Holidays and weekends for a teenager with ADHD

Sleeping seems to be a favourite activity for many teens on holidays and weekends. This may not be the case for you and it is probably best to keep some sort of routine in place to help you manage what you need to do.

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The weekends and holiday breaks are usually family times so you need to talk with your family to see what they are planning to do. Let them know what you have been thinking about doing and see if you can co-ordinate plans so everyone is happy.

If your family is planning a trip away talk with them about this. Find out what you can about the destination, how long will it take to get there, how will you get there, what activities are there, where will you be staying and what the weather is likely to be. By learning as much as possible before you go, you can plan to put things into place to manage your ADHD symptoms that can potentially hinder the success of the holiday or cause you anxiety.

Once you have worked out a plan, talk with your family and let them know what you have come up with. It may be that if you are travelling by car that you will need a break in the trip every hour for a quick walk around to release some energy.

If a weekend trip or family holiday clashes with one of your usual leisure activities eg. basketball game, remember to let your coach know that you will not be available to play. Try not to get stressed about this as the coach will understand that family commitments take priority.

On weekends and holidays, you will probably have social interactions with new people. These can be awkward for most teenagers. Remember what you have learnt about conversations and be an active listener and contributor to the conversation. Most of all, enjoy your breaks and use these times to meet new people and try new things.

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