When working with people with ADHD or Autism, I find developing automaticity for certain things can be beneficial in cutting down on an already taxed cognitive workload. For example, when I come home I automatically place my keys and wallet in their place, and when I leave I automatically grab them on my way out the door. Losing my keys and wallet used to plague me, but that now rarely happens. However, adjusting to changes and being flexible with something that is automatic is a challenge. It took me months to adjust to my wife rearranging our kitchen cupboards. I still occasionally flake out and look for my mug on the wrong shelf.
Hey Ryan, I think that's a really great point - I can see how developing those processes can be helpful in ADHD and autism. I think even for a school aged child, having it be an automatic process to set down their backpack in the same place every day and unpack it.
When adjusting to changes that required increased flexibility, do you find anything in particular really helpful? Do you ever find yourself frustrated in having to do something different?
When I'm working with people with ADHD or Autism I start with mindfulness - not just being mindful of your environment, but mindful of what's going on with yourself. For example, going back to my intentional habit of keeping my keys in the same place to cut down on losing them, when that system fails it can really derail my morning. Emotions can hit hard and fast for something so simple. Before I can use techniques to wrangle in those emotions or address the situation, I have to be mindful of how I'm reacting in the first place. If I'm about to get angry, I need to recognize that before I take a couple deep breaths or redirect my thoughts. If I'm about to go into panic mode and focus on all the possible negative outcomes, I need to catch that before I rationalize the situation. Teaching people that type of mindfulness is where I begin. Personally, as I've found to be common with ADHD, the thing I dislike most is boredom, so often times different is good. However, if different looks to be boring or interferes with something exciting I'm already doing, well then Houston, we have a problem...
When working with people with ADHD or Autism, I find developing automaticity for certain things can be beneficial in cutting down on an already taxed cognitive workload. For example, when I come home I automatically place my keys and wallet in their place, and when I leave I automatically grab them on my way out the door. Losing my keys and wallet used to plague me, but that now rarely happens. However, adjusting to changes and being flexible with something that is automatic is a challenge. It took me months to adjust to my wife rearranging our kitchen cupboards. I still occasionally flake out and look for my mug on the wrong shelf.
Hey Ryan, I think that's a really great point - I can see how developing those processes can be helpful in ADHD and autism. I think even for a school aged child, having it be an automatic process to set down their backpack in the same place every day and unpack it.
When adjusting to changes that required increased flexibility, do you find anything in particular really helpful? Do you ever find yourself frustrated in having to do something different?
When I'm working with people with ADHD or Autism I start with mindfulness - not just being mindful of your environment, but mindful of what's going on with yourself. For example, going back to my intentional habit of keeping my keys in the same place to cut down on losing them, when that system fails it can really derail my morning. Emotions can hit hard and fast for something so simple. Before I can use techniques to wrangle in those emotions or address the situation, I have to be mindful of how I'm reacting in the first place. If I'm about to get angry, I need to recognize that before I take a couple deep breaths or redirect my thoughts. If I'm about to go into panic mode and focus on all the possible negative outcomes, I need to catch that before I rationalize the situation. Teaching people that type of mindfulness is where I begin. Personally, as I've found to be common with ADHD, the thing I dislike most is boredom, so often times different is good. However, if different looks to be boring or interferes with something exciting I'm already doing, well then Houston, we have a problem...