Unclutterer

1. Posted by KatesMom - 08/14/2009

   Setting up a google calendar for an older child can be a great help. Texts can be sent to his or her cell phone as a neutral, non-naggy reminders of due dates and appointments. Both parent and child can access the calendar to schedule events. It saved me from constantly reminding my child of what to do and where to be when. Be sure to set up the feature that gives a little reminder 10-30 minutes ahead. Standard texting rates apply, so look into an unlimited plan!

2. Posted by Gena - 08/14/2009

   We also have a son w/ ADHD. Lists hung up in obvious places have been a lifesaver. He has a morning, afternoon, and evening checklist that’s largely eliminated the daily nagging. The school provides (for a small fee) student planners. That, coupled with their website, has helped him to start to develop some organizational skills around his homework. He also has a single folder that’s always in his backpack for all homework that needs to be turned in, so the “I left my math folder at home” excuse isn’t a factor. It does get better as they get older!

3. Posted by Ismael - 08/14/2009

   As a high school student attending a magnet school with ADHD, I recommend three things: medication, notes, and GTD.

   Medication (I’m on Straterra, a non-stimulant) helps me to focus and, more importantly, maintain that focus without drifting off in class. Taking notes on graph paper has also helped me immensely, because it lets me structure them however I want and still keep them neat (my handwriting is a mess on unlined paper). The last thing that has really, really helped me to stay on top of things has been applying parts of the GTD method. I always have something to write things down with, and I dump my day’s load into The Hit List to organize eveything (but you could use a notebook, planner, etc. for the same purpose) once I get home.

4. Posted by Tonya - 08/14/2009

   Thank you, thank you, thank you. These are great suggestions. I am actually a 30 year old part time college student who was properly diagnosed last year. I have been taking Straterra (a God-send) and working on organization. I had terrible issues when I was in school but at the time ADHD was “a boys” disorder so I was never diagnosed. These are tips that were never given to me, I was never taught how to take notes. I will be using graph paper or the cornell formula for sure this fall! The graph paper idea sounds like it will work wonders. I have trouble with structure of lined sheets and unlined sheets leave my writing a total mess!

5. Posted by Beth - 08/14/2009

   Wow, this strikes a chord with me! As a mom in my mid-thirties only recently diagnosed with ADD, I’m still finding my way toward better organization and follow-through. Wish I’d known/done differently while in school!

   I’ve always been imaginitive and chose a creative field (writing), but I work in a logical industry (computer engineering). But being on time, focusing on the task at hand, planning ahead, and sticking to the plan are still tough for me. Add in two preschoolers, and I am coping with a lot of distraction and works in progress.

   It’s so delightful to read this because I was doing some of these things without being told. Like quad paper! I have been particular about using graph paper for my personal and school notes since senior year of high school. I thought it was just my quirky preference, but I’m seeing how it serves my style of thinking in several ways:
   – No imposed margins; I choose my own.
   – Can flip the book 90 deg for sketches, etc.
   – I make a _lot_ of checklists.
   – Scalable; I write larger or smaller depending on context.
   – Has a pleasing and orderly rhythm to my visual sense.

   I strongly agree that the medication helps, so I have a silent reminder to tell myself to “Rx, darling” at the same time each day. A cute SMTWTFS pill holder helps keep that on track. These little helpers do so much.

   I’m so impressed to hear from younger people who already employ strategies to help them achieve their goals. And thanks for sharing new techniques to try. Please keep them coming!

6. Posted by Kimberly - 08/14/2009

   I am an adult with ADHD and a teacher.

   Timers are great I use them for keeping me on track both at home and at work. I get timers for my students we use them for in class projects.

   I also use them when students go to work in the computer lab or library. Since all the computer clocks are off from school time and different rooms don’t have their clocks set correctly to school time – the clocks are useless.

   So I buy timers that students can clip to their clothes. I tell them be back in X minutes – they set the timer for X-2. Go do what they need come back when the timer goes off and they are back for the next activity.

7. Posted by Laina - 08/14/2009

   I teach 7th grade English. Here are a few strategies that help some of my students with ADD/ADHD:

   1. doodle during class (teachers should be informed that this helps the student focus, so they aren’t told not to)
   2. gum chewing (having something physical to do while listening or working helps many students focus on the task at hand; this also usually requires special permission as gum is banned in most schools)
   3. stress ball
   4. be given a copy of teacher or other student’s notes to compare his own to afterwords, so he doesn’t worry so much about missing information
   5. Graphic Organizers!!! (for essays & writing assignments)

   Hope these help!

8. Posted by gypsy packer - 08/15/2009

   Thank you for the info on the Cornell System. I don’t have ADHD but I get in study time on software while answering phones and doors. This will aid any multitasker in learning while distracted.

9. Posted by Lori Paximadis - 08/15/2009

   I find it fascinating that so many commenters love the graph paper. I am not ADHD, but I, too, much prefer taking notes on graph paper. I love the grid-iness of it, yet it’s flexible so I can divide it up any way that works for the particular thing I’m working on.

   *Everyone* should experiment with different styles of note taking and with different types of writing instruments and papers to find what works best for them. (I still have flashbacks to having our notes “graded” in junior high. Mine were never “organized” enough for that teacher, although they worked quite well for me. Ugh.)

10. Posted by john glennon - 08/15/2009

    As a former elementary school principal, I am quite aware that attention difficulties are just the tip of the iceberg. ADHD children can’t filter out distractions, finish tasks on-time, use their memory optimally, etc. A pill doesn’t teach these skills.

    My wife and I opted to use cognitive training for our son, Alex. We used Play Attention (www.playattention.com) and ADHD Nanny (www.adhdnanny.com). We’ve been very successful with these approaches. We also changed our parenting skills with great success.

    It’s just important to know that medicine teaches nothing. Parents and teachers must actively participate to help change a child’s life.

11. Posted by Lynne Kenney - 08/15/2009

    Erin, You write so succinctly what a great site. I visited NSGCD, that’s a nice resource. Re-blogged you on my site this am. Do you rec Peter Walsh books? What other org authors do you like, I rec Meryl Starr often. Thank you. Lynne

12. Posted by Another Deb - 08/15/2009

    Thanks to Erin and the other posters for insight on successful ADHD strategies. This year, I am hearing from parents who have ADHD children that are unmedicated because the parents cannot afford to do so.

    My school teaches Cornell Notes schoolwide. The junior high kids don’t like it, but of course they never like taking notes I spend a lot of time training them and making sure to revisit the notes and show their usefulness.

    You’ve all given be a plan for my year. Since my first class of the day includes most of my special needs kids, I plan to incorporate a 2 or 3 times weekly notebook check and organizational time. I used to assume that other content area teachers like English (for some reason) were doing this, but really, no one does.I have an aide that period and she will be invaluable in this effort. My content area is science but I will make time to get my inclusion students ready for their day!

13. Posted by Gena - 08/15/2009

    I agree that a pill doesn’t teach organizational skills. For some kids, however, having medication in addition to active parenting and input from teachers can be the difference between success and failure. Please be cautious about judging those who do medicate. Not all kids benefit strictly from cognitive training. There is enough stigma around ADD/ADHD already.

14. Posted by Jessica - 08/15/2009

    I was diagnosed ADD when I was young, but I’m not entirely sure that it was correct. When I was in Elementary school, I remember a method called the SQ3R method that sounds very similar to the system you mentioned in the article.

    I think it’s a great point to mention trying out different types of paper, but for me it was different colors of pens. I was in High School when I realized that my eyes / brain would glaze over notes that I took in black ink, but would pick up on blue pen ink better. I also learned that I didn’t like Papermate pens because they would blot too often, but that I preferred Bics (at the time, a particular type of Bic pen).

    In my agenda I would also color code my homework. If I had: History, English and French homework, I would write the homework on the date it was due (something like: History: read pages 145-153) and highlight the History orange. (funny that I still remember the color code)

    I also developed a preference for check boxes on my to do lists as an adult.

    I think that the key point here is to not to be afraid to let your son try out different methods. When I was growing up, my mother was an organizer and would force her organization methods / styles on me. When I finally took the time to try new stuff and adapt things to my own tastes, I learned much better.

15. Posted by Victoria - 08/16/2009

    Please, please, please, research this law (primary & college students @public schools): Individuals with Disabilities Education Act(IDEA), make sure you have “medical” diagnosis, and find yourself an “Advocate” online to help you obtain your rights: free second set of textbooks(!!), teachers notes, extended time for tests, help remembering assignments, less distracting environments for tests, many more. I’m not surprised that no one has commented on this–teachers have very little knowledge of this law unless they have a special education background–the principal listed above surprises me though. You can actually ask that you school test your children for disabilities; however, my experience is that they will not find the problem–son ADD from kindergarten, daughter ADD & dyslexic, both doing poorly gradewise & tested by schools, but not diagnosed until we went outside the “system” when both in 10th grade, not graduating seemed imminent. Sadly, it is easier to get a child who excells into a “gifted” program than it is to get a struggling child these Federally-guaranteed rights–my actual experience. Oh, my daughter’s IQ top 10% of her peers…

16. Posted by Chouchou - 08/16/2009

    As a teacher, I think parents should help their students with a positive attitude. We may not love every single teacher (I sure didn’t!), but we can take charge of our education and do our best. In some cases, the student can learn a valuable lesson about working well with “difficult” people (people we don’t mesh with instantly). Switching sections is not the automatic answer/.

17. Posted by Mike C - 08/17/2009

    I know somebody that made it through college and has become successful in life while dealing with ADHD. He wrote a book called “College Confidence with ADHD”:

    http://bit.ly/126aZo

    Mike

18. Posted by Cynde - 08/17/2009

    Don’t forget what happens when you come home from school. Have a dedicated place to put backpack/ folders/ keys so they don’t get lost under the piles… Set up a comfortable study area (I’m still working on this one) with no T.V. – but like many of us with ADD, I always focused better with music on in the background – although I had to listen to music without lyrics (classical worked the best) otherwise I would start focusing on the words instead of whatever I was supposed to be doing. Have someone to hold you accountable who knows all of the excuses…

19. Posted by Vicki - 08/18/2009

    I suggest to my students who have trouble with distracting thoughts while writing papers that they keep a side list and just jot down the random distracting thoughts for later followup (or not). Most important: turn off email, texting, social media while writing assignments.

20. Posted by Anne Louise Bannon - 08/19/2009

    I also have ADD and have a horrible time sitting still and listening. For some reason, doodling does not help me. It’s probably not likely that kids in a school setting will be able to take advantage (although it’d be great if there were a few wise teachers/administrators out there who picked up on these special helps), but what helps me get through meetings, seminars and talks is knitting. It was a bit of a struggle for me to sit still long enough to get the hang of it, but once I did – it’s like night and day in my ability to focus and not crawl out of my skin just sitting there. In fact, I went ahead and brought my knitting to class through my masters program and only teacher asked about it and it was because he wanted to know what I was making.

    I hate it that knitting doesn’t “look professional,” or that people think you’re not paying attention when you do, because I pay better attention with some sticks and yarn in my hands. And while gender image issues might be a problem, I’m seeing more and more young guys knitting and sewing and I think it’s terrific and about time!

    Maybe we need to unite and declare knitting and other needle work as the important crafts and useful attention helps they are!

21. Posted by Ann - 08/19/2009

    I agree with Vicki’s post. Have dedicated homework time with no distractions. We gave our son a cell phone at the end of 8th grade and regretted it during 9th grade. He thought he could do his homework and text back & forth at the same time. I had to set up dedicated homework time without the cell phone on. Found out my phone carrier allows certain times of the day to be blocked out from texting, which is wonderful, but this was for texting only, not phone calls.

    Additionally, he still struggled through 9th grade with not writing down homework in his agenda book, not knowing where requirements were for assignments, especially long term assignments which often were started at the last minute.

    We set up a system where I would email all his teachers every Thurs pm with a request for what homework was being assinged for the upcoming week including any upcoming tests, quizzes or projects and was anything not turned in. Most of them were pretty good about emailing me back. There is always one or two that aren’t so good.

    The more info you can get the teachers to send or email you the better. Also, having two sets of books is a good idea, as one was lost this past school year and we had to pay to replace it.

22. Posted by Sandra - 08/28/2009

    Having taught at the Eaton Arrowsmith School for five years now, and having been a special education teacher for seven years before that, I have had the privilege of working with many students with attention difficulties. All of these students were very bright, but struggled with planning, prioritizing, organization, time management, focus and motivation. Sometimes the attention difficulties were as a result of chemical deficiencies in the brain, more often than not, however, the root cause was other learning difficulties. Having other learning difficulties…such as slow auditory processing, weak perceptual or conceptual understanding, difficulties with visual processing, or having a hard time understanding or relating to social situations makes it very hard to pay attention. All of one’s effort and energy is taken up trying to keep pace, which therefore leaves very little ability to stay focused. By working through the exercises of the Arrowsmith Program students target the specific brain areas that are weak, and, over time, strengthen them so that those areas now have the ability to process larger amounts of material more quickly and efficiently. The students tend to spend a few years with us and then transfer back into typical public, private school or job settings not requiring the accommodations (work around strategies) that they required before. They are able to attend to information and interact in school and life in an independent fashion. The intelligence is never the issue for students with attention difficulties…the underlying specific learning weaknesses very well may be!

23. Posted by kathy@brazoscowgirl - 08/29/2009

    I am a mom of two ADHD kids. What few will tell you is the diet is a very important part of the situation. For many reasons my oldest refused meds at about age 15, so we as a family had to figure out how make it work for Dunk.

    Here is what we did notice, sleep is a very important part of the brain of an ADHD kid. We put our kids on a 3 mg of melatonin at night. After a week or two they just feel different because the brain has finally rested.

    My oldest is more verbal about what he feels with ADHD. So we were able to tweak many things and ask him. We don’t use colorings if we can help it. Red is one of the “triggers”. We try to do a protein heavy breakfast, it is brain food. Sugar can make both of mine hit the ceiling, so check your juice boxes. Try to stick to as natural food as possible. One day I bought Pringles as a lark on sale, both of them were as hyper as could be. My guess is something to make it tastes good makes them hyper.

    Along with all the rest of the stuff people have suggested I would try this too.

    Also if you email the teachers and get big assignments ahead of time it helps prod the kid to getting tasks done on time.

24. Posted by GLENDA - 11/18/2009

    My son has/had ADHD. One thing that helped him was to read books & have the same book on tape to listen to as he read. Bookears carries a lot of books that match the books he was required to read. Be sure book & tape match as in abridged or unabridged. He went to a wonderful school & we payed dearly for his education there-they had special classes for these kids-but, now he is an engineer & very successful & a very smart person. most of these kids are very smart. lso, before these types of classes, when my sister was little she used a book marker to stay on task with reading-her eyes got lost on the page-She ended up a teacher.
    Another thing that helped her was flashcards. My son, however, hated them. Kids are auditory, visual or tachtile learners. One kid in my sons class had to be moving as he learned. This may have distracted others, but over the year they all learned to deal with it.
    And, finally, they taught my son to be organized. I wish everyone, including myself, could take that course! They told the kids-no whining & no excuses-you will learn to study ANYWHERE, ANYTIME!!! And they did! Whatever you do DON”T GIVE UP ON YOUR CHILD! SEEK HELP EVERYWHEZRE.

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