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Call Number: MG YAN

Sublocation: Realistic Fiction

Interest Level: 3-6

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ADHD and Time Management: Strategies for Staying Organized and Productive for Young Kids

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Navigating the world with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can present unique challenges, especially when it comes to managing time effectively. Young minds bustling with creativity and curiosity may find it challenging to stay organized and productive amidst the distractions of everyday life. However, with the right strategies and support, children with ADHD can develop crucial skills for time management, enabling them to thrive in various aspects of their lives.Understanding ADH

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"The ADHD world is curvilinear. Past, present, and future are never separate and distinct. Everything...

Brain MRI is a new and experimental tool in the world of ADHD research. Though brain scans cannot yet...

There’s a lot more to task switching and transitions than meets the eye. ADHD-related issues with...

A professor analyzes the essays of French writer Michel de Montaigne, and finds his brilliance may be...

Time management is tricky for ADHD brains. Good thing we are so good at devising clever,...

The volatile (and sometimes destructive) emotions associated with ADHD can manifest as frustration,...

Powerful, erratic, and somewhat mysterious, hyperfocus is a state familiar to any individual with...

Research shows that physical activity sparks real, positive changes in the brain that increase...

Ever wonder why your brain is always trying to pull you away from the task at hand? It may be related...

Impulsivity is not simply rudeness or lack of self-discipline. Impulse controls is a function of the...

Dr. Daniel Amen posits that there are 7 types of ADD (or ADHD) — each with its own unique symptoms,...

In this hour-long webinar-on-demand, learn how lifestyle and environmental factors impact ADHD with...

Access the video replay, listen to the podcast episode (#286), download the slide presentation, and...

Access the video replay, listen to the podcast episode (#152), and download the slide presentation...

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Understanding the ADHD Mind: Neuroscience of Symptoms

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The ADHD mind is unique. It regulates attention and emotions in different ways than a neurotypical brain would. It's also terrifically creative, adventurous, and sensitive. Understand more about th...

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Call Number: 616 KEL

Sublocation: Non-Fiction

Interest Level: Adult

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Kate Kelly (Author), Peggy Ramundo (Author), Edward M. Hallowell M.D. (Foreword) & 0 more

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You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!: The Classic Self-Help Book for Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder

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You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!: The Classic Self-Help Book for Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder : Kelly, Kate, Ramundo, Peggy, Hallowell M.D., Edward M.: Amazon.sg: Books

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Call Number: 153.7 MAR

Sublocation: Non-Fiction

Interest Level: Adult

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Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity

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Call Number: 616 HAL

Sublocation: Non-Fiction

Interest Level: Adult

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Call Number: PD 371.94 KEW

Sublocation: Professional Development

Interest Level: Professional

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100 ideas for supporting pupils with ADHD book

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Call Number: PD 616.85 HAL

Sublocation: Professional Development

Interest Level: Adult

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Call Number: 305 MOO

Sublocation: Non-Fiction

Interest Level: Adult

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Call Number: PAR 371 RIP

Sublocation: Non-Fiction

Interest Level: Adult

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Call Number: F WIL (David Watson Library)

Sublocation: Realistic Fiction

Reading Level: 6.1

Interest Level: 5-8

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Call Number: F GAN (David Watson)

Sublocation: Realistic Fiction

Reading Level: 4.9

Interest Level: 5-8

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Call Number: F CAR (David Watson Library)

Sublocation: Realistic Fiction

Reading Level: 5.0

Interest Level: 3-6

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Call Number: YA EDD

Sublocation: Realistic Fiction

Interest Level: Young Adult

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Call Number: YA GER

Sublocation: Realistic Fiction

Interest Level: 5-8

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Call Number: F KLU

Sublocation: Fantasy

Interest Level: Young Adult

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Call Number: MG RIO

Sublocation: Fantasy

Reading Level: 4.1 / Interest Level: 5-8

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Divergent mind : thriving in a world that wasn't designed for you

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Glow kids : how screen addiction is hijacking our kids--and how to break the trance

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ADHD, Executive Function & Behavioral Challenges in the Classroom : Managing the Impact on Learning, Motivation and Stress

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NCMH (National Centre for Mental Health)

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If your child has ADHD, it's important to talk with him about it.

"It's never too early to start talking with your child about his ADHD," says Patricia Collins, PhD, director of the Psychoeducational Clinic at North Carolina State University.

You want them to be involved, to understand, and to be on board," says Terry Dickson, MD, director of the Behavioral Medicine Clinic of NW Michigan and an ADHD coach. "I have two children with ADHD, so I can speak from experience here."

What you say should be appropriate for his age, but your goal is the same: To help your child understand what ADHD means, what it doesn't mean, and how to be successful at school and in life. You'll talk about it many times as your child grows and develops.

"You need to help your child feel special, and like he is part of the plan," Dickinson says.

These 8 tips can help:

2. DO pick the discussion time wisely.

"It should be a time when you are unlikely to be interrupted," Collins says.

Try to pick a time when your child isn't eager to do something else, like playing outside or before dinner or bed.

Leave some time for follow-up, so you're available to the child after the conversation is over if he has extra questions.

3. DO let your child know he's not alone.

Many other people have ADHD, too, and everyone with ADHD can be successful.

Give your child examples of people who have or had ADHD that they might know, like Walt Disney, Michael Phelps, and singer Adam Levine. It may help your child to talk with someone who has ADHD, such as a relative or close family friend.

Let your child know he is special and can succeed.

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If your child has ADHD, it's important to talk with him about it. "It's never too early to start talking with your child about his ADHD," says Patricia Collins, PhD, director of the Psychoeducational Clinic at North Carolina State University.

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Jami Demuth is the mother of three children in their teens, all of whom have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Her parenting strategy? She encourages them to find ways to use their ADHD symptoms to their advantage.

"I tell my kids all the time, [ADHD] is your greatest superpower," says Demuth. "And I believe that 100%. Yes, there are some challenges that come along with it. ... But overall, it being a superpower certainly outweighs those challenges."

This may not be the case for all kids. And it's always important to manage the symptoms of ADHD. But often, recognizing positive traits and helping your child focus on them can build confidence and teach them to overcome obstacles.

Each child with ADHD has a different set of symptoms. And those symptoms can range from mild to intense. That's one reason it's important to treat all kinds of ADHD.

Max Wiznitzer, MD

"If the negative impacts of the behavior far outweigh the positives, then you're never going to see the positive aspects," says Max Wiznitzer, MD, a pediatric neurologist at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, OH.

But it's important to emphasize good behavior when possible, he says.

"If they develop good habits, their ADHD isn't going to negatively impact them in the same manner as if they had bad habits only," says Wiznitzer, who's also co-chair of the professional advisory board of Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD).

How can parents help their children use their ADHD symptoms for good? First, make sure you focus on what your kids can do, rather than what they can't.

As a parent, it's easy to pay more attention to what children do wrong, Demuth says. But since kids with ADHD get so many negative messages about their condition, it's important for parents to provide encouragement.

"I think you really need to catch yourself. Don't start out with a negative thing, like their room being messy," she says. "Highlight those times when you catch them doing good."

Wiznitzer suggests that parents make a list of their child's particular strengths, then identify which of those are related to ADHD. This will help you understand which traits your child can use to help them succeed.

Parents can also encourage good behavior with:

A reward system. Reward your child when they do something right. Depending on your kid and what they achieve, the reward could be anything from a star on a behavior chart to cold, hard cash.

Behavior boundaries. Some kids with ADHD may be popular with peers because of their energetic personalities. But in excess, this can lead to "class clown" behavior or push others away. Parents should encourage their child's vibrant personality while making sure they understand when to pull back, like when they're in the classroom.

ADHD usually shows up in three main ways: inattentiveness; hyperactivity and/or impulsivity; or a combination of those symptoms.

There are certainly downsides to having excess energy or being easily distracted. But some children can benefit from ADHD behaviors like:

Flexibility. People with ADHD tend to think about many options at once. This sometimes means they're less likely to become set on one choice. They may be open to different ideas and other ways of doing things.

Jami Demuth

Adaptability and resilience. Because of their symptoms, kids with ADHD often have to figure out ways to adapt to their environments. This teaches them coping skills and helps them bounce back from challenges.

Creativity. Children with ADHD tend to be extra-imaginative. So they might daydream or get sidetracked. But they also may notice what most others don't. This creativity can help them come up with new ideas and solve problems.

Energy. When children with ADHD get motivated about something, they can focus a lot of energy on it. They're driven to succeed at things they find especially interesting. In fact, it may be hard to distract them from their favorite activity.

Enthusiasm. Kids with ADHD usually have big personalities and are rarely boring to be around. This lively behavior can make them become popular with their peers.

ADHD affects each of Demuth's kids differently. For example, she finds that her middle child's enthusiasm and energy boost his self-assurance. These qualities have helped him make friends and be socially successful at school.

All three of her children, she says, are good at creating thoughtful connections and coming up with original ideas.

"They're such outside-the-box thinkers," she says.

I tell my kids all the time, [ADHD] is your greatest superpower.
Jami Demuth

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ADHD in Children: Focus on the Positives

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Can your child use certain ADHD traits to their advantage? Find out how focusing on the positives can help kids with ADHD build confidence and overcome obstacles.

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How doctors and parents of children with attention deficit disorder can tell a child he has ADHD, frame the news positively, and answer the question: "What is ADHD?"

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Parent Handouts & Resources | Explaining Brains

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Empowering your child by helping them understand their amazing brain!

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Unlocking ADHD in Singapore | Practical Resources and Support

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Living with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)? Unlocking ADHD in Singapore - We provide practical resources and support to help ADHDers and their families to live life to the fullest!

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How can you help your child with ADHD at home? Try these ADHD tips and parenting strategies to help with kids with ADHD or ADD.

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Jessica McCabe: This is what it’s really like to live with ADHD | TED Talk

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At 32, Jessica McCabe’s ADHD brought her to the darkest point of her life thus far. At 34, she was thriving both personally and professionally, producing a successful Youtube channel about living with ADHD. In this deeply personal talk, Jessica describes how she turned things around through community and education.

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Explaining ADHD to anyone is complicated, never mind a young child! For starters, "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder:"

Is not actually a deficit in attention,

Does not always involve hyperactivity, and

Does not lead to disorder in every environment

Phew!

ADHD may be better explained as a pattern of difficulties with self-regulation. These may include difficulties with regulating attention (as opposed to a lack of attention), emotions, and behavior, which can cause significant roadblocks in certain environments - most notably, school.

What to download or print this article?

However, we are also learning that the ADHD brain is characterized by a pattern of strengths and superpowers, too. These include hyperfocus, creativity, memory, passion, enthusiasm, humor, and quick-wittedness, to name a few.

When we sit down to talk to a child about ADHD, it's critical that we present the whole picture.

It's too simplistic - and just not accurate - to say that ADHD means you have trouble with attention. Rather, ADHD is a pattern of strengths and challenges that makes some environments easy to navigate, and others much more challenging.

So how do we explain ADHD in a way that's easy for the child to understand, and accurately represents their amazing brain?

In a previous post, I shared this sentence frame I've been using to help me explain a diagnosis to children based on what we discover during our assessment.

The goal of presenting a diagnosis in this way is to help the child:

Understand their experience in school, at home, and in the community

Engage in their intervention plan

Advocatefor what they need

Let's see what this might look like for ADHD.

As the first piece of the diagnosis, we talk about the strengths we discovered throughout testing. Using the "brain-building" metaphor that I tend to reference most, this may sound like:

"In our work together, we learned that your brain is built in a way that makes a lot of things come easily! These are like the super-fast highways in your brain."

While every child will have a different list, here are a few common strengths, or "highways," that may emerge from testing for kids with an ADHD diagnosis:

Coming up with creative ideas for writing or story-telling

Remembering stories and experiences

Doing better as things get harder

Making people laugh

Taking in a lot of information at once

Processing information very quickly

Jumping into new experiences

Focusing intensely on things you enjoy

It is important to note that these highways are not in spite of ADHD - they are the benefits of ADHD!

The next piece is to name the challenges that are coming up.

We've just made a list of how awesome the child is - but their experience is not always that awesome. Naming challenges validates a child's experience in a world that may not be supporting them in the way that they need. For me, this sounds like:

"In our work together, we also found some things that were tricky. These are your construction zones, or the skills your brain is working to build."

Again, while every child will have a slightly different list, here are a few common "construction zones" that may be true for ADHD brains:

Waiting to share your awesome ideas

Writing your ideas down on paper

Staying focused on boring or easy things

Getting started on your work

Keeping track of all the steps

Catching your errors

Keeping things organized

Moving or fidgeting without disrupting others

Now, let's put these together!

A diagnosis is simply a way of bringing the highways and construction zones together. For me, this sounds like:

"It turns out, many people have highways and construction zones just like yours. You're not alone! When we see this pattern, we call it ADHD."

By defining ADHD by the child's experience - and not the DSM definition - it is easier for the child to understand and empowers them to be an active participant in their intervention plan.

Here are a few "definitions" of ADHD I've used for kids in my practice.

ADHD means your brain is built in a way that makes memory and creativity easy, but writing and waiting your turn more difficult.

ADHD means your brain is noticing a lot of things at once, but it may be tricky to focus in on the one thing your teacher is asking.

ADHD means your brain enjoys things that are new and exciting, but it may be harder to learn things you have to repeat a lot, like math facts.

ADHD means your brain is great at organizing people, but struggles to organize things.

I find it helpful to show kids examples of others who share their profile and have been successful. This includes actors, artists, entrepreneurs, and other children.

Everyone is a little different, so this is a great opportunity to emphasize that the way ADHD shows up for them may be different than how it shows up for other kids in their class, even though it has the same name.

Here are a few resources that may resonate with the children you work with:

Finally, the child and I come up with a list of tools and strategies that will be helpful for maximizing their strengths and building new skills.

For example:

You will be working with the Learning Specialist twice a week to learn strategies for getting those great ideas down on paper.

Let's brainstorm some helpful ways for you to move and fidget during class to keep your brain engaged.

You'll be getting some extra time on tests to go back and check for little errors before turning it in.

Your parents will help you make a checklist for cleaning your room so it's easier to get through it.

Check out this circus class to build your performance and improv skills!

Now, the child is actively engaged in their intervention plan because they know exactly why it's happening.

We're also giving the child language to advocate for what they need from their teachers and parents to be their best selves - a skill they can use now and for the rest of their lives.

As this feedback process evolved in my own practice, I started working on a tool to make it easier to document each of the steps above. This way kids and parents could bring home the exact language we used, and continue the conversation over time.

The result is The Brain Building Books, interactive, engaging workbooks designed to help kids understand their brains, using the strategies outlined above!

These workbooks provide helpful language to use with the child throughout the assessment, so that they leave with an understanding of their profile and learn what they need to do to build their skills and advocate for what they need.

Children are proud to share their book with their teachers and will continue to read it with their parents for years to come!

Looking for an easy way to share this article? Click below to download the print-friendly handout!

I hope this has been helpful for your practice. If this post could be useful to others you know, please share!

Thank you for all you do to help children understand their amazing brains!

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Explaining ADHD to anyone is complicated, never mind a young child! For starters, "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder:" Is not actually a deficit in attention, Does not always involve hyperactivity, and Does not lead to disorder in every environment Phew! ADHD may be better explained as a pattern of difficulties with self-regulation.

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ADHD isn't a problem with reading, and kids with ADHD learn to read in the same way other kids do. But the focus difficulties that come with ADHD can create challenges. Trouble with attention may cause some kids to take longer to learn to read. It can also make it harder for kids to get through reading tasks.

ADHD is a lifelong condition, and difficulties with attention don't go away. But there are strategies that can help kids focus when they read. Here are five quick tips to try out.

Kids with ADHD are easily distracted by noise and activity around them. Try to find a quiet place and time for them to read at home. In the classroom, seat them away from windows or the door, to prevent them from hearing as many outside noises.

Kids with ADHD often struggle with time management as well as attention. Letting them see how long they need to read can reduce stress and make it easier for them to stay focused.

Stopping reading for a few minutes to move around or do deep breathing may seem like a bad idea for kids with focus challenges. But "brain breaks" can help some kids with ADHD refocus and get back into the task of reading.

Download these brain break ideas for teachers. (Parents can try them at home, too.)

4. Engage multiple senses.

Kids with ADHD may be more focused when they use different senses to learn reading skills. There are many ways to do this. For example, they might clap out syllables as they say them.

Some kids with ADHD actually have an easier time focusing when music is on. Others may need to stand or walk around while they read, or while you read to them. Give them room to do it the way that works best for them.

About the author

About the author

Gail Belsky is executive editor at Understood. She has written and edited for major media outlets, specializing in parenting, health, and career content.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Kristin J. Carothers, PhD is an expert in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and behavioral interventions. She also provides co-parenting therapy for families experiencing high conflict.

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5 tips to help kids with ADHD focus on reading

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Trouble with focus can make it harder for kids to learn to read. Get tips to help kids with ADHD focus on reading.

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ADD/ADHD | What Is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?