Five sentence summary Focusing for hours on end, especially when the topic is boring or repetitive, does not come easily to folks with ADHD. There are some steps you can take all own your own, like finding a note-taking buddy or recording the lecture (see my warnings!) and there are other steps you can take that require asking for an adjustment but not making any disability obvious, like asking for an outline of the talk in advance or asking for a break after 45 minutes. Our focus depends on a variety of factors, like hunger, ability to fidget, proximity to distractions, and it's worth thinking critically about how you focus. Identifying patterns can help us decide which tips and tricks will be most effective under which circumstances. Listening to someone talk for three hours, whether as an undergraduate student or as part of a workshop, can be daunting for those with ADHD. There are some things you can do to make focusing for extended periods of time easier, and some don't even require disclosing you have trouble focusing. Having a straight-forward, honest conversation about your needs is obviously ideal, but not every instructor, conference organizer, or speaker is disability-friendly. For one-time events, it's probably not worth your time to investigate whether or not the session leader is knowledgeable about accessibility or holds any ableist views. For longer workshop series or courses, disclosing your access needs might make more sense. I personally don't recommend saying "ADHD" at all because it's so misunderstood. That said, I do recommend, "My brain is a little different, I have a disability, etc." if you think it's safe. Steps you can take without talking to the prof or speaker:
***Recording lectures, talks, and etc. should be done with the utmost care and respect. In some cases, recording without someone's permission isn't even legal. There are often serious concerns about privacy, intellectual property, and so forth. Recordings should be used only for your own learning, should not be shared without permission, should be stored securely, and should be deleted when you have completed taking any notes. Even if you determine it is legal to record a talk without the person's permission, I advise seriously considering the potential implications and exercising extreme restraint and caution. It is better to ask for permission and explain you are recording due to a disability.
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Five sentence summary
Body doubling or using an accountability partner is a great ADHD trick. Support groups, especially for ADHD or neurodivergent folks, can also be a life saver, introducing us to new tricks and perspectives. Here the virtual work and study group options that I know about and feel comfortable recommending.
Support groups for work or school, whether for mentoring or sharing strategies, are crucial for ADHD folks. When the world isn't designed for ADHD folks, we need to rely on each other to share advice and swap stories. Of course, finding a local support group might prove to be a challenge. Not to mention, there's still a significant stigma associated with ADHD, so finding something local might not be what you're looking for.
That's where virtual options can fill the gap. Here the options I know about and feel comfortable recommending. If you know of more, please comment and I will add them! Support groups
For Black women and gender minorities, ADHD Babes offers support groups and sometimes specific working groups. They also have a Discord channel and do body-doubling.
ADHD Hive is worth checking out. They do regular meet ups and they also have multiple groups, like their co-working group and their writers' group. ReASoN (Researchers & Students on Neurodiversity) Network is somewhat newer but they also do regular meetings. This is a research network focused on neurodivergent students, researchers, and staff in higher education. A website should be forthcoming, but right now they're on Twitter at ReASoN_Network. If you're not on Twitter, try contacting [email protected] for more information. Update: They're setting up a Discord channel for members and can include a writing group if there's interest! ADHD Central Student Community has a Discord channel and they do events, body doubling sometimes, etc. They're also on Twitter. ADHD Adult UK has a Discord community that includes a channel for academics, a channel for accountability buddies, and many other channels. It's pretty active! CHADD of San Fernando Valley does a substantial amount of virtual support. They have a weekly virtual work group and and an adult peer support group as well as groups focused on youth. Thank you @petequily on Twitter for sharing all that this group does! Note that some of these groups also run body doubling sessions. Five sentence (or less) summary: Don't just set out to do something; set out to do a tiny part of it and to do it badly. Identifying the absolute lowest possible bar you could set and incrementally raising it will hopefully be humorous and result in some hits of dopamine. There are no hidden expectations here. You're not giving yourself permission to do poorly ("but I really should fold ALL of the laundry"), your goal is to do poorly. We often have trouble getting started on a task, especially if it's boring, has multiple steps, and isn't going to result in an easy dopamine hit. Like most of us, I had a paper to write that I could not possibly have been less interested in. I didn't care about the consequences of not writing the paper, so anxiety as a motivator wasn't going to work. I had scheduled out my time. I knew what I had to do, and nothing.
I. did. not. care. I was reading writing tips from a fiction author, and she recommended writing badly. Yep, you have this huge paper to write, you can't get started, setting a timer for ten minutes and working isn't going well, so write a horrible introduction. Write badly. Your goal is no longer to write "the introduction" or "an introduction," your goal is to literally write "a bad introduction." It's a variation of taking the pressure completely off and just write something, but your honest goal is to write poorly. Why? Takes the pressure off and honestly it is kind-of fun. ADHD folks often need that last part. I've adapted this as the years have gone on to what I'm calling the low bar reverse limbo. |
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AuthorThere's a reason theADHDAcademic is an anonymous account and there's a reason why this website will remain anonymous. That said, there are some basics it might be helpful to know about me: DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical professional or a lawyer of any kind. All text, graphics, and content on this website are for educational purposes only. Any and all content should not be substituted for medical or legal advice. Although I strive to provide the most accurate, current, and scientifically sound information, content should never be substituted for professional advice. Always consult a medical and/or legal professional before making any decisions. Links are provided only for reference and do not necessarily imply endorsement.
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