31 New Year (Re)solutions

Starting a new diet, exercising regularly, learning how to play guitar — New Year’s resolutions are easy to choose but hard to maintain, especially if you’re living with ADHD. This year, cut yourself some slack; instead of impractical resolutions, try implementing some of these super-practical solutions — ADHD-friendly ideas for simplifying your life straight from other ADDitude readers.

In this downloadable calendar for January 2022, we’ve selected 31 of our favorite reader-submitted tips for regaining control of your work, home, and relationships, plus your mental and physical health.

Remember: “Most systems for planning and organization are built for neurotypical brains. You must create your own ‘owners manual’ for your ADHD brain.” — William Dodson, M.D.

Visual Tools for Organization

Out of sight, out of mind — many disorganization problems in children with ADHD stem from this truism. Thanks to ADHD-related problems with focus and working memory, the things that are no longer visible are quickly forgotten.

The key to solving disorganization problems is to make the invisible visible. Here, learn how to use visual tools like checklists and whiteboards to keep your child organized.

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

The Learning Strategies That Work

Children with ADHD work hard to build a strong academic foundation, but their learning is sometimes interrupted by ADHD symptoms like impulsivity, inattention, and hyperactivity.

These practical learning strategies, designed for elementary and middle school students, pave the way to effective learning by anticipating and eradicating common challenges.

Here, learn strategies to:
1. Support reading, writing, and math skills
2. Increase focus and classroom engagement
3. Boost motivation

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

How to Build Working Memory in Children with ADHD

Working memory is an executive function that allows us to store and use items on our “mental shelf” to get things done. In school, students rely on working memory to answer questions about a text they’ve read, and to solve multi-step math problems. At home, working memory helps a child follow directions and stay on task.

Students with ADHD commonly struggle with working memory, and we can help them by doing the following:
– Break tasks into small steps
– Provide written information
– Use visual aids
– Provide a framework for information
– Develop routines
– Use checklists
– And more…

Here, find 10 tools for improving the working memory executive function that powers success and confidence at home and at school.

Download ADDitude’s full Success @ School Executive Function Action Plan here.

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

ADHD and Metacognition: A Daily Plan for Developing Positive Self-Talk

Metacognition is the executive function (EF) that helps us reflect on and manage our thoughts, attention, effort, organizational skills, and emotions.

When a child with ADHD says, “I can’t do math” or “I hate writing,” that is a sign of under-developed metacognition skills that require intervention strategies and supports. Guided questioning eventually leads children to develop their own self-talk and do their own thinking, direct their own attention, and recognize and regulate their emotions.

Here, find 19 questions to help your child develop the metacognition skills around these 5 EFs:
– Emotional regulation
– Initiation and activation
– Planning and organizing
– Sustaining attention, effort, and working memory
– Self-monitoring

Download ADDitude’s full Success @ School Executive Function Action Plan here.

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

When Executive Function Deficits Cause Classroom Disruptions

Talking too much. Blurting out answers. Leaving an assigned seat. These disruptive behaviors — commonly associated with ADHD — are often misperceived as intentional misbehavior. In truth, they are clues that point to a child’s belayed brain maturity and executive dysfunction.

For teachers: In this free download, find 12 helpful solutions to self-control and executive function weaknesses that cause classroom disruptions like talking too much, losing focus, and fidgeting loudly.

Download ADDitude’s full Success @ School Executive Function Action Plan here.

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

5 Strategies That Improve Students’ Emotional Control

Emotional control is a life-long skill that yields benefits in school, work, and relationships. Here, get simple strategies for teaching kids to recognize, name, and manage their intense ADHD emotions, including the following:

– Teach your child how their ADHD brain works
– Help your child differentiate a thinking vs. reactive brain
– Label emotions with detail
– Help your child get un-stuck by doing an emotional temperature check
– Challenge perceptions when your child seems reactive and overly emotional

Download ADDitude’s full Success @ School Executive Function Action Plan here.

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

6 Ways to Develop Emotional Control at School

Emotional regulation yields benefits in school, work, and relationships. Use these simple strategies to help kids recognize, name, and manage their intense ADHD emotions. Emotional control strategies include the following:

1. Create a “pattern interrupt” by engaging in exercise
2. Model emotional control strategies
3. Reflect on and talk about book characters’ emotions
4. Each morning, ask students to take a deep breath
5. Prompt students to step into each other’s shoes
6. Improve students’ emotional vocabulary by posting a rich word bank

Download ADDitude’s full Success @ School Executive Function Action Plan here.

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

Trouble Getting a Good Night’s Sleep?

If you’re an adult with ADHD, you probably experience one or several sleep problems – getting to bed is near impossible, falling asleep takes forever, staying asleep through the night is rare, and waking up is a nightmare on its own.

In this free ADDitude guide to sleeping better, you’ll learn:
– The most common sleep problems among adults with ADHD (there’s more than you think)
– The link between sleep problems and ADHD, as explained by science
– Sleep hygiene practices
– Strategies and tools to calm the mind and manage ADHD symptoms for better sleep – at last.

Use this free 42-page download as a guide to understanding the distinctions and similarities between ASD and ADHD in children. Access case studies illustrating the ADHD-autism link and learn:

• How to receive an accurate diagnosis for your child
• Strategies to overcoming your child’s social challenges
• How to determine if your child with ADHD is on the autism spectrum
• Effective supports for children with autism and ADHD
• The relationship between autism, ADHD, and anxiety in children

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

That said, 30 to 60 percent of autistic individuals are also affected by ADHD. Symptoms of ADHD and autism often overlap — and the signs of each condition may look different in adulthood than they did in childhood.

The signs of autism that may be mistaken for ADHD include…
– hyperfocus on a specific topic or interest
– challenges taking turns in a conversation
– challenges with adjusting behaviors to match different social contexts
– challenges with accepting feedback or corrections
– socially awkward, not “fitting in” with any social circles
– and more

In this ebook, learn about the distinguishing features of autism in different contexts, and how they are accurately diagnosed in adults. Also learn about the most commonly misdiagnosed symptoms and how they are mistaken for social anxiety disorder, personality disorder, sensory processing disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and other conditions.

Finally, learn how autism in women sometimes looks different, how to dispel four common myths about autism, and how to live your best life with adult autism.

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

Behold the “Brain Blueprint,” a tool designed to help adults with ADHD organize their thoughts, connect the dots, and find their passion – whether in a career, a college major, an investment, or when making any major life decision.

The Brain Blueprint works by asking users questions that get to core parts of themselves. Users will uncover their values, signature strengths, passions, and more, developing a sense of direction as they go.

Get started on mapping out your path toward a fuller, authentic life by downloading this free tool.

This tool came from the Fall 2020 issue of ADDitude magazine.

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

Are you the parent of a child with ADHD who is exhausted by the past several months and stressed about the school year to come?

Try:

• reordering the day to match your child’s energy
• creating distinct home work spaces in the house or outside.
• asking the teacher for a daily checklist

If you are a teacher overwhelmed by distance learning, consider increasing engagement with:

• hands on projects
• tools like audiobooks and YouTube
• recording classroom lessons
• sharing resources with parents

Download the free guide to distance learning to gain access to the rest of the strategies!

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

To that end, here is a sample schedule for parents of elementary school children who need structure and routine while learning to learn from home. This schedule may be too aggressive for your child. Maybe it is not jam-packed enough to keep them occupied. Either way, please see this as a starting point or a source of modification ideas for your existing schedule. We hope it helps!

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD) or learning disabilities (LD) face numerous challenges at school. They might forget to turn in assignments, struggle to pay attention in class, or be unable to meet deadlines. Interacting with peers can also be a nightmare for students who struggle with social skills. Low self-esteem and defiant behavior are common among students with ADHD and LD.

Parents of these children can be just as discouraged by these issues. The daily frustrations, set backs, and challenges are draining and can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Additionally, parent-child relationships suffer when tensions run high. To stop the negative spiral, parents can use these expert rules to motivate with positivity and to teach their children to value the learning process.

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.