Tips for Teens with ADHD
1. Let your friends know you have ADHD. Although it might be embarrassing to
tell them, it might be less embarrassing in the long run if you forget important
details, are always running late or feel you need to explain or cover up for
forgetfulness.
2. If you have a difficult time expressing your feelings or ideas, ask family
members to help you practice. Try reading a passage from a book and take turns
summarizing what you read as well as discussing what you think about it. This
will help you practice your own skills as well as observe how others
communicate.
3. Join clubs or after school activities. The more people you are around, the more
practice you will have in talking with peers as well as adults.
4. Ask questions. When trying to talk with someone, ask questions to find out what
they are interested in.
5. If you have a difficult time reading people’s expressions and body language,
ask for help with other members of your family. Although it sounds corny, role
playing and acting out different situations and discussing them can help you be
prepared when different situations come up.
6. Learn relaxation and deep breathing techniques to help relieve the anxiety
that may be present in social situations. Use these techniques to keep yourself
calm and take a moment to focus on what you want to say.
7. Ask people to repeat what they have said if you forget. It is better to ask them
to repeat it than answer a question that is irrelevant to the conversation.
8. Ask questions during a conversation, the more interaction, the more you will
stay interested and focused.
9. Respect other’s space. Don’t stand too close to them that they feel closed in and
don’t stand so far away they feel you are avoiding them.
10. Use frequent eye contact during conversations.
Tips taken from Eileen Bailey, the lead volunteer for ADDHelpline and mother of a 16
year old some with ADHD.
Homework Tips for Teens with ADHD
1. Try to complete your homework in daylight hours. Some studies indicate it
takes longer to complete the same task at nighttime.
2. Create flashcards for yourself when studying for a test. These allow you to
break down information into small segments easily.
3. Use an assignment book. Don't rely on your memory to keep track of what you
need to remember. You can also try using a pocket size tape recorder (you might
need to get permission from the school to use this) and you can speak your
assignments and what you need to remember. You can also use this at home to
record what you need to remember to do in school the next day.
4. Create a space for yourself to complete your homework. Keep this area as
clutter free as possible and have supplies, such as pencils, pens, and paper, readily
available. Ask your family to respect your homework space and not take supplies
or move items around so that you are not using homework time to reorganize
yourself each day.
5. Use a cardboard box to keep all your loose papers in. Each day when you do
your homework, empty your books, backpack, pockets, etc. of loose papers and
add them to the box. When you need old papers for school, you will know exactly
where to find them.
6. For long term projects, break down into small chunks and make a schedule
for completing each item. Keep your schedule on the wall of your homework
area (use a white board or bulletin board on the wall) so that each day you can see
what needs to be completed toward your project.
7. Complete the hardest homework, or the subject you dislike the most first and
get it out of the way.If you save this for last you could drag out the rest of your
homework in order to delay it.
8. Keep a list of classmates and their phone numbers in your study area so that
you can call if you have forgotten the assignment or have questions about what
should be completed.
9. Take a short break every half hour to stretch and then get back to work. Be
sure to limit your break time to 5 minutes and make sure you don't start watching
TV during the break.
10. When studying for a test, read through the summaries of sections and
chapters before reading the chapter itself. This will help you to focus on the
main ideas of the chapter.
Homework tips taken from Eileen Bailey, lead volunteer for the ADDHelpline and
mother of a 16 year old son with ADHD.
School Tips for Teens with ADHD
1. If you have a study hall available to you during one class period or after
school, use it and take advantage of a quiet time to study and complete
homework. If you are in a classroom full of students completing work, you might
go along and complete yours as well.
2. Take notes during class. This can help to keep you focused on the material being
taught.
3. Use your assignment book to keep lists of things to do. Don't make lists on
scraps of paper or you may end up losing them or forgetting about them. Get into
the habit of completing a list of things to do each evening for what you want to
accomplish the next day.
4. Talk to your teachers about your ADHD and how it affects your work. Ask for
their assistance in areas you are experiencing problems.
5. Sit in front of the classroom. This will help you to focus on the lesson and will
enable you to pay attention and will minimize distractions.
6. Be prepared. If you are constantly going to class unprepared, buy a box of pens
and keep them in your locker. Buy several small pocket size notebooks. Each
morning, if you find you don't have a pen and paper, use a small pocket size
notebook, and take a pen from your locker.
7. If you end up each day at home without the books needed to complete your
assignments, use different methods to remember which books to bring home. One
student used different colored strips of paper for each class and would keep one in
each book. If he needed to bring that book home, he would take the paper out and
put it in his pocket. At the end of the day, he only needed to check his pocket to
see what books to bring home. Another student would write the class on his hand
to remember. He wrote M for Math, E for English, etc. While at his locker, he had
on his hand what books he had homework in.
8. Find a partner to help you. Find someone you trust and work well with to help
you stay focused during the day. Have a secret signal they can give you if they see
you have lost your focus.
9. Clean out your locker every Friday. Get into the habit of bringing home all
loose papers in your locker each Friday. When you get home you can sort through
to see what you need and organize the papers. Having a clean locker will help you
to stay organized and be prepared.
10. Ask the school about bringing home an extra set of books. You will not need
to carry your books back and forth and will never forget your books at home or
school.
School Tips taken from Eileen Bailey, lead volunteer for ADDHelpline and mother of a
16 year old son with ADHD.
Resources for Parents/Teens on ADHD
- Making the system work for your child with ADHD (Peter Jensen)
- Driven to Distraction
- www.geocities.com/trianglechadd/
