6 Support Strategies for Adults With ADHD
There are many effective techniques that you can use to support adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Some work better than others depending on an individual’s needs. When offering your support it is critical to take an approach that is ADHD-friendly. Here are six suggestions about how ADHD adults can be supported in ways that will benefit them.
Find An ADHD Buddy To Help You Stay On Task
Everyone needs someone who always has their back and will continually support them. This is where ‘buddies’ come in. It’s so beneficial if you can find a person or group of people who are open to supporting you throughout your battles and hardships, as well as being there to celebrate your successes. Some people are lucky enough to have several friends and family members to support them, but in fact, just one person who really gets you is enough.
We can’t always rely on our ADHD brains to stay on a particular task on our own. Sometimes we need to have someone to serve as a ‘nudge’ to help us. You may ask someone to help you once, or on a regular basis as a buddy or an accountability partner. However you choose to go about this is up to you, but involving someone else is a motivational way to get more done in a quicker time.
If you’re open and honest about any difficulties you have with ADHD, most of the time, people will try to support you. They may not always know how to help and need some guidance from you. You may have to be patient and try a few different techniques while you work out how you can best work together.
Learn about ADHD
ADHD is highly complex and often misunderstood. The more research you do and the more you learn about it, the better prepared you will be to know how best to give support or inform someone else how to support you.
One of the best ways to learn is through the lived experience of other people. There are many in-person and online communities you can join where you can listen to others and share your own stories if you wish.
To provide really effective ADHD support, it’s best if all members of an ADHD household are informed about it. This includes children, at a level appropriate to their age and understanding.
At The ADHD Centre, we have a few resources to help with this. Our free ebooks are ideal for those just starting out on their ADHD journey, including those waiting for an ADHD diagnosis. They contain relevant information about ADHD and practical ideas you can try to relieve the effect of symptoms. Here are the links to our ebooks for adults, students and children with ADHD.
Evidence-Based Treatments For Adult ADHD Practical Tips And Techniques For Students With ADHD Helping Children With ADHD To Thrive
ACT Now!
People with ADHD require more motivation than just being able to meet deadlines or being told that it’s something important. In situations like this where rewards don’t seem to stimulate any desire to get things done, you should incorporate the ‘ACT’ strategy. Shortened for “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy,” this ADHD treatment method helps motivate a person with ADHD when rewards just aren’t enough. ACT involves patients reflecting on what matters to them the most to motivate them.
ACT requires someone to ask themselves the question, “Am I doing something that really matters to me?” After several sessions of ACT, a person will hopefully find motivation on their own and will no longer need the guidance of a therapist for them to get things done.
Record Your Symptoms
It’s also worth noting any changes to routine, sleep patterns or diet. After a while, you should start to notice patterns in your symptoms of ADHD. You will hopefully develop ideas about which coping and management techniques work best for you whenever your symptoms start. Notes such as these are also really helpful for ADHD or other healthcare professionals to use to support you.
Change The Format
Different brains function in different ways and it’s important to find the best way for your ADHD to function. Some tasks just won’t suit you and you’ll need to find a method to make them work. For example, here are three alternative ways to read books or documents if you can’t focus on them for long enough:
– Stand up and move around while reading
– Use a screen reader tool
– Break the text down into small chunks and summarise each part either to yourself or someone else.
Establish Some Competition To Keep Your Interest Going
Most of the time, people with ADHD are good at mastering new jobs and specific activities rather quickly compared to the average person. However, at the same time, they also lose interest in the things they’ve mastered relatively quickly as well. To prevent this from happening, you should tap into your inner competitor and challenge yourself or other people.
You can either try to beat a personal best or dominate your rival. You can also try different strategies like picturing the entire situation as a video game level that you need to get through. Doing all of these methods will ensure that your interest in something will maintain and even improve.
At The ADHD Centre, our team of consultant psychiatrists and behavioural coaches and therapists are highly experienced in treating ADHD. If you’d like to learn more about our ADHD assessments, evidence-based treatments or ADHD coaching, please contact us on 0800 061 4276 or by email at enquiries@adhdcentre.co.uk
Updated March 2023
