Understanding ADHD: What It Looks Like and How to Cope
Written by Montana Zaborowski, Ed.S., CT.
Are you a concerned parent? A 20-something-year-old is wondering why “doing life” is so challenging? Or maybe a teacher who just wants to learn how to help students the best way they can? In this article, let’s talk about ADHD as well as coping strategies anyone can use!
What is ADHD?
The fancy google definition states “A chronic condition including attention difficulty, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. ADHD often begins in childhood and can persist into adulthood. It may contribute to low self-esteem, troubled relationships, and difficulty at school or work. Symptoms include limited attention and hyperactivity.”
While this is right, it does not include how complex or nuanced ADHD is.
How ADHD Looks in Real Life
While ADHD does include all of those symptoms listed up top, I want to talk about what they look like in the real world. Identification is important so the individual can get assistance earlier.
Typically our mind goes to the boy who can’t sit in his seat, and is making noises; disrupting the class. It’s true ADHD can look like this, but it can look very different as well. Some of us have the inattentive type of ADHD, which can be easier to mask. A student, for example, may just stare at their paper and not really be paying attention, but not listening to a thing. This can lead to kids getting academically left behind. ADHD presents more outwardly in boys and more inward in girls. This can lead to girls not getting a diagnosis or getting a diagnosis late in life, which can cause more problems in the end for the individual.
Common Symptoms and How to Cope
Now, let’s look at some symptoms and how those with ADHD can work to cope with them.
1.Executive Functioning Challenges
The first symptom is that executive functioning tasks are difficult. Executive functioning is basically all that a really good secretary would do. When we’re unable or have difficulty with executive functioning, it can make household tasks and even homework feel impossible. It presents often like the task is too big in our head and will take hours, when really it will take 5 minutes. This can lead to a messy house, late homework, late work at a place of employment.
Here are some coping strategies for these challenges:
Set timers to create structure and urgency
Use timeblocking techniques
Break tasks into small, manageable goals to get work done
Try visual aids like a picture schedule
2. Hyperactivity
Another symptom of ADHD is hyperactivity, which I mentioned earlier. However, let’s review it. This often presents as fidgeting in your seat, shaking your leg, frequently getting up out of the seat to use the restroom or walk around. At work, this can look the same, with this “never feeling settled” feeling.
How can we manage this?
One way to assist those with hyperactivity is to incorporate movement. Use of flexible seating like wobble seats, turtle seats, and more. The use of fidgets can also be really helpful for those with ADHD. For students in school, ensuring that their teacher allows them to take a break like getting a drink or using the restroom at scheduled times helps a lot. While adults may benefit from setting a timer to know when to take a break or get some movement in.
3. Sensory Overstimulation
The final aspect of ADHD I want to talk about is sensory overstimulation. This is a symptom that is often associated with Autism, however, this can and often also affects those with ADHD.
Sensory overstimulation is an overreactive response to sounds, touches, smells, visuals, and tastes. As an example, if someone with ADHD was in a large crowded room with a lot of people. They may get overstimulated. When someone is overstimulated they may get overwhelmed, panic, or go completely blank.
How can we address this?
One of the ways to help overstimulation include grounding techniques that help put your body back in the moment. We’re going to focus on temperature, this skill is very easy. All that needs to happen is you change part or your whole body by temperature. This can be done by taking an ice cold shower, squeezing a piece of ice in your hand as long as you can, or sticking your face in a bowl of ice water.
Since, these are not always easy to do, here's one more tip: the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise. What happens in this grounding strategy is you list 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. I recommend that this exercise be stated outloud, especially if there is a heightened emotional state, others can help support you!
Final Thoughts
I want to identify that I did not cover every symptom of ADHD and how you experience ADHD may be different, and that’s okay!
ADHD looks different for everyone. The symptoms and experiences I’ve shared here are just part of the picture. Your experience with ADHD is unique, and learning how it affects you is the first step toward managing it with understanding and compassion.
