Are you constantly battling to keep your child’s attention on their schoolwork? If you’re a parent of a child with ADHD, you know how overwhelming distractions can be. Read on to learn how you can help your child navigate these challenges.
For kids with ADHD, distractions can feel insurmountable, making it difficult for them to stay focused on tasks or even find a moment of calm. One reason for this is that ADHD brains often show reduced activity in the frontal cortex when trying to control focus and actions. This reduced activity may result from a shortage of norepinephrine, leading to issues with attention, organization, and decision-making. As researchers continue to explore the effects of distraction in ADHD, understanding these challenges becomes crucial for providing effective support.
As a mother of a girl with ADHD-I (Inattentive ADHD-type), I understand the challenges that come with navigating schoolwork. My daughter is quiet at school, and she struggles immensely to start, focus on, and complete her assignments. She often ends up doodling or reading her favorite book instead of working on her tasks. As a parent, it can feel overwhelming, but we can take specific steps to help our kids stay focused and improve their academic performance.
The first step is to identify with your child the different types of distractions—which can be external or internal. This article will guide you in recognizing these distractions and in developing coping skills to address them effectively.
EXTERNAL DISTRACTIONS
These come from outside of their head, through the 5 senses.
Here are some examples:
- Vision – Seeing a messy desk, a favorite book, a bug, etc.
- Hearing – Phone/app alerts, overheard conversations, traffic, dog barking, etc.
- Touch – Tight pants, scratchy shirt, injuries, etc.
- Smell – Food aromas, someone’s cologne, perfume, feet, etc.
- Taste – The gum or candy in their mouth, or hunger.
INTERNAL DISTRACTIONS
These come from your brain. They’re usually caused when the brain becomes exhausted in a sense. This affects ADHDers executive functioning.
- Thoughts – Imagined social situations, thinking about a crush, a boyfriend/girlfriend, dating life, making friends
- Interests/Obsessions – Favorite books, shows, movies, mangas, music, hobbies, etc.
- Random Ideas – Recipes, how to organize your room/desk, games, or whatever!
- Memories – Remembering images, movie/show scenes, jokes, past activities, family members
- Questions – “What ifs”, Google searches, questions for Siri/Google. Wondering about friend meetups, movie/show/book questions
COPING SKILLS – EXAMPLES TO REDIRECT THEIR FOCUS
- TIMER: Use a timer to give yourself regular stopping points while working. For example, set the timer for 10 minutes to finish 2 math problems, then set it for 5 minutes of break time.
- EXERCISE: Take a short exercise or yoga break.
- ACCOUNTABILITY: Sit by a sibling or a parent for accountability.
- REWARD BREAKS: Take “reward breaks” of 5 – 10 minutes of a gratifying activity after completing a certain amount of work or when feeling bored or overwhelmed. Set a timer for your break time.
- FOCUS MUSIC: Listen to focus music, like binaural beats, rock, classical, lo-fi, etc. White or brown noise, rain sounds, ocean waves, etc. Music should be without lyrics.
- NOISE-CANCELATION HEADPHONES: Use noise-canceling headphones or earplugs to block out outside noise.
- STAND UP: Stand up while working.
- WATER: Go drink some water or refill your bottle.
- MINDFULNESS: Stop for 7 minutes to practice mindfulness exercises to return to the present moment and refocus.
- VISUAL AIDS: Use visual aids or sticky notes to remind you about important tasks.
DISCOVER MORE COPING SKILLS AND COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY-BASED EXERCISES in our book, The ADHD Teen Brain Organizer for School. This book is designed to optimize essential executive functioning skills, such as focusing, goal-setting, planning and prioritizing, impulse control, and problem-solving — all of which are vital for academic success. The activities and exercises in it are grounded in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and mindfulness, and they’ll guide your child in these essential areas of their school lives.
GET OUR BOOK: “The ADHD Teen Brain Organizer for School: An Executive Function ACTIVITY GUIDE to Improve Academic Performance“
Our guide targets 5 Critical Executive Functions for Successful Learning:
| ⦿ Focusing | ⦿ Impulse Control |
| ⦿ Goal-setting | ⦿ Problem Solving |
| ⦿ Planning | |
Using the form below, DOWNLOAD FOR FREE a printable packet containing several ADHD Worksheets for School Success, including a “List of Distractions & Coping Skills,” where you can help your child write down their most common distractions and begin to tackle each one. The packet also includes a “Breaktime List” for listing ideal break time activities, a “Breaktime Wheel” containing break time ideas, a “Distraction List,” for noting and addressing distracting thoughts, and more!
