It’s back to school time, and we at Focus-MD do more than just prescribe medicine to treat ADHD — we also like to provide tips and tricks on how to manage life with ADHD. So, to help you and your child start the school year off right, here are five quick low-tech tips:
1. Have extra pencils, erasers, pens, and paper.
These are all inexpensive tools. Make sure you have plenty on-hand so that you don’t hear, “I can’t find my pencil” or “I can’t get started because I don’t have a pencil.”
2. Have these tools in multiple colors.
ADHD brains love color, and a great system to begin to teach your child now is to highlight the important points. This way, when it’s time to go back and study, they’re ready to go.
3. Use a simple index card.
Boys resist using planners, and it frustrates teachers and parents to no end. Boys really do have trouble with planners a lot of times. But, what they will use is a simple index card. Some school uniforms have a pocket, so the index card fits in there nicely. Have them go ahead and write the four or five subjects they’re going to have homework in on that card. And, yes — I know moms are going to accidentally wash some of them, but it’s still good to teach them that technique!
4. Use Post-It notes.
Have your child write themselves notes. Remember that if you write the note, you’re doing the executive function in the reminding. But if the child writes something on the Post-It note, then they can remember without you nagging.
5. And finally, gather the things they’re going to need for school onto a “launch pad.”
Have them create it. Remember, kids don’t play as often in a playhouse that dad builds by himself — they’re going to want to be involved in the creative process. So, if you want your kid to get organized, have them design their own system. One great way is to find a piece of paper or poster board and have them create a space in which they gather the things they’re going to need for that day (AKA a “launch pad”). Whether that be their phone, their shoes — whatever it may be — they begin to learn to put those things together in one place. It works for NASA, and it’ll make your school year go much better.
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