8 Strategies to help your child with ADHD focus and learn at home
Siblings playing in the room next door.
An iPad sitting just a few feet away in the living room.
Craft supplies and toys calling to them from their bedrooms.
The environment at home can bring up a whole host of different potential problems, distractions, and hurdles when it comes to learning. This is the place where we are more used to having “downtime” than it is a structured environment full of due dates, tasks, expectations for being productive, and a place where we need to focus. Whether it is for homework, homeschooling, or temporary virtual schooling during the pandemic, our houses aren’t necessarily set up to be great work environments.
So what happens when we also factor into the home learning environment the struggles that kids with ADHD might be having (such as distraction, inability to focus, poor time management, struggles with executive function etc.)?
Learning at home can become even more difficult for kids who are trying to marry the distractions of working from home with their ADHD.
So what do you do? What are some strategies that you can use to help your child with ADHD focus on learning at home?
Mix up the workload: Mix things up when you can: consider interspersing harder work with simpler tasks, start the session with easier tasks in order to build momentum and confidence, alternate desk work with more hands-on or active tasks, and where the possible mix up the subjects to keep it interesting.
Involve your child in setting up a workspace for THEM: Work with your child to set up a work area that functions best for your child. Keep in mind that everyone has different preferences for learning - some like quiet background music, others like complete silence; some kids need a space to themselves, others will do better in amongst the hustle and bustle; and some will do well with tools such as fidget toys, while others will not. Help your child to take ownership of learning about how THEY learn and focus best, then help them to implement those strategies.
Decrease distractions: If there is a video game, a box of toys, or an interesting book right next to them, it will provide more temptation to become distracted. Set up the environment for success by removing those temptations (there is truth to out of sight, out of mind!). Also, if there are younger siblings making noise, or parents on zoom calls, try to separate them or use noise-cancelling headphones so that the noise of other people’s tasks is not distracting to your child who is trying to work.
Create a schedule: Consider using a paper or digital calendar to time-block different tasks for the day. There is often more flexibility in a schedule when you are at home, so consider the time of day that your child works best, use your child’s interests and strengths to help guide the workload, and make sure to schedule in lots of breaks. Use a timer to help them to keep track of their time and/or use apps that have noises/reminders to help them check in to see if they are on task (or if they have tuned out!).
Get active: Take lots of breaks (even a five-minute “brain-break” away from a screen or paper can be really refreshing), try to get active on breaks (take a quick walk, do jumping jacks, practice some yoga stretches etc.), and ideally get some fresh air while doing it. Many studies have shown that kids with ADHD focus or perform better after having had some physical activity.
Use creativity: Find creative ways to make learning more interesting, engaging and fun. Many people who have ADHD are incredible outside-of-the-box thinkers and creative problem solvers. Tap into the things that light your child up in whatever way that you can.
Keep communication open: Having your child at home provides an incredible opportunity to get to know them better. Capitalize on this to get them to open up about how they learn, what they are struggling with, what subjects they like best, and what they may be worried about when it comes to school/learning. These conversations will help both of you to understand your child better, and what they need to find success and happiness on their learning journey.
Scaffold accountability: Moving to a school-from-home environment can take some support and guidance from parents. Though we cannot expect our kids to transition to more independent learning skills right away, the ultimate goal is to transfer the accountability to your child. This will be a step by step process - help them to get set up for success (think of all of those executive function skills!) by creating schedules, checklists, procedures etc. but try to find ways to have them take more responsibility in little chunks (remember that even small steps are still moving you forward!).
Trying to stay focused and on-task while doing school or homework from home, can present a lot of challenges for students with learning differences such as ADHD. However, by working WITH your child and being there to support and guide them through the process, learning from home with ADHD can be made a little easier.
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Written by Jillian Watson, B.Ed., M.Ed., OCT