ADHD Blog

Classroom behavior charts, or daily report cards, are a common evidence-based intervention for kids with ADHD. When used correctly, they are an excellent tool that can help students with ADHD stay more focused, organized, and in control of their behavior. Too often classroom behavior charts aren’t designed or used correctly for students with ADHD, and as a result, the intervention leads to no improvement or very temporary improvement in the child’s attention or behavior. 

If you have a child with ADHD, then chances are you’ve tried using a behavior chart with him or her at home. They are one of the first tools parents turn to when their child has difficulty following through on everyday tasks or needs extra support to manage behavior. Behavior charts are a key tool in evidence-based interventions for ADHD at home and at school. Yet despite the evidence, many parents say that when they’ve tried behavior charts in the past they haven’t worked for their child.

The term “ADHD” often invokes images of hyperactive children who rarely sit still and have endless amounts of energy. Think about what these children may be like as adults, and you’ll likely picture individuals who are always on the go and maintain a relatively average weight because they are so active. Of course, today we know that ADHD is associated with much more than hyperactivity, and that some kids with ADHD experience difficulties with inattention and/or impulsivity without being at all hyperactive. However, even for non-hyperactive kids, parents, teachers, and mental health professionals have historically not considered ADHD to be a risk factor for obesity. Yet, recent research has in fact shown that adults who were diagnosed with ADHD during childhood are more likely to be overweight or obese than adults without a history of ADHD. There is also evidence to suggest that kids with ADHD are more likely to be overweight or obese than kids without ADHD (although additional research is needed to confirm these findings).   

“My child can focus on things when he wants to. In fact, when he’s really interested in something, he focuses better than other kids – he’s hyperfocused. He’s the opposite of distracted! I just wish he’d choose to hyperfocus on the important things, like homework.”

If you are the parent of a child with ADHD, this may sound strikingly familiar. Many of the parents I have worked with describe their child as someone who can hyperfocus on a few high-interest activities, but seem to be unable to focus on less enjoyable tasks, like homework. While the targets of hyperfocused attention vary from child to child (e.g., Legos, video games, books, etc.), across the board parents are bewildered by their child’s ability to focus so well on some things and not at all on others. Parents often say that they feel frustrated by their child’s seemingly willful choice to focus well only when he or she is engaged in an activity that he or she enjoys.

In recent weeks, the Internet has been buzzing with talk about the impact of smartphone use on child and adolescent mental health following the publication of an open letter to Apple from investors asking the company to, “develop new software tools that would help parents control and limit phone use more easily and to study the impact of overuse on mental health.” As a mental health professional, I am acutely aware of the need for a better understanding of how “sticky” digital devices and apps (smartphones, social media, games, etc.) affect our children. Improved parental controls on phones and other digital devices are sorely needed, especially for parents of kids who struggle with attention challenges and impulsivity.  

For 15 years, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen, has influenced the way millions of business executives manage their time, keep track of everything they need to accomplish in a day, and maintain their productivity despite constant interruptions. Teens with ADHD aren’t busy executives, but they do have hectic lives that often leave them feeling overwhelmed, struggling to manage information overload, and juggling an ever-changing number of assignments, tasks, and commitments. These are the very challenges that an organizing system, like Getting Things Done®, is designed to target, whether you’re an executive at a Fortune 500 company, or a busy teen managing school, extracurricular activities, and a social life.