Activating The ADD or ADHD Brain
For a person living with ADD/ADHD, life can have its exciting moments as well as its challenging moments.
In particular, a person who has ADD/ADHD finds difficulty with executive functioning skills. Executive functioning occurs in the frontal lobe of the brain. It includes skills such as planning, organization, problem-solving, attention, and impulse control.
When you activate your brain you are taking measured steps to take control of your own thoughts. There are several tips one can follow to start to train the brain to adapt better executive functioning skills. We have a free resource called, Activating The Brain, to help you as well as the points below.
Executive Functioning Skill: Planning and Organizing
Planning and organizing are sometimes difficult for a person with ADHD. Common challenges that a person may experience include forgetting scheduled appointments, frequently misplacing items, being late, etc. The following tips could help people who may struggle with planning and organization:
- Try using a planner or smartphone to keep track of important appointments and make alarms as needed.
- Create a weekly schedule to abide by that will help you keep up with daily tasks and household chores.
- Break down projects or to-do lists by only tackling one item at a time to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
Executive Functioning Skill: Problem Solving and Attention
To address problem-solving and attention issues see the following tips:
- Try to practice frequent self-monitoring to enhance your awareness of daily life events.
- Keep track of your activities by using an alarm or timer to keep yourself accountable for how you are spending time in your day.
- Make a habit of double-checking your work to avoid careless mistakes.
- If you get stuck in a situation try taking deep breaths and taking a break to refocus your attention on a problem.
Executive Functioning Skill: Impulse Control
To address impulse control issues see the following tips:
- When talking with others, practice not interrupting others when they speak by challenging yourself to actively listen and summarize what they say before responding.
- Try engaging in regular exercise or practicing mindfulness to help channel emotions in a positive way
The most important tip of all is to practice, practice, practice!!