ADHD and managing my teenage self

By the time you enter secondary school you should be able to manage yourself pretty well. You need to be aware of your ADHD symptoms of attention difficulties, impulsivity and hyperactivity and how best to manage them.  The secondary school environment is very different and the life of a teen will become very different. You may be involved in outside of school activities and at some stage you may even get a part time job.

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As your life gets busier you need to think about how you can help yourself and who else you might need to ask for assistance. The major personal skills required at home, school, community activities or at a part time job will all be pretty similar. Let’s have a look at some of these:

Time

You are going to need to be able to manage your time. You need to get yourself to places on time and be ready for the task you need to do.

Homework

Sometimes there can be lots of homework and your teachers will not co-ordinate this for you which can lead to having homework and assignments that come due at the same time. This can be managed through developing a homework management calendar.

ADHD

What do you know about your ADHD and what do you teachers need to know? Most students have a particular way that they like to learn, this is called a learning style. If you think there are some things that your teachers need to know about you then record it for them and let them know so they can help you.

Environments

What environment do you function in best? Do you need routines, lists or schedules to help you to focus? Is there a particular place in the classroom that is better for you to sit? Think about what works best for you and get it things put into place.

This is an important time for you to develop personal skills that will help you to manage your teen years and set you up to manage life when you become an adult. It will take time to develop these skills and there are plenty of people to help you, you just have to ask. Managing all aspects of your life is challenging for every teen, don’t get discouraged. If you know that you have a further learning disability such as Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD) or an Intellectual Disability(ID) then there are further strategies to help you.

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