorganization as laziness or outright defiance. Is it any wonder that these missed signals so often result in poor school and job performance as well as broken relationships? Emotional burn-out and low self-esteem naturally follow.
Secondly, if people with A.D.D. could do it alone, they would have. Friends and loved ones are excellent resources to gently point out social gaffes, destructive habits, assist with setting priorities and making checklists, create and maintain organizational systems, and celebrate victories. Professional organizers and cleaners reduce stress and increase productivity. Succeeding with A.D.D. is a team approach, I can attest to that first-hand.
As always, I welcome your questions and comments. Contact me at [email protected].
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