ADHD and Virtual Learning

Online education is daunting for most people, let alone those of us who have ADHD. These tips and tricks were initially intended for parents of children with ADHD in grades K-12, but because I was undiagnosed until I was an adult, they could apply at any age.

At an early age, I was identified as gifted, but my diagnosis of autism and ADHD did not come until I reached adulthood. I was constantly told that I was lazy or that I was wasting my talent, but I was not. For the way my brain functions, I lacked the resources and encouragement. I never learned these skills, and it caused me to abandon everything I felt I was going to fail. I dream that this prevents what I have been through from happening to others.

We all have iPhones and iOS devices in our household, so I cannot speak to or recommend anything unavailable for iOS. We have family sharing. Please set this up, and make sure each person has a different Apple ID. Here is the link to set up family sharing, as well as the benefits.

Basic Tips

1. Create an area that is for schoolwork/homework only if possible, this reinforces that when they are in that space it is time to learn.
2. Lots of breaks.
3. Have them take a short walk or something active and come back to the material fresh.
4. Be in contact with their teachers, especially if you cannot physically be there while your child is learning.
5. Check grade books often, make sure when things are due, etc.
6. Always be supportive, encourage independence, but make sure they know asking for help is part of that.
7. Praise every tiny accomplishment as soon as you see it, the same with great behavior or using the skills below. Praise even when you can see they are making their best effort and let them know their best is all you require; they don’t need to be perfect because no one is. This works to motivate anyone very well. Focus on the positives and praise every positive thing they do because it is so much harder for us.
8. Know when your child has had enough, stop working and continue the next day. Let them know that having a limit is ok.
9. Re-reading lessons is ineffective in general, unless you are going back to find a specific term, create practice tests instead. Reach already does this with quick checks, quizzes, and practice tests. But if your child needs more, then make some. This can also help alleviate test anxiety, especially for anything timed. Time Timer is available as an app for free on both android and iOS.
10. Use a timer like the one above and realistic reminders about transitioning to something else.
11. It won’t work out too well if you tell your child right now, let them know at least 10-15 minutes ahead of time, and you can use the timer as well, but remind them again at about the 5-minute mark. Once they are in a routine, this will become easier over time.
12. Organize everything physical and their computers. Make folders for each subject and put them on the desktop. You can make folders within the subject folders like unit folders with study materials, assignment/project folders for each assignment/project with the information needed to complete. This can make it super accessible.
13. Add learning resources like khan academy to their bookmarks bar.

Routines

The majority of us with ADHD need some routine. Since my entire household (husband, daughter, and I) are all autistic / ADHD, we all use the family calendar with family sharing.

We are also using the app Tiimo it comes with a 14-day free trial, then is under $30 a year or $4.99 a month and it is made specifically for autistic/ADHD people.

How to Set Up Tiimo

1. Make sure you have set up family sharing as this allows for up to five different profiles.
2. Download the app from the app store to the primary or parent account.
3. Create a user id and login.
4. Go to the Tiimo website and begin creating profiles for each person that will be using it.
5. You will use the same user id and password for the website and each device.
6. After creating the profiles and you decide you want the preset routines on the Tiimo app, you can access each profile from your main device, add the preset routines and, then edit them on the website.
7. Now you can download the app for each device, log in, and set each device to the right profile.
8. You can make any type of routine you want and the time it needs to be done (you can make this very strict or flexible).
9. You MUST allow notifications.
10. Members will be notified of what they must do in how much time, with visual indicators as well.

Some people prefer digital or physical planners, but Tiimo is what has worked best for us.

Time Management Skills

The unofficial adage of ADHD time management is, “By the time you feel it, it’s too late.” ADHD expert Russell Barkley, Ph.D., has famously said that ADHD is not a disorder of knowing what to do, it’s a disorder of doing what you know — at the right times and places.

This is a very hard skill for us because of executive dysfunction disorder. We are also very stuck in the present, and if there isn’t instant gratification it leads to “I’ll do it later”.

1. Use the two-minute rule: If the task takes two minutes or less to complete, stop, and do it now.
2. Have them check their planner, calendar, routine multiple times a day.
3. Make sure you or they have set enough time aside to complete what they need to do. We are awful with time and knowing how long something might take until we learn the skill.
4. If your child knows or you can teach them how to read an analog clock, have one in every room. It helps us to be able to physically perceive time.

Study Skills

Start this as early as you can. You want to begin by finding out the type of learner your child is, and if you do not know, I have put links to the characteristics of each type. Most people have aspects of more than one, but one will stand out more than the others.

I will say that music with headphones helps a lot of us focus on a project or homework because it drones out the billions of thoughts racing through our heads so don’t discourage that unless it is not helpful for your child.

These are tips, not every single one works for every learner, but once you find the right one(s) you will know.

If there are live lessons that include a chat, I recommend covering it with a post-it, as it can be very distracting.

I recommend these books for all types of learners they are bright, colorful, engaging, and meant to write in. They start at middle school, and one book covers all grades of middle school. They have 3 for high school and are working on more.

Types of Learners and Specific Tips for Each

Auditory Learners

1. Live Lessons!
2. Auditory learners may also need a quiet area to study and learn.
3. Use mnemonics, rhymes, jingles, and auditory repetition by recording themselves to improve memory. This one is pretty good for everyone in the song department as music is stored in a different area of the brain and how I still remember all 50 states in alphabetical order but couldn’t tell you what I’ve had to eat today.
4. If the virtual/live lessons are recorded or you can record them yourself, this will help an auditory learner a lot. They may need to watch them more than once or specific parts.
5. Record verbal brainstorming.
6. Go back to old quizzes if you can, and have them read the questions and correct answers out loud.

Visual Learners

1. These types of learners do best in organized environments with no distractions.
2. Use visual association, visual imagery, written repetition, flashcards, graphs, diagrams, etc.
3. Post-it notes!
4. Practice learning how to turn the visual cues back into words.
5. Written notes or an app like Noteability which is a one-time charge of $9.99.
6. Make notes colorful and have each color represent something like keywords are blue, etc.

Kinesthetic/Hands-On Learners

1. Have them teach YOU the lesson.
2. Allow for physical movement and breaks (this is true for the majority but especially kinesthetic learners).
3. Participate in group study discussions if possible.
4. Physically take notes. Noteability can work ok here too but writing is better.
5. Chew gum or use chewlary which not messy.
6. Make flashcards.
7. Mnemonic devices/songs also work well.
8. These types of learners will probably have the best success with listening to music while working.
9. If there is a way to make something physical that relates to the material, it helps, especially in a virtual setting.

Personal Story and Some Difficult Truths

Learn everything you can about rejection sensitive dysphoria, it’s a newer symptom for those with ADHD and it is easier to see in ADHD adults but is often misdiagnosed as a mood disorder. When my husband and I found out about this, it really gave a name to a lot of our negative behavior, avoidance, etc. You will definitely have to go beyond the single article linked too. I will say it is a difficult thing to research and come to terms with. CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) + meds personally helped me the most. CBT is all about changing your mindset. It’s more complicated than just that and does take time. I still take meds, because my ADHD is unrelenting since I was not diagnosed until adulthood, same with my husband. We did not get on meds early enough for the severity we have to be able to develop the skills needed without the cushion of medication. Medication isn't for everyone, neither is therapy. You may need to try different types of meds, therapy, etc before you find what is effective.

ADHD isn't a bad thing. We tend to be creative (in many ways, even problem solving), think outside the box, and can hyperfocus on something we are interested in for a long time. This isn't always a bad thing. This article was brought to you by hyperfocus!