Toolkit for supporting ADHD | NIH MedlinePlus Magazine

Here are some was you can support someone in your life who has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

DO’s: 
Become knowledgeable. NIH offers materials to help you learn more about ADHD and have a better understanding of its difficulties, causes, and symptoms.

Provide useful assistance. Helping someone with ADHD can take various forms, from offering support with chores like organising and cleaning to just being there and paying attention while they work. This method, called “body doubling,” can motivate and instill a sense of accountability in people with ADHD, assisting them in maintaining attention and direction.
Show understanding and patience. others who have ADHD may find it aggravating, as well as the others around them. Be understanding, adaptable, and patient.
Promote pauses. Encourage taking brief pauses during jobs that need for prolonged focus to help prevent burnout.

DON’Ts: 
Discharge or offer criticism. It’s critical to keep in mind that neurodevelopmental disorders are what persons with ADHD are coping with. Because of this, people may struggle with particular behaviour or tasks and employ various success tactics due to the way their brains function differently than those of others.
Assume things. Ask inquiries and listen to someone who has ADHD to find out about their specific struggles rather than assuming you know what they are going through. Each person has a unique experience with this illness and employs a unique management approach.
Make an effort to “fix” them. Being there for people with ADHD and encouraging them to learn how to control their symptoms is the finest thing you can do.

DIVING DEEPER
Power comes from knowledge. The better you understand ADHD and its particular difficulties, the more equipped you will be to help those who experience it. Understanding and accepting that ADHD is a lifelong journey can have a profound impact.

Commence with the fundamentals. Learn everything there is to know about ADHD, including its causes, symptoms, signs and symptoms, people it affects, and how to get a diagnosis and treat it.
Find out how it evolves over the course of a lifetime. Even though ADHD symptoms frequently first appear in childhood, they can also persist into adulthood. Examine how ADHD manifests in kids and teens, how it changes as adults, and how to get support at each stage.

Recognise your options for treatment. Medication is not a panacea for ADHD symptoms, but it can be a useful tool when used in conjunction with other strategies including behaviour modification and treatment to control symptoms. Find more about various medicine kinds, their workings, possible adverse effects, and methods for selecting the best one.

MedlinePlus, National Institute of Mental Health

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