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 and informed by how the condition can affect everyday life. You can learn more about these challenges in our guide to ADHD in adults. Here are six suggestions for supporting adults with ADHD in ways that can genuinely 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.
Luckily, ADHD awareness is improving all the time and it’s now taken far more seriously than in the past. There is now a greater understanding that ADHD is not just something that affects ‘naughty’ schoolboys and that there are many subtle signs and symptoms that are not immediately apparent.
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 may require more motivation than simply being able to meet deadlines or being told that something is important. This can be particularly relevant when understanding ADHD in adults, where difficulties with motivation, task initiation and executive functioning can affect everyday responsibilities. In situations where rewards don’t seem to stimulate the desire to get things done, you can incorporate the ‘ACT’ strategy. Shortened from “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy,” this ADHD treatment method can help when rewards alone aren’t enough. ACT involves reflecting on what matters most to the individual and using those values to support motivation.
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
The more you know about how you are affected by ADHD, the more successfully you will be able to manage it. This is the benefit of an adult ADHD assessment. It’s a good idea to record your ADHD symptoms over a few weeks. You should note down:
– Your symptoms or possible symptoms
– Any possible triggers
– How you managed
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
