essay writing for adhd

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How to Remove Hurdles to Writing for Students with ADHD

Half of all kids with adhd struggle with writing, which can make every assignment — from straightforward worksheets to full-length essays — feel like torture. boost your child’s skills with these 18 strategies for school and home..

Studies suggest that more than half of children with attention deficit disorder ( ADHD or ADD ) struggle with writing. These students may have an overflow of creative ideas , but often struggle when it comes to getting these ideas onto paper.

Children with ADHD have a hard time getting started — and following through — on writing assignments because they have difficulty picking essay topics, locating appropriate resources, holding and manipulating information in their memory, organizing and sequencing the material, and getting it down on paper — all before they forget what they wanted to say.

But these hurdles don’t have to stop them from writing. Discuss the following ADHD writing strategies with your child’s teacher so you can work together to ease the difficulties attention deficit children have with writing.

Solutions in the Classroom: Guide the Writing Process

—Set up a note system. Ask the student to write her notes about a topic on individual sticky notes. She can then group the notes together that feature similar ideas so she’ll be able to easily identify the major concepts of the subject from the groupings.

—Start small and build skills. Ask students with ADHD to write a paragraph consisting of only two or three sentences. As their skills improve, the students can start writing several paragraphs at a time.

[ Free Download: 18 Writing Tricks for Students with ADHD ]

—Demonstrate essay writing. With the use of an overhead projector, write a paragraph or an entire essay in front of the class, explaining what you are doing at each step. Students can assist you by contributing sentences as you go. Students with ADHD are often visual learners , and tend to do better when they see the teacher work on a task.

—Give writing prompts. Students with ADHD usually don’t generate as many essay ideas as their peers. Help the children with ADHD increase their options for essay assignments by collecting materials that stimulate choices. Read a poem, tell a story, show pictures in magazines, newspapers, or books.

If the student is still struggling to get started, help him by sitting down and talking about the assignment with him. Review his notes from the brainstorming session and ask, “What are some ways you could write the first sentence?” If he doesn’t have an answer, say, “Here’s an idea. How would you write that in your own words?”

—Encourage colorful description. Students with ADHD often have difficulty “dressing up” their written words. Help them add adjectives and use stronger, more active verbs in sentences.

[ How Teens with Learning Differences Can Defeat Writing Challenges ]

—Explain the editing process. Students with ADHD have a hard time writing to length and often produce essays that are too short and lacking in details. Explain how the use of adjectives and adverbs can enhance their composition. Show them how to use a thesaurus, too.

Solutions in the Classroom: Use Accommodations Where Necessary

—Allow enough time. Students with ADHD, especially those with the inattentive subtype, may take longer to process information and should receive extended time to complete assignments.

—Don’t grade early work. Sensitive students are discouraged by negative feedback as they are developing their writing skills. Wait until the paper is finished before assigning it a grade.

—Don’t deduct points for poor handwriting or bad grammar. Unless an assignment is specifically measuring handwriting and grammar skills, when a child is working hard to remember and communicate, let some things slide.

—Use a graphic organizer. A graphic organizer organizes material visually in order to help with memory recall. Distribute pre-printed blank essay forms that students with ADHD can fill in, so they’ll reserve their efforts for the most important task — writing the essay.

—Grade limited essay elements. To encourage writing mastery and avoid overwhelming students, grade only one or two elements at any given time. For example, “This week, I’m grading subject-verb agreement in sentences.” Tighter grading focus channels students’ attention to one or two writing concepts at a time.

Solutions at Home

—Encourage journals. Have your child write down his thoughts about outings to the movies, visits with relatives, or trips to museums. Add some fun to the activity by asking your child to e-mail you his thoughts or text-message you from his cell phone.

—Assist with essay topic selection. Children with ADHD have difficulty narrowing down choices and making decisions. Help your student by listening to all of his ideas and writing down three or four of his strongest topics on cards. Next, review the ideas with him and have him eliminate each topic, one by one – until only the winner is left.

—Brainstorm. Once the topic is identified, ask him for all the ideas he thinks might be related to it. Write the ideas on sticky notes, so he can cluster them together into groupings that will later become paragraphs. He can also cut and paste the ideas into a logical sequence on the computer.

—Stock up on books, movies, games. These materials will introduce new vocabulary words and stimulate thinking. Explore these with your child and ask him questions about them to solicit his views.

—Be your child’s “scribe.” Before your child loses his idea for the great American novel, or for his next English assignment, have him dictate his thoughts to you as you write them out by hand or type them into the computer. As his skills improve over time, he’ll need less of your involvement in this process.

—Go digital. Children with ADHD often write slower than their classmates. Encourage your child to start the writing process on a computer. This way, she’ll keep her work organized and won’t misplace her essay before it’s finished. Also, by working on the computer she can easily rearrange the order of sentences and paragraphs in a second draft.

—Remind your child to proofread. Let your child know that he’ll be able to catch errors if he proofreads his rough draft before handing it in.

High-Tech Writing Helpers for Kids with ADHD

Portable word processor

These battery-operated devices look like a computer keyboard with a small calculator screen. Light and durable, portable word processors can be used at school for note-taking and writing assignments. Back home, files can be transferred to a PC or Mac. Basic models cost about $20.

Speech-recognition software

Word-prediction software

Software such as Co:Writer Solo ($325) helps with spelling and builds vocabulary, providing a drop-down list of words from which a student can choose. It also fills in words to speed composition. Some programs read sentences aloud, so the writer can hear what he has written and catch mistakes as they occur.

Electronic spell-checkers and dictionaries

Enter a word phonetically, and these portable gadgets define the word and provide the correct spelling. Talking devices read the words aloud. Franklin Electronics offers models beginning at about $20.

[ The Common Problems that Lead to Writer’s Block ]

Chris Zeigler Dendy, M.S., is a member of ADDitude’s  ADHD Medical Review Panel .

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How to Tackle an Essay (an ADHD-friendly Guide)

6 steps and tips.

Most of the college students I work with have one major assignment type that gets them stuck like no other: the dreaded essay. It has become associated with late nights, requesting extensions (and extensions on extensions), feelings of failure, and lots of time lost staring at a screen. This becomes immensely more stressful when there is a thesis or capstone project that stands between you and graduation.

The good news?

An essay doesn’t have to be the brick wall of doom that it once was. Here are some strategies to break down that wall and construct an essay you feel good about submitting.

Step 1:  Remember you’re beginning an essay, not finishing one.

Without realizing it, you might be putting pressure on yourself to have polished ideas flow from your brain onto the paper. There’s a reason schools typically bring up having an outline and a rough draft! Thoughts are rarely organized immediately (even with your neurotypical peers, despite what they may say). Expecting yourself to deliver a publishing-worthy award winner on your first go isn’t realistic. It’s allowed to look messy and unorganized in the beginning! There can be unfinished thoughts, and maybe even arguments you aren’t sure if you want to include. When in doubt, write it down.

Step 2: Review the rubric

Make sure you have a clear understanding of what the assignment is asking you to include and to focus on. If you don’t have an understanding of it, it’s better to find out in advance rather than the night before the assignment is due. The rubric is your anchor and serves as a good guide to know “when you can be done.” If you hit all the marks on the rubric, you’re looking at a good grade.

I highly recommend coming back to the rubric multiple times during the creative process, as it can help you get back on track if you’ve veered off in your writing to something unrelated to the prompt. It can serve as a reminder that it’s time to move onto a different topic - if you’ve hit the full marks for one area, it’s better to go work on another section and return to polish the first section up later. Challenge the perfectionism!

Step 3: Divide and conquer

Writing an essay is not just writing an essay. It typically involves reading through materials, finding sources, creating an argument, editing your work, creating citations, etc. These are all separate tasks that ask our brain to do different things. Instead of switching back and forth (which can be exhausting) try clumping similar tasks together.

For example:

Prepping: Picking a topic, finding resources related to topic, creating an outline

Gathering: reading through materials, placing information into the outline

Assembling: expanding on ideas in the outline, creating an introduction and conclusion

Finishing: Make final edits, review for spelling errors and grammar, create a title page and reference page, if needed.

Step 4: Chunk it up

Now we’re going to divide the work EVEN MORE because it’s also not realistic to expect yourself to assemble the paper all in one sitting. (Well, maybe it is realistic if you’re approaching the deadline, but we want to avoid the feelings of panic if we can.) If you haven’t heard of chunking before, it’s breaking down projects into smaller, more approachable tasks.

This serves multiple functions, but the main two we are focusing on here is:

• it can make it easier to start the task;
• it helps you create a timeline for how long it will take you to finish.

If you chunk it into groups and realize you don’t have enough time if you go at that pace, you’ll know how quickly you’ll need to work to accomplish it in time.

Here are some examples of how the above categories could be chunked up for a standard essay. Make sure you customize chunking to your own preferences and assignment criteria!

Days 1 - 3 : Prep work

• ‍ Day 1: Pick a topic & find two resources related to it
• Day 2: Find three more resources related to the topic
• Day 3: Create an outline

Days 4 & 5 : Gather

• ‍ Day 4: Read through Resource 1 & 2 and put information into the outline
• Day 5: Read through Resource 3 & 4 and put information into the outline

Days 6 - 8 : Assemble

• ‍ Day 6: Create full sentences and expand on Idea 1 and 2
• Day 7: Create full sentences and expand on Idea 3 and write an introduction
• Day 8: Read through all ideas and expand further or make sentence transitions smoother if need be. Write the conclusion

Day 9: Finish

• ‍ Day 9: Review work for errors and create a citation page

Hey, we just created an outline about how to make an outline - how meta!

Feel like even that is too overwhelming? Break it down until it feels like you can get started. Of course, you might not have that many days to complete an assignment, but you can do steps or chunks of the day instead (this morning I’ll do x, this afternoon I’ll do y) to accommodate the tighter timeline. For example:

Day 1: Pick a topic

Day 2: Find one resource related to it

Day 3: Find a second resource related to it

Step 5: Efficiently use your resources

There’s nothing worse than stockpiling 30 resources and having 100 pages of notes that can go into an essay. How can you possibly synthesize all of that information with the time given for this class essay? (You can’t.)

Rather than reading “Article A” and pulling all the information you want to use into an “Article A Information Page,” try to be intentional with the information as you go. If you find information that’s relevant to Topic 1 in your paper, put the information there on your outline with (article a) next to it. It doesn’t have to be a full citation, you can do that later, but we don’t want to forget where this information came from; otherwise, that becomes a whole mess.

By putting the information into the outline as you go, you save yourself the step of re-reading all the information you collected and trying to organize it later on.

*Note: If you don’t have topics or arguments created yet, group together similar ideas and you can later sort out which groups you want to move forward with.

Step 6: Do Some Self-Checks

It can be useful to use the Pomodoro method when writing to make sure you’re taking an adequate number of breaks. If you feel like the 25 min work / 5 min break routine breaks you out of your flow, try switching it up to 45 min work / 15 min break. During the breaks, it can be useful to go through some questions to make sure you stay productive:

• How long have I been writing/reading this paragraph?
• Does what I just wrote stay on topic?
• Have I continued the "write now, edit later" mentality to avoid getting stuck while writing the first draft?
• Am I starting to get frustrated or stuck somewhere? Would it benefit me to step away from the paper and give myself time to think rather than forcing it?
• Do I need to pick my energy back up? Should I use this time to get a snack, get some water, stretch it out, or listen to music?

General Tips:

• If you are having a difficult time trying to narrow down a topic, utilize office hours or reach out to your TA/professor to get clarification. Rather than pulling your hair out over what to write about, they might be able to give you some guidance that speeds up the process.
• You can also use (and SHOULD use) office hours for check-ins related to the paper, tell your teacher in advance you’re bringing your rough draft to office hours on Thursday to encourage accountability to get each step done. Not only can you give yourself extra pressure - your teacher can make sure you’re on the right track for the assignment itself.
• For help with citations, there are websites like Easybib.com that can help! Always double check the citation before including it in your paper to make sure the formatting and information is correct.
• If you’re getting stuck at the “actually writing it” phase, using speech-to-text tools can help you start by transcribing your spoken words to paper.
• Many universities have tutoring centers and/or writing centers. If you’re struggling, schedule a time to meet with a tutor. Even if writing itself isn’t tough, having a few tutoring sessions scheduled can help with accountability - knowing you need to have worked on it before the tutoring session is like having mini deadlines. Yay, accountability!

Of course, if writing just isn’t your jam, you may also struggle with motivation . Whatever the challenge is, this semester can be different. Reach out early if you need help - to your professor, a tutor, an ADHD coach , or even a friend or study group. You have a whole team in your corner. You’ve got this, champ!

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Writing Strategies for Students With ADHD

Here are six challenges and solutions, based on task simplicity and clear instruction, for helping students with ADHD develop their essay-writing skills.

Too often, students with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) get labeled as "problem students." They often get shuffled into special education programs even if they show no signs of developmental disability. Though these students' brains do work differently, studies prove that it doesn't preclude them from being highly intelligent. That means teachers should pay special attention to help students with ADHD discover their potential and deal with the challenges they face in their learning process.

As essay writing is both the most common and the most complicated assignment for students, writing instruction for students with ADHD requires special efforts. Each step of writing process may present certain difficulties for these young people. Here are some practical solutions for teachers to encourage, motivate, and focus their students on writing process.

1. Difficulty Concentrating on Assignment

Research proves that ADHD doesn’t result in less intelligence, but rather in difficulties controlling emotions, staying motivated, and organizing the thoughts. So a teacher's first task is teaching students focus enough on a writing assignment.

Solution: Give clear, concise instructions.

When assigning an essay or other writing project, be specific and clear about what you expect. Don't leave a lot of room for interpretation. Instead of the assignment "Write about a joyous moment," include instructions in your writing prompt, such as:

• Think about the last time you felt happy and joyful.
• Describe the reasons for your happiness.
• What exactly made you feel joy?
• What can that feeling be compared to?

Make sure every student knows that he or she should come to you directly with any questions. Plan to take extra time reviewing the instructions with students one to one, writing down short instructions along the way.

2. Difficulty Organizing Thoughts on Paper

Several studies have found that students with ADHD struggle with organizing their thoughts and mental recall. These students can often speak well and explain their thoughts orally, but not in writing.

Solution: Get them organized from the start.

Start each project with a simple note system. Give students the freedom to take their own notes and review them together if possible. Have students pay special attention to filing these notes in a large binder, folder, or other method for making storage and retrieval simple.

To help students understand how to organize their written thoughts, teach them mind mapping . A semantic mind map for an essay may include major nouns, verbs, and adjectives, as well as phrases to use in writing each paragraph. Some introductory and transition sentences will also come in handy. Another step after mind mapping is advanced outlining . Begin and end the initial outline with the words "Intro" and "Conclusion" as placeholders. Then have students expand that outline on their own.

3. Difficulty With Sustained Work on a Single Task

ADHD can make it difficult for students to focus on long-term goals, leading to poor attention and concentration when the task requires work for an extended period of time.

Solution: Create small, manageable milestones.

Since accomplishing a five-page essay takes a lot of time, you can chop it into smaller, easier-to-manage pieces that can be worked on in rotation. Each piece may be checked separately if time allows. Treating every issue and section as an independent task will prevent students from feeling overwhelmed as they work toward a larger goal.

4. Difficulty in Meeting Deadlines

Deadlines are the things that discourage students with ADHD, as they work on assignments more slowly than their classmates, are often distracted, and tend to procrastinate.

Solution: Allow for procrastination.

It may sound ridiculous, but build procrastination into the writing process by breaking up the work and allowing for extra research, brainstorming, and other activities which diversify students' work while still focusing on the end result.

5. Spelling Issues

Students with ADHD often have difficulties with writing, especially in terms of spelling. The most common issues are reversing or omitting letters, words, or phrases. Students may spell the same word differently within the same essay. That's why lots of attention should be paid to spelling.

Solution: Encourage spell checkers, dictionaries, and thesaurus.

There are plenty of writing apps and tools available to check spelling and grammar. As a teacher, you can introduce several apps and let students choose which ones work better for writing essays. When checking the submitted papers and grading the work, highlight the spelling mistakes so that students can pay special attention to the misspelled words and remember the correct variant.

6. Final Editing Issues

Students with ADHD may experience problems during the final editing of their work since, by this time, they will have read and reviewed it several times and may not be paying attention to mistakes.

Solution: Teach them to review their writing step by step.

Take an essay template as an example and show students how to revise it. Go through the editing process slowly, explaining the "why" behind certain changes, especially when it comes to grammatical issues. Assign students the task of revising each other's essays so that when they revise their own final draft, they'll know what to pay attention to and what common mistakes to look for.

Addressing the challenges unique to students with ADHD will help these students find ways to handle their condition effectively and even use it to their advantage. Their unique perspective can be channeled into creative writing, finding new solutions to problems, and most of all, finding, reaching, and even exceeding their goals and fulfilling their full potential.

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Writing Problems Common for Students With ADHD

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• ADHD and Writing Skills
• Common Challenges
• Helpful Writing Strategies

Children with ADHD are more likely to develop writing problems than children without ADHD, regardless of gender. Among both boys and girls with ADHD who also have a reading disability, however, girls have an even higher chance of developing a written language disorder, creating even more challenges for girls in the classroom.

At a Glance

ADHD is a form of neurodivergence that can make writing more challenging for some students. ADHD traits can affect a student's ability to concentrate, meet deadlines, stay on task, and stay organized, impacting their writing skills. Keep reading to learn more about how ADHD can affect children's writing skills—and how appropriate accommodations and support can help these students succeed.

ADHD Can Impact Skills Important for Writing

The technique of expressing oneself through writing is quite a complex, multi-step process. It requires integrating several skills, including:

• Planning, analyzing, and organizing thoughts
• Prioritizing and sequencing information
• Remembering and implementing correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar rules
• Fine motor coordination

As students age and move into high school and college , the expectations around writing become even more demanding. Essays and reports that require students to communicate what they know on paper factor more prominently into the curriculum.

It is no wonder that writing can create such anxiety in students with ADHD. Simply starting the process and getting ideas and thoughts out of their head in an organized manner and down on paper can feel like an uphill battle.

This can create problems for students with ADHD since research has found that writing abilities longitudinally predict the academic outcomes of kids with this form of neurodivergence .

Signs of Writing Problems in Kids With ADHD

Some of the signs that a student might be struggling with their writing due to ADHD characteristics include:

• Taking longer than their classmates to complete their work
• Producing less written work—shorter reports, less "discussion" on discussion questions, and fewer sentences on each test question—as compared to their peers without ADHD
• Struggling to turn in written assignments by the required deadline
• Making spelling errors due to rushing through the writing process or not being able to stay on task
• Failing to proofread and edit assignments before turning them in

ADHD Challenges That May Lead to Writing Difficulties

Why is it so tough for students with ADHD to produce well-crafted, thoughtful, carefully edited writing? Here are nine of the top reasons:

• Keeping ideas in mind long enough to remember what one wants to say
• Maintaining focus on the "train of thought" so the flow of the writing does not veer off course
• Keeping in mind the big picture of what you want to communicate while manipulating the ideas, details, and wording
• With the time and frustration it can take to complete work, there is often no time (or energy) remaining to check over the details, edit assignments, and make corrections.
• Students with ADHD generally have problems with focus and attention to detail, making it likely that they will make errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation.
• If a child is impulsive, they may also rush through schoolwork. As a result, papers are often filled with "careless" mistakes.
• The whole proofreading and editing process can be quite tedious, so if students attempt to review work, they may easily lose interest and focus.
• Challenges with fine motor coordination can complicate writing ability further. Many students with ADHD struggle with fine motor coordination, resulting in slower, messier penmanship that can be very difficult to read.
• Simply sustaining the attention and mental energy required for writing can be a struggle for someone with ADHD.

Research indicates that it is less the overt behavioral traits (like restlessness and impulsivity) that influence writing problems in kids with ADHD. Instead, it is typically struggles with executive functions (such as working memory, cognitive flexibility, and attentional control) that play the most significant role in causing writing problems for kids with ADHD.

Writing Strategies for Kids With ADHD

Students with ADHD can work on strategies to improve writing skills that address common learning problems that can interfere with written language expression. Appropriate accommodations and support can help students with ADHD manage the challenges that might affect their writing abilities. Some strategies that can help include:

Giving Clear Instructions

Students with ADHD benefit from having concise instructions that clearly outline the steps to follow in an assignment. Breaking down tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks can also help.

Help With Organization

Organizational strategies like outlining can help. Some people may find index cards breaking down writing tasks into small steps helpful, but students with ADHD often get bogged down if they have to deal with many smaller tasks. In such instances, setting a timer and devoting a specific block of time to writing can be a great way to make progress on writing tasks without getting overwhelmed.

Provide Extra Time

Because students with ADHD may take longer with writing assignments, providing extra time to complete these tasks can be a helpful accommodation that helps ensure academic sucess. This can give kids the time they need to produce quality work and finish their assignments.

Extra time, clear instructions, and help with organization can help kids with ADHD managing writing assignments more easily. However, it is important to remember that each kid is different. Experimenting with different methods and supports can help each child figure out what works best for them.

Keep in Mind

It is important to remember that while students with ADHD might struggle with writing skills, having the right accommodations and support can help them succeed in academic settings. Finding ways to support kids in overcoming their writing challenges can help them manage their ADHD effectively, foster more positive academic self-esteem, and strengthen their writing skills.

Molitor SJ, Langberg JM, Evans SW. The written expression abilities of adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder .  Res Dev Disabil . 2016;51-52:49-59. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2016.01.005

Molitor SJ, Langberg JM, Bourchtein E, Eddy LD, Dvorsky MR, Evans SW. Writing abilities longitudinally predict academic outcomes of adolescents with ADHD .  Sch Psychol Q . 2016;31(3):393-404. doi:10.1037/spq0000143

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ADHD in the classroom: Helping children succeed in school .

Mokobane M, Pillay BJ, Meyer A. Fine motor deficits and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in primary school children . S Afr J Psychiatr . 2019;25:1232. doi:10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v25i0.1232

Soto EF, Irwin LN, Chan ESM, Spiegel JA, Kofler MJ. Executive functions and writing skills in children with and without ADHD .  Neuropsychology . 2021;35(8):792-808. doi:10.1037/neu0000769

By Keath Low  Keath Low, MA, is a therapist and clinical scientist with the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities at the University of North Carolina. She specializes in treatment of ADD/ADHD.

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Harnessing ADHD for Successful Essay Writing: A Guide to 7 Effective Techniques

Table of contents

Did you know that some of the most celebrated authors, such as George Bernard Shaw and Seth Godin, have also dealt with the challenges of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?

If you have ADHD, you might worry about writing a well-structured essay, be unsure about where to begin, or even worry about overlooking important details while editing. Hang in there – with the right strategies, you can write a great essay while staying calm and focused.

Why is it so hard to write essays with ADHD?

People with ADHD often face challenges in maintaining focus on tasks that demand extended periods of attention. They find it difficult to effectively organize and structure their ideas, and they tend to have a greater tendency to procrastinate. As writing involves multiple tasks, it can overwhelm students with ADHD, resulting in mental fatigue and decreased efficiency.

We reached out to Matt, one of our expert writers who have ADHD, to bring you these seven effective techniques that will help you focus while writing essays, despite ADHD.

1. Establish a structured writing routine

While creating a structured routine is common advice for anyone who has trouble writing, it is particularly vital for college students with ADHD.

When you designate specific times for writing and consistently stick to it, your mind tends to get accustomed to the writing process during these dedicated hours, making it easier for you to focus and write your essays. It starts associating certain times with writing sessions.

So, find the time you feel most alert and productive, and dedicate it to writing. Consider factors like your energy levels, environmental conditions, and personal preferences. For some, it could be early morning, for others, it could be around midnight when everyone’s asleep.

Remember : establishing a routine just a week before your deadline is not enough. To make it effective, it’s important to implement and practice the routine early on so it becomes a habit over time.

Do people with ADHD make good writers?

Yes! They have the ability to think creatively and bring a fresh perspective to their writing. Additionally, their intuition and sensitivity enable them to convey complex emotions effectively. While writing abilities vary from person to person, there is no reason to believe those with ADHD can’t be good writers.

2. Organize your research notes

How often do you waste time locating specific information you thought you came across while doing research? Failure to track sources, mixing up research findings, and difficulty in finding information while drafting are all consequences of poor research organization skills.

What you need is a structured note-taking system.

This is crucial for maintaining focus because it can be challenging for ADHD students to keep track of information. An organized system ensures your research is well-organized, accurate, and readily accessible when you get down to writing your essay.

Here are some practical ways to organize your research notes :

• Use note-taking apps to document information;
• Sort your research material based on subtopics, arguments, or even by the order in which they will appear in your essay;
• Summarize key points while doing research;
• Highlight important information or quotes that you might need to refer to or use;
• Create an annotated bibliography as you write.

Investing a few extra hours in organizing your notes during the research stage will prove to be a lifesaver when you begin drafting your essay.

3. Create an outline

Do you find yourself muddled with racing thoughts, not knowing how or where to begin? You tell yourself, “I’ll come to it later” but you keep putting the writing process off until you can’t anymore, and what follows is a rushed job.

This is the story of many students who experience ADHD.

The most effective way to avoid such a situation is to start the essay writing process by creating an outline. An essay outline serves as a roadmap that helps you organize your thoughts, structure your ideas, and maintain focus while writing.

When you create an outline, you’re able to see the ‘big picture’ which is the first step to writing a well-structured essay. This is the basic outline of any essay:

a. Introduction

• Thesis statement
• Topic sentence
• Supporting evidence

c. Conclusion

• Closing thoughts

Tailor this to your topic, add your ideas as bullet points, and there you go – you have an outline!

If you need help creating an outline or writing an essay from scratch, consider taking help from a writing service for students like Writers Per Hour .

We assign the most suitable writer for your assignment, guaranteeing a high-quality, well-researched essay that meets your expectations and is delivered on time.

4. Set mini goals

One of the techniques that transformed essay writing for Matt was setting mini-goals.

He sets targets to complete each paragraph within a specific timeframe. “Every time I achieve these mini goals, I feel a sense of accomplishment which motivates me to work on the next section,” he says.

A simple but highly effective technique well-suited for ADHD college students.

Once you have the outline ready, divide the essay into smaller, manageable chunks. For instance, the first milestone could be to finish the introduction in five hours, followed by the first paragraph of the body in 2 hours, and so on.

Every milestone you meet is proof of steady progress, leaving you with a sense of satisfaction and renewed motivation to tackle the next one with more determination.

However, be realistic about your goals. Don’t try to take on too much that may lead to frustration and burnout.

5. Implement the Pomodoro technique

Expanding upon the previous point, the Pomodoro technique is a great way to stay focused on writing essays.

This technique breaks the writing process into manageable intervals. Let’s say you decide to work on an essay section for 25 minutes. During that time, you will have to focus entirely on the essay and immerse yourself in the writing process.

After 25 minutes, you can take a break of 5 minutes after which you will get back to 25 minutes of intense work. Once you’re done with 4 such Pomodoros (25 minutes of concentration), you can take an extended break of 15-30 minutes.

By working in such concentrated bursts, you’ll be able to harness your ADHD tendencies and make significant process in your essay. Moreover, there are lesser chances of stress and burnout because you’re giving yourself enough time to rest in between.

Are people with ADHD slow writers?

People with ADHD may not necessarily be slow writers, but they tend to face certain challenges such as focusing difficulties, impulsive tendencies, and overthinking that might impact the speed of their writing process.

6. Minimize distractions

Studies suggest that people with ADHD are easily distracted, which is why you need to take extra efforts to keep distractions at bay while writing essays. Even minor interruptions can divert your attention and disrupt your writing flow.

Measures to minimize distractions to maintain focus while writing essays

• Find a dedicated space to write – this can be your room, a quiet corner in your house, your college library, or anywhere else you think you can concentrate properly;
• Consider using noise-canceling headphones;
• Put your phone in ‘do not disturb mode or keep it away when you’re writing;
• Use focus apps such as Freedom and Cold Turkey to prevent you from browsing social media platforms and other websites that are not relevant to your essay;
• Ask your family, friends, and roommates not to disturb you during this time.

7. Keep an editing checklist

As someone with ADHD, editing can be tough because you may find it hard to focus on the small details and concentrate. On the other hand, you may become so absorbed in one part of your essay that you might overlook other important elements.

The solution is to have an editing checklist you can use while writing essays. Use it to be consistent in your writing, review the important details and manage your time effectively.

Elements you can include in your editing checklist

• Overall structure of the essay;
• Logical representation of ideas and arguments;
• Grammar, spelling, and punctuation;
• Check for wordiness and confusing sentences;
• Sufficient evidence and examples to support your arguments;
• Adherence to citation and formatting guidelines.

Alternatively, you can also hire a college paper editing service for expert help.

Key takeaway

It’s also a good idea to join communities and connect with others who struggle with ADHD. This is a good way to share coping strategies and learn from each other.

We agree it’s not easy having ADHD and having to write an essay while adhering to strict deadlines. However, don’t let self-doubt come in the way.

With practice and the right strategies, you will be able to approach your essays in a structured and organized manner – and enjoy the writing process.

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ADHD and Writing: Challenges and Strategies

Writing with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) poses a challenge to both children and adults living with the disorder. Many with ADHD struggle with dysgraphia , a learning disorder that makes writing difficult on several levels. Problems range from the physical act of writing to organizing essays. After discussing ADHD and creativity in my last post, I wanted to go into more depth about why writing with ADHD can be so hard and what we can do about it.

Writing with ADHD and Dysgraphia

ADHD and writing are often complicated by dysgraphia, a disorder with symptoms such as illegible writing or incomplete words. As a child, I loved to draw. However, whenever art classes graded on the ability to trace, color within the lines, or wield scissors, I fell short. Another nightmarish task required writing essays in pen—without whiteout. Though writing was one of my strong points, I found it virtually impossible to write even a paragraph in pen without making a single mistake.

Thanks to computers, good penmanship no longer has the significance it once did. This is fortunate for the many with ADHD and/or dysgraphia who have bad handwriting . They sometimes struggle with fine motor skills, spatial judgment, and the ability to recall shapes and letters of words on command.

Writing, ADHD, and Working Memory

Poor working memory also plagues many ADHDers and makes it hard to remember specific vocabulary and grammatical rules. Working memory involves storing, prioritizing, and utilizing information; so, even though I have a decent vocabulary, I often struggle to find the right word at the right time.

Problems with working memory also result in disorganized and unfocused writing, for one has to have the ability to prioritize and follow a train of thought in order to clearly communicate with a reader. People with ADHD tend to possess stronger verbal skills, but, even in discussions, we tend to ramble and go off on tangents ( ADHD Challenges: Mind Going Blank? ).

Having an excess of ideas also muddies the planning process. Too much structure can feel limiting and stifling, but too little structure might result in paralysis due to an infinite number of possible writing topics. I spend a lot of time determining what information needs to be left out and what points are of highest priority.

Impulsivity and boredom also hamper many an ADHDer when it comes to writing. Editing and proofreading are essential but sometimes tedious parts of the writing process. When it is finally time to edit, someone with ADHD probably wants to move on to something new. This results in poor attention to detail, which in turn results in careless mistakes and a draft that is never fully polished.

Video with ADHD Writing Strategies

Do not lose hope. People with ADHD have a lot to give when it comes to writing, and there are ways to make it easier. When I started taking my ADHD medication , I was better at organizing information and actually able to complete projects. The right medications can also reduce anxiety and make it easier to get started. In the video below, I talk about other steps you can take to make the process of writing with ADHD easier.

• HealthyPlace. Laurie Dupar. ADHD Challenges: Mind Going Blank?
• ADDitude. Chris Zeigler Dendy. How to Remove Hurdles to Writing for Students with ADHD .
• Advanced Education Services, Las Cruces (New Mexico) Public Schools. Niki Mott. Teaching Writing to Students Who Are Gifted and ADHD .
• Goins, Writer. Ryan McRae. The ADHD Guide to Building a Writing Habit .
• Verywell Mind. Keath Low. Writing Problems Common for Students With ADHD .

APA Reference Matteson, N. (2018, April 17). ADHD and Writing: Challenges and Strategies, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, June 8 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/livingwithadultadhd/2018/04/adhd-and-writing-challenges-and-strategies

Author: Noelle Matteson

Find Noelle on Twitter , Facebook  and her blog .

Hi, I to have given up on my masters in Social Policy, the mantra 'if I read your work I have to read everyone elses' I do have a degree in Social Welfare Law and I have a complaint going in. You are right about positive regard and how it is ignored. They fail to follow their own University Policy.

I have given up my masters course because the lecturers do not understand that writing about my structure on my assignment paper is not going to get any better without help. They spout about grey areas but, the Equality Act 2010 is quite clear, looking at 'positive regard'. I wonder if the lecturers are using the grey area as an excuse.

Leave a reply

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ADHD and Graduate Writing

What this handout is about.

This handout outlines how ADHD can contribute to hitting the wall in graduate school. It describes common executive function challenges that grad students with ADHD might experience, along with tips, strategies, and resources for navigating the writing demands of grad school with ADHD.

Challenges for graduate students with ADHD

Many graduate students hit the wall (lose focus, productivity, and direction) when they reach the proposal, thesis, or dissertation phase—when they have a lot of unstructured time and when their external accountability system is gone. Previously successful strategies aren’t working for them anymore, and they aren’t making satisfactory progress on their research.

In many ways, hitting the wall is a normal part of the grad school experience, but ADHD, whether diagnosed or undiagnosed, can amplify the challenges of graduate school because success depends heavily on executive functioning. ADHD expert Russell Barkley explains that people with ADHD have difficulty with some dimensions of executive function, including working memory, motivation, planning, and problem solving. For grad students, those difficulties may emerge as these kinds of challenges:

• Being forgetful and having difficulty keeping things organized.
• Not remembering anything they’ve read in the last few hours or the last few minutes.
• Not remembering anything they’ve written or the argument they’ve been developing.
• Finding it hard to determine a research topic because all topics are appealing.
• Easily generating lots of new ideas but having difficulty organizing them.
• Being praised for creativity but struggling with coherence in writing, often not noticing logical leaps in their own writing.
• Having difficulty breaking larger projects into smaller chunks and/or accurately estimating the time required for each task.
• Difficulty imposing structure on large blocks of time and finishing anything without externally set deadlines.
• Spending an inordinate amount of time (like 5 hours) developing the perfect plan for accomplishing tasks (like 3 hours of reading).
• Having trouble switching tasks—working for hours on one thing (like refining one sentence), often with no awareness of time passing.
• Conversely, having trouble focusing on a single task–being easily distracted by external or internal competitors for their attention.
• Being extremely sensitive to or upset by criticism, even when it’s meant to be constructive.
• Struggling with advisor communications, especially when the advisors don’t have a strict structure, e.g., establishing priorities, setting clear timelines, enforcing deadlines, providing timely feedback, etc.

If you experience these challenges in a way that is persistent and problematic, check out our ADHD resources page and consider talking to our ADHD specialists at the Learning Center to talk through how you can regain or maintain focus and productivity.

Strategies for graduate students with ADHD

Writing a thesis or dissertation is a long, complex process. The list below contains a variety of strategies that have been helpful to grad students with ADHD. Experiment with the suggestions below to find what works best for you.

Reading and researching

Screen reading software allows you to see and hear the words simultaneously. You can control the pace of reading to match your focus. If it’s easier to focus while you’re physically active, try using a screen reader so you can listen to journal articles while you take a walk or a run or while you knit or doodle–or whatever movement helps you focus. Find more information about screen readers and everything they can do on the ARS Technology page .

Citation management systems can help you keep your sources organized. Most systems enable you to enter notes, add tags, save pdfs, and search. Some allow you to annotate pdfs, export to other platforms, or collaborate on projects. See the UNC Health Sciences Library comparison of citation managers to learn more about options and support.

Synthesis matrix is a fancy way of saying “spreadsheet,” but it’s a spreadsheet that helps you keep your notes organized. Set the spreadsheet up with a column for the full citations and additional columns for themes, like “research question,” “subjects,” “theoretical perspective,” or anything that you could productively document. The synthesis matrix allows you to look at all of the notes on a single theme across multiple publications, making it easier for you to analyze and synthesize. It saves you the trouble of shuffling through lots of highlighted articles or random pieces of paper with scribbled notes. See these example matrices on Autism , Culturally Responsive Pedagogy , and Translingualism .

Topic selection

Concept maps (also called mind maps) represent information visually through diagrams, flowcharts, timelines, etc. They can help you document ideas and see relationships you might be interested in pursuing. See examples on the Learning Center’s Concept Map handout . Search the internet for “concept-mapping software” or “mind-mapping software” to see your many choices.

Advisor meetings can help you reign in all of the interesting possibilities and focus on a viable, manageable project. Try to narrow the topics down to 3-5 and discuss them with your advisor. Be ready to explain why each interests you and how you would see the project developing. Work with your advisor to set goals and a check-in schedule to help you stay on track. They can also help you sort what needs to be considered now and what’s beyond the scope of the dissertation—tempting though it may be to include everything possible.

Eat the elephant one bite at a time. Break the dissertation project down into bite-sized pieces so you don’t get overwhelmed by the enormity of the whole project. The pieces can be parts of the text (e.g., the introduction) or the process (e.g., brainstorming or formatting tables). Enlist your advisor, other grad students, or anyone you think might help you figure out manageable chunks to work on, discuss reasonable times for completion, and help you set up accountability systems.

Tame perfectionism and separate the processes . Writers with ADHD will often try to perfect a single sentence before moving on to the next one, to the point that it’s debilitating. Start with drafting for ideas, knowing that you’re going to write a lot of sentences that will change later. Allow the ideas to flow, then set aside times to revise for ideas and to polish the prose.

List questions you could answer as a way of brainstorming and organizing information.

Make a slideshow of your key points for each section, chapter, or the entire dissertation. Hit the highlights without getting mired in the details as you draft the big picture.

Give a presentation to an imaginary (or real) audience to help you flesh out your ideas and try to articulate them coherently. The presentation can be planned or spontaneous as a brainstorming strategy. Give your presentation out loud and use dictation software to capture your thoughts.

Use dictation software to transcribe your speech into words on a screen. If your brain moves faster than your fingers can type, or if you constantly backspace over imperfectly written sentences, dictation software can capture the thoughts as they come to you and preserve all of your phrasings. You can review, organize, and revise later. Any device with a microphone (like your phone) will do the trick. See various speech to text tools on the ARS Technology page .

Turn off the monitor and force yourself to write for five, ten, twenty minutes, or however long it takes to dump your brain onto the screen. If you can’t see the words, you can’t scrutinize and delete them prematurely.

Use the Pomodoro technique . Set a timer for 25 minutes, write as much as you can during that time, take a five-minute break, and then do it again. After four 25-minute segments, take a longer break. The timer puts a helpful limit on the writing session that can motivate you to produce. It also keeps you aware of the passage of time, helping you stay focused and keeping your time more structured.

Sprints or marathons? Some people find it helpful to break down the writing process into smaller tasks and work on a number of tasks in smaller sprints. However, some people with ADHD find managing a number of tasks overwhelming, so for them, a “marathon write” may be a good idea. A marathon write doesn’t have to mean last-minute writing. Try to plan ahead, stock up on food for as many days as you plan to write, and think about how you’ll care for yourself during the long stretch of writing.

Minimize distractions . Turn off the internet, find a suitable place (quiet, ambient noise, etc.), minimize disruptions from other people (family, office mates, etc.), and use noise-canceling headphones or earplugs if they help. If you catch your thoughts wandering, write down whatever is distracting and you can attend to it later when you finish.

Seek feedback for clarity . Mind-wandering is a big asset for people with ADHD as it boosts creativity. Expansive, big-picture thinking is also an asset because it allows you to imagine complex systems. However, these things can also make graduate students with ADHD struggle with maintaining logical coherence. When you ask for feedback, specify logical coherence as a concern so your reader has a focus. If you’d like to look at your logic before you seek feedback, see our 2-minute video on reverse outlining .

Seek feedback for community . Talking to people about your ideas for writing will help you stay connected at a time when it’s easy to fade into a dark hole. Check out this handout on getting feedback .

Time management and accountability

Enlist your advisor . Graduate students with ADHD might worry about the perception that they’re “gaming the system” if they disclose their ADHD. Or they might struggle with an advisor with a more hands-off mentoring style. It will be helpful to be explicit about your neurodiversity and your potential need for a structure. Ask your advisor to clarify the expectations specifically (even quantify them), and work with them to come up with a clear timeline and a regular check-in schedule.

Enlist other mentors . Your advisor may be less understanding and/or may not be able to provide enough structure, or you may think it’s a good idea to have more than one person on your structure team. Look for other mentors on your faculty (inside or outside of your committee), and talk to senior grad students about their strategies.

Pay attention to your body rhythms . When do you feel most creative? Most focused? Most energetic? Or the least creative, focused, energetic? What activities could you engage in during those times? How can you do them consistently?

Think about task vs. time . It can be difficult to estimate how long a task is going to take, so think about setting a time limit for working on something. Set a timer, work for that amount of time, and change tasks when the time is over.

Tame hyperfocus . If you have trouble switching tasks, ask a friend or colleague to “interrupt” you, or figure out a system you can use to interrupt yourself. For example, when you find yourself trying to fix a sentence for 30 minutes, you can call a friend for a brief conversation about another topic. People with ADHD often find this helps them to look at the work from a more objective perspective when they return to it.

Set SMART goals . Check out the handout on setting SMART goals to help you set up a regular research and writing routine.

Set up a reward system . Tie your research or writing goal to an enjoyable reward. Note that it can also be pre-ward – something you do beforehand that will help you feel refreshed and motivated to work.

Find accountability buddies . These can be people you update on your progress or people you meet with to get work done together. Oftentimes, the simple presence of other people is able to motivate and keep us focused. This “body-doubling” strategy is particularly helpful for people with ADHD. Look for events like the Dissertation Boot Camp or IME Writing Wednesdays .

Find virtual accountability partners . There are a number of online platforms to connect you with virtual work partners. See this article on strategies and things to consider.

Use productivity and focus apps . Check out some recommendations among the Learning Center’s ADHD/LD Resources . To find the best options for you, try Googling “Apps for focus and productivity” to find reviews of timers and other focus apps.

Learn more about accountability . See the Learning Center’s Accountability Strategies page for great information and resources.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Barkley, R. (2022, July 11). What is executive function? 7 deficits tied to ADHD . ADDitude: Inside the ADHD Mind. https://www.additudemag.com/7-executive-function-deficits-linked-to-adhd/

Hallowell, E. and Ratey, J. (2021). ADHD 2.0: New science and essential strategies for thriving with distraction—from childhood through adulthood . Random House Books.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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ADHD College Students: Use This Strategy To Write Papers

ADHD College Students : Here at ADHD Collective, we love highlighting the experiences and perspectives of like-minded people with ADHD. Izzy Walker started attending the weekly coworking sessions we launched in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began.  She showed up week after week and put in the hard work as she neared the semester’s end at University. When she accepted my invitation to share what she learned with our readers, I was thrilled, and I know you will be too. Please share Izzy’s helpful tips in your social circles, if you know a college student with ADHD who could benefit.

ADHD and College

Making it to university was a milestone I often thought I would never make. However, my experience was gloomy. Everything was disproportionately difficult, lectures were a confusing din, and every assignment was a mammoth struggle.

I changed university naively thinking it would be different somewhere else. It wasn’t. But it was there at my new university that my story of hope began, as one friend saw the immense struggle I was having and suggested that it could be ADHD.

This conversation was a catalyst for change, and set the ball rolling for me in my journey. It led to a heck of a lot of personal research, but also a meeting with an Educational Psychologist who after a series of testing gave me the diagnosis of ADHD and Dyspraxia .

When I read these words I felt an odd, overwhelming sense of relief. I wasn’t dumb, lazy, incapable, or ‘just not cut out to study’.

School reports year after year would echo the words, ‘distracted and distracting’, ‘capable but often off-task’, and ‘constantly questioning’. On paper I was doing well, the product of my work was good, so no flags had been raised, but deep down behind closed doors I was not doing well, the process was far from good. This has been the case throughout the whole of my education, and I just put it down to my capability.

Since diagnosis I have finished my 1 st assignment, and then my 2 nd , and then my 3 rd , and I am now looking onwards to my final year before being a qualified teacher. This time with hope and acceptance of who I am and who I can be with the right strategies and support in place.

Here are some that I have found the most game-changing when working on projects/assignments:

Give Yourself a New Deadline

I set myself a deadline a few days (at least) before the actual one. I have a real tendency to be scrambling right to the last minute and this helps avoid a lot of stress.

The whole point of this was to prevent a lot of unnecessary scrambling and stress. This also gave me time to edit (more on that later).

As much as you can, it’s helpful to treat this earlier date as your actual deadline. One way I did this was only scheduling this earlier date on the calendar so it felt more real.

By finishing 5-6 days early, it offered me a  window of time for editing and getting it ready to turn in. It also gave time to improve the paper should I have any middle of the night revelations…which I so often do!

Break Your Paper Down into Smaller Pieces

When I was presented with a 5,000 word assignment I felt immediately overwhelmed. I broke the assignment down into sections and assigned a word count to each one.

when I considered what my paper actually entailed, it didn’t seem so bad. Here's what the requirements consisted of:

• Introduction - 1 section
• Argument FOR - 3 sections
• Argument AGAINST - 3 sections
• Conclusion - 1 Section
• Total length of the paper had to be 5,000 words.

It may seem very overly meticulous, but by spending 30 minutes doing this prevented what could have been HOURS of cutting back word count in the editing stages, and could also run the risk of having no clear structure.

I am a waffler, so without this structure, I would probably have gone WAY over the word limit anyway.

I also went one step further by writing a title for each of the points (on my plan only) and any key things I wanted/needed to mention.

For example, in an assignment on why outdoor learning should be a part of the primary curriculum, my points would be titled ‘educational benefits’, ‘health benefits’ and ‘social benefits’.

The contrary points could be titled ‘behavioural issues’, ‘lack of funding’, and ‘lack of training’. By breaking it down into bite size chunks I felt it was much more manageable.

Focus on One Section a Day

After breaking it down, I dedicated a day to each of the sections. For example, intro – Monday, section 1 – Tuesday, etc.

From my experience, I have found that having a specific measurable target makes it almost like a game. I found it very motivating watching the word count for that section going down as I typed.

By scheduling the sections out and putting them in my calendar, it allowed me to know when this assignment could realistically be finished by, rather than taking a guess and hoping for the best.

When I woke up, I was thinking, 'I have to write 650 words today!’ rather than ‘oh my goodness 5,000 words!?

I would recommend doing this step as soon as you get the assignment and the deadline date…even if you do nothing else towards it, so that you know when you must start.

Set a Mid-Way Checkpoint

it will save you a LOT of time in the editing stages if you do a little editing as you go along. 

With the word count on this particular assignment being so big, I thought it would be wise to set a mid-way checkpoint to read through everything so far and make changes as necessary. 

Normally, this would be done at the end but I knew I would have lost all interest and motivation by this point…so it would be better to save myself such a huge job. This also filled me with confidence because when I was writing the second half of the assignment and needed the extra boost, I knew that the first half was to a good standard.

Do Something Every Day (No Matter How Small)

I’m not going to lie, not everyday was as straightforward as ‘write one section a day’. 

Some days I was crippled by demotivation, lethargy and not wanting to do ANYTHING. 

The key times I noticed this was if I had worked too hard the previous day or if I had hit a difficult part. Believe me, working TOO hard is a THING. 

My biggest piece of advice is…know your limits! 

I’m no ADHD scientist, but I find my brain must be working harder because of the increased effort I am investing to even stand a chance of being able to concentrate. 

Whilst I may feel just about fine at the time, the next day it takes its toll…big time…and maybe the work I did in my ‘overtime’ wasn’t even of the best quality anyway. 

"If you just aren’t feeling it, do just one sentence, or find just one piece of theory. Just do one something ..."

This is another reason why my structured plan was really useful because it prevented me from unnecessarily going overboard…and meant that there was no real reason to anyway as I was already on track to finish on time. 

If it’s the latter reason, that I’ve hit a difficult part, then there is nothing worse than putting it off another day because this ‘mental wall’ will just get HIGHER. 

What did I find useful? If you just aren’t feeling it…do just ONE sentence, or find just ONE piece of theory you just use. Just do ONE something…so then you can feel at least partially accomplished and it’s not a blank section for when you do get back to it. 

Best case scenario…that ONE something, could roll into TWO or THREE or FOUR somethings…and before you know it that section is done. Often it is just starting that is the difficult bit. 

But worse case scenario…you tried and you can give it another shot tomorrow when your brain is a bit fresher. Productive days happen, utilise these and ride the waves…as do unproductive days…don’t allow the guilt to creep in.

Declutter Your Workspace

I even went to the extreme of removing the pen pot off the desk…in front of me all I had was paper, 1 pen, my lamp, and my laptop.

Minimalism has been a saviour for me during this time of discovering what works for me and what doesn’t. I’ve come to the conclusion that reducing physical clutter consequently reduces mental clutter. I also found the inverse to be true too, clearing my physical space gave me mental clarity.

Whilst this is a visible practice in much of my life, it is especially apparent with my workspace . You’d be amazed what I can get distracted by when writing an assignment…even something as small and monotonous as a pen pot!

Firstly…I would recommend to ALWAYS have a work station with a proper chair when you are writing an assignment and never work from your bed. You must set yourself up for success.

Secondly, I have only the bare essentials in front of me…a pen, a lamp, paper, and my laptop. By keeping it minimal it also means it is easily portable if you want to ‘hot seat’ in your own house if you get bored of that scenery!

Use ADHD Coworking Sessions (and the Pomodoro Technique)

At the start of lockdown I stumbled upon a weekly coworking group ran by Adam from ADHD Collective. I can honestly put down a lot of my success to this…it was amazing!

Firstly, I felt so understood because the group was aimed at people with ADHD. This meant that everyone could share their experiences and not feel judged, but instead find themselves in a supportive community where they could also ask advice.

Each session was 2 hours long and attracted between 4 and 12 people, depending on the week.

It would start with each person sharing (with specifics) what task they wanted to achieve within the next 25 minute block.

By being specific it allowed for a strong element of accountability because at the end of the block, Adam, the ADHD coach and group host would check your progress and whether you had achieved what you wanted to achieve.

Working in 25 minute blocks is often referred to as the Pomodoro Technique . Whilst everyone else in the group is sharing their progress, it gives your brain the opportunity for a short break before starting the next block.

By having short bursts of activity I was able to concentrate and thus achieve more than I would have done if I tried to work for hours without breaks.

Additionally, having the accountability was an incentive for me because it was motivation and almost turned it into a game to try and get the activity finished in time.

I hope these college writing tips give you several options that might help you with your ADHD experience.

Now over to you!

Share the tools, strategies, and tips in the comments below that have helped you in your own journey with ADHD and college writing!

Izzy Walker

Izzy Walker is a trainee teacher in her final year at University in Newcastle, UK. When not studying, she can be found on spontaneous adventures, and meeting new people! To follow her as she navigates through the adventures of ADHD, student life, and teacher...find her on Instagram at @if.walker

Thank you so much.

I am an over 50 returning student trying to finish my undergraduate degree. I never knew I had ADHD until I started taking classes that required retention, organizing, and WRITING. At times, I even wondered if I lacked the skills to even finish. I, at times, self sabotage myself of success because of my struggles. I truly appreciate you sharing your experience. I’ve become desperate and will try anything at this point. I’m just glad to know that others understand my journey. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks for this! In addition to these, I also find it really helpful to keep a “Random thoughts” notepad near me to jot down unrelated urges as I have them. Things like “refill water bottle” or “text Casey back” will still be there in 25 minutes, and knowing in advance that thoughts like ‘this will only take a second’ are lies makes them easier to put on the back burner.

Wow. Thank you, so much, Izzy. I developed ADHD only 3 years ago from a medication. I also decided to go back to college as a mom of 3 boys and the mental exhaustion and burnout is no joke. Papers have been the most challenging and this is the single most helpful tool I’ve found yet. I could feel the relief wash over me as I read through your guide. I feel inspired to tackle my papers in a new way now.

Hi, I am a mid-career student here going back for an MA part-time, while also working. I’ve never been formally diagnosed, but I tick all the boxes and I know now it is why I struggled with papers in college the first time around and why I developed so many systems to be organized in my work life. Was feeling a little burned out today while writing an academic paper and was looking for advice. I was amazed to see that your system is very similar to what I’ve been doing for myself to get through paper-writing! It’s reinforcing in a very good way. Thank you for sharing this. Best of luck to everyone with finding the solutions and tricks that work for them.

Hi Espy, appreciate the comment. Very cool to hear your intuitive system is similar (nice intuition!). If an additional accountability/community component would ever be useful, you’re always invited to our Wednesday ADHD Coworking Sessions. They’re free and we do them every Wednesday (you can sign up for upcoming sessions here: https://adhdcollective.com/adhd-coworking-session-online/ ). Would love to have you, Espy!

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• Writing Help for ADHD Students

Updated 2024.

Typically, students with ADHD produce a wealth of ideas about an essay writing topic. Yet over 60% of students with ADHD struggle to get their ideas down on paper.

For most students with ADHD, writing assignments are torturous.

Because students with ADHD often have trouble separating dominant (main) ideas from less dominant (subordinate) ideas, even starting a writing assignment can be an arduous and anxiety filled experience.

But none of these difficulties needs to keep your ADHD child from writing successfully in school. Use the eight strategies below to help your child write more easily and successfully.

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• Feb 17, 2023

Executive function skills: writing support for students with ADHD

Why do students with ADHD struggle with writing?

For one, writing is an incredibly complex task that many students struggle with in school and at home. And for a student with ADHD, the demands that writing places on their cognitive load (brain capacity) can be overwhelming.

Strong executive function skills are a crucial part of writing. These skills take time to develop so younger children may need extra scaffolding and guidance.

Middle and high school students with ADHD will likely need to learn strategies in order to achieve academic success.

Before we begin, please note that a student's ability to write and their perceived intelligence are not at all correlated. Students with ADHD genuinely want to succeed but need to develop better self regulation, self monitoring, and self awareness.

This challenge does not make them any less smart. Writing is an enormous cognitive task and requires steps to be chunked, sustained attention, and it is essential that students have a supportive environment.

Keep reading to learn how you can help your student with ADHD learn how to write.

Table of Contents

What are common challenges with writing for kids with adhd, what do kids with adhd struggle with underneath the surface, what are the executive skills required for writing, how does this impact school performance, case study: brian, potential solutions to writing challenges, what else to look for.

Book recommendations

About the author

Writing difficulties in students with executive function deficits can look like racing to finish assignments the night before it's due, seemingly drawing a blank when sitting down to write, or just plain avoiding writing tasks.

Many kids with executive skill deficits are visual learners and visual thinkers, so expressing themselves using written expression is not always easy.

If you notice any of the following issues for your child with ADHD when they are asked to write, read on:

Avoidance around writing tasks

Being able to verbally explain their thoughts, but not write them down

Confusion and challenges following the writing process

Drawing a blank when asked to write (especially open ended prompts)

Underneath the struggle, the student is possibly dealing with low frustration tolerance as well as perfectionism.

Yes, perfectionism.

Perfectionism is often observed in people with ADHD and can lead to perfectionist paralysis.

This is when people feel like they can't start a task because the demand (whether internal or external) to be perfect, flawless, magnificent, is too great.

In reality, the best way to move forward is just to start!

Tiny steps with permission to mess up.

To learn more about what is going on below the surface for kids with ADHD, check out the article, Parenting Students with ADHD: What Is The ADHD Iceberg? (2022) .

Students with ADHD typically have challenges with their working memory.

Working memory is like your brain's mental scratchpad. It's where you hold and manipulate pieces of information that are then either funneled to long term memory or forgotten (think: Pixar's Inside Out).

For someone without working memory challenges, they can usually hold 4 pieces of information. Many children with ADHD typically have fewer working memory slots contributing to poor working memory. This is one reason your child (or you) may be so forgetful.

In contrast, more recent meta-analytic evidence indicates...that up to 85% of children with ADHD have working memory deficits (Kasper et al., 2012)

Source: Working memory and short-term memory deficits in ADHD: A bifactor modeling approach

1. Planning

When we write, we must think about the topic, the organization, eloquently tying ideas together, all while regulating our attention long enough to stick to the task.

Planning from beginning to end is often a struggle for people with attentional challenges. Students have told me that planning out writing can feel like extraneous work since they want to just get the writing task done and out of the way.

2. Organizational skills

People with executive dysfunction have an underdeveloped frontal lobe which can lead to being disorganized as well as an indifference to organization.

Their brain is scattered and so is their space- a phrase I often hear from frustrated parents. Organizing thoughts, ideas, and then written expression is no different. It can seem random and scattered and all over the place.

3. Attention

Attention deficits are a hallmark of ADHD, though most people with ADHD are actually paying attention to TOO many things and have trouble self regulating.

In his most recent book, ADHD 2.0 , Dr. Hallowell talks about VAST which stands for variable attention stimulus trait.

It is a pattern of behavior that professionals within the field of ADHD are seeing that appears similarly to ADHD but without the neurochemical imbalance. It is likely caused by technology, social media apps, and our increasing demand for immediate gratification.

You can read more about VAST here .

4. Time management

When we get an assignment, we need to ask ourselves, "how long will this task take us?" You need to think about the entire assignment but also the smaller pieces that must be completed.

If you manage your time well, you might start a week before the assignment is done and do 30 minutes each night. Low stress, efficient, and effective. Most students with executive challenges will not plan their time ahead like this without help.

5. Metacognition

Metacognition in this case would be self talk. It is a key skill for self monitoring and self regulation.

How does your student feel about themselves as a writer?

You can read more about and EF skills here .

Sitting down to write, especially about something that they are not inherently interested in can feel extremely difficult.

If a student with executive function deficits is assigned writing assignments for homework , especially without graphic organizers to support their writing (see below for more), they might feel overwhelmed, anxious, tempted to avoid the task until the last minute.

They may wait until the night the assignment is due and frantically try to get it done. This may or may not result in a late assignment. This is usually the result of time blindness and poor time management skills.

This will result in stress. Probably for the student. Probably for the parent.

How does stress impact executive function skills? It wipes them out. If you want an article about that, let us know in the comments.

I had a client who was a freshman in college. He was extremely social, well spoken, a wonderful artist but when it came to writing, he immediately shut down. He would say "I am a terrible writer. Writing is so hard."

When his first writing assignment came around he said he would work on it a little bit the days leading up to the deadline. He did not.

When we met, he shared that he had not actually worked on it and felt anxious about the assignment. He liked the topic, he had picked it, but couldn't think of anything to write. The process of writing felt overwhelming and the attention and self regulation it took to actually sit down, brainstorm, write, and edit was just too much to do independently.

My solution was:

Help him find sources- this helped him think about what else to write and include

Type for him while he said what to write. This alleviates the cognitive load pressure to think, write, organize, and edit.

We outlined the rest of his paper together so he had structure

I checked in with him daily via text

He met with his teacher to get an extension

Executive dysfunction will look different for each student. It is important to listen to your student with compassion and not shame them for struggling.

As a word of caution, it is possible for students to have a specific learning disability in written expression, sometimes called dysgraphia.

This neurological condition is entirely different than ADHD and a student would require different supports and accommodations.

According to medical professionals , If you observe any of the following, it may be beneficial to consider further testing for dysgraphia:

Difficulties writing in a straight line.

Difficulties with holding and controlling a writing tool.

Writing letters in reverse.

Having trouble recalling how letters are formed.

Omitting words from sentences.

Incorrectly ordering words in sentences.

Using verbs and pronouns incorrectly.

Students with executive dysfunction often struggle with written expression and homework assignments that involve writing, and getting their thoughts onto paper.

As a parent or coach, it is of the utmost importance that you first preserve their self esteem and secondarily support their writing skills.

Students with ADHD can often verbalize their thinking but the process of writing is hard because of the cognitive load and the complex process of thinking, writing, editing, and rewriting.

Do you feel your student still needs improvement in writing but you simply don't have the time or ability to address it? An executive function coach may be a great next step!

Check out our article: Executive Function Coaching -The definitive guide , and sign up for executive function coaching to make sure you get the help you need.

Book recommendations:

Learning How to Learn by Barbara Oakley

The ADHD guide to Writing

Brain Hacks by Laura Honos-Webb

Ella Holton-McCoy is an Executive Function Coach and Educational Therapist at EF Specialists . She is a firm believer that executive functioning skills are the key to success in education as well as in life. Her speciality is working with college aged students who are interested in exploring how mindfulness can reduce stress and improve their executive functioning. In her free time, she enjoys playing frisbee golf, swimming, reading, and spending time with her family.

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ADHD is my superpower: A personal essay

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A Story About a Kid

In 1989, I was 7 years old and just starting first grade. Early in the school year, my teacher arranged a meeting with my parents and stated that she thought that I might be “slow” because I wasn’t performing in class to the same level as the other kids. She even volunteered to my parents that perhaps a “special” class would be better for me at a different school.

Thankfully, my parents rejected the idea that I was “slow” out of hand, as they knew me at home as a bright, talkative, friendly, and curious kid — taking apart our VHS machines and putting them back together, filming and writing short films that I’d shoot with neighborhood kids, messing around with our new Apple IIgs computer!

The school, however, wanted me to see a psychiatrist and have IQ tests done to figure out what was going on. To this day, I remember going to the office and meeting with the team — and I even remember having a blast doing the IQ tests. I remember I solved the block test so fast that the clinician was caught off guard and I had to tell them that I was done — but I also remember them trying to have me repeat numbers back backwards and I could barely do it!

Being Labeled

The prognosis was that I was high intelligence and had attention-deficit disorder (ADD). They removed the hyperactive part because I wasn’t having the type of behavioral problems like running around the classroom (I’ll cover later why I now proudly identify as hyperactive). A week later, my pediatrician started me on Ritalin and I was told several things that really honestly messed me up.

I was told that I had a “learning disability” — which, to 7-year-old me, didn’t make any sense since I LOVED learning! I was told that I would take my tests in a special room so that I’d have fewer distractions. So, the other kids would watch me walk out of the classroom and ask why I left the room when tests were happening — and they, too, were informed that I had a learning disability.

As you can imagine, kids aren’t really lining up to be friends with the “disabled” kid, nor did they hold back on playground taunts around the issue.

These were very early days, long before attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was well known, and long before people had really figured out how to talk to kids with neurodiversities . And as a society, we didn’t really have a concept that someone who has a non-typical brain can be highly functional — it was a time when we didn’t know that the world’s richest man was on the autism spectrum !

Growing Past a Label

I chugged my way through elementary school, then high school, then college — getting consistent B’s and C’s. What strikes me, looking back nearly 30 years later, is just how markedly inconsistent my performance was! In highly interactive environments, or, ironically, the classes that were the most demanding, I did very well! In the classes that moved the slowest or required the most amount of repetition, I floundered.

Like, I got a good grade in the AP Biology course with a TON of memorization, but it was so demanding and the topics were so varied and fast-paced that it kept me engaged! On the opposite spectrum, being in basic algebra the teacher would explain the same simple concept over and over, with rote problem practice was torturously hard to stay focused because the work was so simple.

And that’s where we get to the part explaining why I think of my ADHD as a superpower, and why if you have it, or your kids have it, or your spouse has it… the key to dealing with it is understanding how to harness the way our brains work.

Learning to Thrive with ADHD

Disclaimer : What follows is NOT medical advice, nor is it necessarily 100% accurate. This is my personal experience and how I’ve come to understand my brain via working with my therapist and talking with other people with ADHD.

A Warp Speed Brain

To have ADHD means that your brain is an engine that’s constantly running at high speed. It basically never stops wanting to process information at a high rate. The “attention” part is just an observable set of behaviors when an ADHD person is understimulated. This is also part of why I now openly associate as hyperactive — my brain is hyperactive! It’s constantly on warp speed and won’t go any other speed.

For instance, one of the hardest things for me to do is fill out a paper check. It’s simple, it’s obvious, there is nothing to solve, it just needs to be filled out. By the time I have started writing the first stroke of the first character, my mind is thinking about things that I need to think about. I’m considering what to have for dinner, then I’m thinking about a movie I want to see, then I come up with an email to send — all in a second. 

I have to haullll myself out of my alternate universe and back to the task at hand and, like a person hanging on the leash of a horse that’s bolting, I’m struggling to just write out the name of the person who I’m writing the check to! This is why ADHD people tend to have terrible handwriting, we’re not able to just only think about moving the pen, we’re in 1,000 different universes.

On the other hand, this entire blog post was written in less than an hour and all in one sitting. I’m having to think through a thousand aspects all at once. My dialog: “Is this too personal? Maybe you should put a warning about this being a personal discussion? Maybe I shouldn’t share this? Oh, the next section should be about working. Should I keep writing more of these?”

And because there is so much to think through and consider for a public leader like myself to write such a personal post, it’s highly engaging! My engine can run at full speed. I haven’t stood up for the entire hour, and I haven’t engaged in other nervous habits I have like picking things up — I haven’t done any of it! 

This is what’s called hyperfocus, and it’s the part of ADHD that can make us potentially far more productive than our peers. I’ve almost arranged my whole life around making sure that I can get myself into hyperfocus as reliably as possible.

Harnessing What My Brain Is Built For

Slow-moving meetings are very difficult for me, but chatting in 20 different chat rooms at the same time on 20 different subjects is very easy for me — so you’ll much more likely see me in chat rooms than scheduling additional meetings. Knowing what my brain is built for helps me organize my schedule, work, and commitments that I sign up for to make sure that I can be as productive as possible.

If you haven’t seen the movie “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” and you are ADHD or love someone who is, you should immediately go watch it! The first time I saw it, I loved it, but I had no idea that one of its writers was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult , and decided to write a sci-fi movie about an ADHD person! The moment I read that it was about having ADHD my heart exploded. It resonated so much with me and it all made sense.

Practically, the only real action in the movie is a woman who needs to file her taxes. Now, don’t get me wrong — it’s a universe-tripping adventure that is incredibly exciting, but if you even take a step back and look at it, really, she was just trying to do her taxes.

But, she has a superpower of being able to travel into universes and be… everywhere all at once. Which is exactly how it feels to be in my mind — my brain is zooming around the universe and it’s visiting different thoughts and ideas and emotions. And if you can learn how to wield that as a power, albeit one that requires careful handling, you can do things that most people would never be able to do!

Co-workers have often positively noted that I see solutions that others miss and I’m able to find a course of action that takes account of multiple possibilities when the future is uncertain (I call it being quantum brained). Those two attributes have led me to create groundbreaking new technologies and build large teams with great open cultures and help solve problems and think strategically. 

It took me until I was 39 to realize that ADHD isn’t something that I had to overcome to have the career I’ve had — it’s been my superpower .

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Published Jul 15, 2022

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Last updated March 22, 2024

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Blog > Common App , Essay Advice , Personal Statement > How to Write a College Essay About ADHD

How to Write a College Essay About ADHD

Admissions officer reviewed by Ben Bousquet, M.Ed Former Vanderbilt University

Written by Ben Bousquet, M.Ed Former Vanderbilt University Admissions

Key Takeaway

ADHD and ADD are becoming more prevalent, more frequently diagnosed, and better understood.

The exact number of college students with ADHD is unclear with estimates ranging wildly from just 2% to 16% or higher.

Regardless of the raw numbers, an ADHD diagnosis feels very personal, and it is not surprising that many students consider writing a college essay about ADHD.

If you are thinking about writing about ADHD, consider these three approaches. From our experience in admissions offices, we’ve found them to be the most successful.

First, a Note on the Additional Information Section

Before we get into the three approaches, I want to note that your Common App personal statement isn’t the only place you can communicate information about your experiences to admissions officers.

You can also use the additional information section.

The additional information section is less formal than your personal statement. It doesn’t have to be in essay format, and what you write there will simply give your admissions officers context. In other words, admissions officers won’t be evaluating what you write in the additional information section in the same way they’ll evaluate your personal statement.

You might opt to put information about your ADHD (or any other health or mental health situations) in the additional information section so that admissions officers are still aware of your experiences but you still have the flexibility to write your personal statement on whatever topic you choose.

Three Ways to Write Your College Essay About ADHD

If you feel like the additional information section isn’t your best bet and you’d prefer to write about ADHD in your personal statement or a supplemental essay, you might find one of the following approaches helpful.

1) Using ADHD to understand your trends in high school and looking optimistically towards college

This approach takes the reader on a journey from struggle and confusion in earlier years, through a diagnosis and the subsequent fallout, to the present with more wisdom and better grades, and then ends on a note about the future and what college will hold.

If you were diagnosed somewhere between 8th and 10th grade, this approach might work well for you. It can help you contextualize a dip in grades at the beginning of high school and emphasize that your upward grade trend is here to stay.

The last part—looking optimistically towards college—is an important component of this approach because you want to signal to admissions officers that you’ve learned to manage the challenges you’ve faced in the past and are excited about the future.

I will warn you: there is a possible downside to this approach. Because it’s a clear way to communicate grade blips in your application, it is one of the most common ways to write a college essay about ADHD. Common doesn’t mean it’s bad or off-limits, but it does mean that your essay will have to work harder to stand out.

2) ADHD as a positive

Many students with ADHD tell us about the benefits of their diagnosis. If you have ADHD, you can probably relate.

Students tend to name strengths like quick, creative problem-solving, compassion and empathy, a vivid imagination, or a keen ability to observe details that others usually miss. Those are all great traits for college (and beyond).

If you identify a strength of your ADHD, your essay could focus less on the journey through the diagnosis and more on what your brain does really well. You can let an admissions officer into your world by leading them through your thought processes or through a particular instance of innovation.

Doing so will reveal to admissions officers something that makes you unique, and you’ll be able to write seamlessly about a core strength that’s important to you. Of course, taking this approach will also help your readers naturally infer why you would do great in college.

3) ADHD helps me empathize with others

Students with ADHD often report feeling more empathetic to others around them. They know what it is like to struggle and can be the first to step up to help others.

If this rings true to you, you might consider taking this approach in your personal statement.

If so, we recommend connecting it to at least one extracurricular or academic achievement to ground your writing in what admissions officers are looking for.

A con to this approach is that many people have more severe challenges than ADHD, so take care to read the room and not overstate your challenge.

Key Takeaways + An Example

If ADHD is a significant part of your story and you’re considering writing your personal statement about it, consider one of these approaches. They’ll help you frame the topic in a way admissions officers will respond to, and you’ll be able to talk about an important part of your life while emphasizing your strengths.

And if you want to read an example of a college essay about ADHD, check out one of our example personal statements, The Old iPhone .

As you go, remember that your job throughout your application is to craft a cohesive narrative —and your personal statement is the anchor of that narrative. How you approach it matters.

Liked that? Try this next.

The Incredible Power of a Cohesive College Application

How A Selective Admissions Office Reads 50k Applications In A Season

12 Common App Essay Examples (Graded by Former Admissions Officers)

How to Write a Personal Statement for Colleges

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How I owned it: 3 college application essays

By The Understood Team

Many students (and families) wonder if it’s a good idea to disclose their learning and thinking differences in their college application essay.

Whether to disclose is a personal decision. But for these three students, all mentors with Understood founding partner Eye to Eye , it was a positive move. Here are portions of their essays, and their thoughts on how the process of writing about their differences changed how they see themselves and their challenges.

1. Brittain Peterson, senior at University of Denver

Like most people with dyslexia , I have had the inevitable moment of feeling powerless and unintelligent. But I have also had the positive moments of feeling successful and capable.

Compassionate teachers made the reward of being successful so much greater that I came to love school, while the unaccommodating teachers showed me the importance of advocating for myself. My learning difference also taught me to embrace differences in others. Because I have learned to find my own strengths in unconventional places, I have learned the importance of doing the same for others.

Currently, the most challenging part of dyslexia is overcoming the logistics: scheduling extended time for tests, arranging computer access for in-class essays, planning ahead to source books on tape when necessary. I know that I will have to navigate the logistics of college just as I have navigated the logistics of high school.

But, now it won’t be a question of whether I can do it, just of how.

“I think writing my application essay boosted my confidence. It reminded me that dyslexia didn’t define me, but that it described me. It helped me grasp the idea that my dyslexia had taught me a great deal. It also forced me to picture how I would use accommodations in college , which allowed me to picture myself in college.

My essay also helped me to choose which college to attend . I wanted college to be a place to enjoy learning and not be frustrated with it.”

2. Scott Thourson, bioengineering PhD candidate at Georgia Institute of Technology

In college, at age 19, I was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In grade school, my intelligence was masked by my low reading comprehension. I neither fit in with the top students (I could not read) nor with the bottom students (I excelled in mathematics).

Firing spitball guns, among other mischief, was my way of protecting my self-esteem and allowing me to focus on coping with my learning differences in school.

When I was 12 years old, my mother gave me an Electronics Learning Lab. I observed that when I could apply knowledge from my electronics projects to new concepts in school, I overcame my ADHD and enhanced my academic performance.

“One of my mentors told me to always be thinking about my life as a coherent story that can explain and tie together everything I have ever done. Making lists, writing journal entries, creating mind maps, or any way of organizing thoughts and ideas can help bring that story to light.

I chose to disclose my ADHD because I was finally proud and confident in my story. I’m a very open person, so I was already comfortable with putting it out there. What made me feel good was how I put it out there. Having enough confidence in my accomplishments and coherence in my story made me feel a lot better about being me and having ADHD.

I wasn’t nervous about what the reviewers might have thought; I was excited. This was definitely a turning point in my life. It wasn’t until this point that I actually started thinking that I was smart.”

3. Carolyn Todd, sophomore at McGill University

Dyslexia is both a blessing and a curse. I struggle every day, working twice as hard as other students. I get stereotyped as stupid by people who do not understand what it means to have a learning difference. However, I refuse to give up. I have learned the importance of standing up for myself and others.

Being dyslexic makes me able to look at the world and see the amazing potential that exists in diversity. Dyslexia has given me the tools to see the beauty in difference and the passion to change the way we define intelligence.

I want to show the world what I see.

“I chose to disclose in my essay because I believe it’s important to raise awareness about different learners. I’ve noticed that topics of disabilities and mental illness are quite taboo. Not enough people take the time to become educated on what they are and can make false assumptions on how they affect someone. I thought that I could, in a small part, help the movement of trying to change this.

Disclosing in my essay felt empowering. Growing up I had learned to hide my dyslexia, and it felt good to be able to embrace the positivities associated with it and share that with others.

It changed the way I saw myself because it gave me more confidence and helped to reinforce the truth that having a disability doesn’t make you any less ‘smart’ or capable.”

Hear from six students in the Eye to Eye mentoring network on the accommodations that helped them succeed in college .

Read how self-advocacy helped a college student with dyscalculia fight for her accommodations.

Find out how another student uses dictation technology to handle college writing.

Explore related topics

• laurensevier
• Mar 9, 2023

DO PEOPLE WITH ADHD STRUGGLE TO WRITE ESSAYS?

Today's topic is one that is very near and dear to my heart. One of the biggest obstacles I've overcome in my writing journey is my struggle with ADHD. I'm so excited to start this blog series where I'll talk in depth about different aspects of ADHD and writing, how ADHD can be the ace up your sleeve or the trap door beneath your feet in any creative endeavor but especially writing.

I was first diagnosed when I was four-years-old, which as a young girl, wasn't happening very often at the time. In fact, when I was growing up the medical world was still learning a lot about ADHD. The medications at the time were high doses of stimulants, one that had to be reformulated because it was found to actually cause Tourette's syndrome in small children. One of my earliest memories of taking ADHD medication were getting a Little Debbie cake each morning before school started. At the time, I thought I was getting a cool treat, but really it was the only way my mom knew how to give me a pill since I didn't know how to swallow them yet.

Over the years, I went through more medications than I can even list. Stimulants. Non-stimulants. Fast acting. Slow release. A combination of both.

But the thing is, I wasn't sick. The world around me was.

ADHD, as we've come to understand more about the condition, isn't a problem in and of itself. The problem comes from expecting people who are neurodivergent to operate in a neurotypical world as if they don't have executive dysfunction. ADHD can be incredibly limiting if you're trying to live up to expectations that were never meant for you in the first place. On the other hand, some of the world's most creative and critical thinkers were also neurodivergent.

Because our brains are wired to see and experience the world differently, we oftentimes are insanely good problem solvers and can think outside the box better than most. Oftentimes in social situations when it seems like we're 'zoning out' it's usually because we've anticipated the punchline to the joke a couple words in, and are already thinking of new stories for the conversation. This is a beautiful thing. And it can make you an exceptional writer, if you let it.

Our brains are like supercomputers. They work hard, fast, and have multiple tabs open... all the time.

Today, we're talking about writing Essays. Not creative fiction, but structured assignments for work or school. Although I love to write, and am always bursting with creative ideas... essay writing is one of the things I struggled with the most. Why? Why is essay writing more difficult for people with ADHD?

Well, there are a few different reasons that writing essays can be problematic for people with executive dysfunction. The first thing I think about when writing an essay is decision fatigue .

Picking a topic is truly one of the worst things about essay writing. When you get your assignment to write an essay you usually get a list of topics to choose from or EVEN WORSE your boss or teacher could be cruel enough to say write about anything . Remember those multiple tabs I talked about a few lines up? Imagine infinite tabs leading to infinite black hole google searches. Yeah, that's what my brain does when I have to pick my own topic.

Cruel, unusual punishment in 12 pt. Roman font, double-spaced, in MLA format.

I've wasted so much time on assignments over the years agonizing over topic choice. So, now what do I do to combat this, you ask? I make it fun. Either I do a topic draft, or mortal combat style determine which topic could beat the others in a back alley fight (which is super fun to imagine depending on the subject btw), flip a coin, or pull a topic from a hat. Making the decision tactile, silly, or just plain interesting keeps me from overanalyzing each option, so I never freeze up. The beauty of it is, once the topic is chosen... it's done. I can get down to the real work of creating the essay.

Here comes our next obstacle: research, resources, and structure.

If structure was a person, it'd be a person attempting to murder me with a death laser in a creepy lair. My arch nemesis... who I sometimes flirt with.

Let's be honest, people with ADHD absolutely hate structure. It's almost a universal fact. Only, we don't really. In fact, structure is really good for us. What we really hate is that we're bad at implementing structure into our own lives. When it's forced on us, like regular work or school hours, we thrive. Our bodies get into a routine and then our brains know what to expect too. But implementing it ourselves can be really difficult. Why wouldn't it? We're constantly thinking about how to break the rules.

Don't lie. You're constantly thinking about how to break the rules.

When researching the topic, it's easy to start straying into other areas of research. Why? Well, because it's how we're programmed. We wander and consume knowledge, constantly trying to see a problem or topic from all angles. This isn't good for staying on task when researching something specific, but it's part of what makes us great problem-solvers and pretty great debaters too. (Or maybe I'm just argumentative?)

So how do you keep yourself on task? There's no real easy answer to this one I'm afraid. I still struggle with this and have to set timers to 'checkpoint' if I'm still on task or not when I'm working. I think being aware that this can be a problem is the first step. Then you just try to catch yourself when you're doing it and keep plugging ahead. If any of you have better tips on how to keep yourself from wandering down an alternate research-hole... I'm all ears. Comment below.

So, do people with ADHD struggle to write essays?

Short answer, I think most of us do. But, we also love a challenge and are capable of anything. Do we have to learn a few tips and tricks on how to work with our brains instead of against them? Of course. But that hasn't stopped any of us before, and it certainly won't stop any of us now. ADHD is a complicated, creative, beautiful part of who I am. One that I fought against for many years of my life, but I've learned to love the chaotic, quirky, formidable part of my brain. If you're reading this and also have ADD, ADHD, OCD, ODD, Autism, or any other neurodivergent disorder, I hope you love that part of yourself too. After all, it's what makes you... you.

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Writers With ADHD: Strategies for Navigating the Writing Process

I immediately knew who to call on, and I am excited to share a guest post today from a writer who has been a part of my own journey almost from the very beginning. Johne Cook and I met on an online writing forum over 15 years ago, and he remains one of my favorite people to have entered my life in this journey. I have long admired his pragmatism, his insight, and his general cool in the face of the Internet’s insanity. To this day, I will often ask myself, “What would Johne do here?”

He has always been open about his experience as a writer with ADHD—both the challenges and his solutions for overcoming them. Today, I’m excited to have the opportunity to let him share his experience, tips, and resources with you. Enjoy this treasure trove of insight!

I wish I knew then what I know now.

For my first 45 years, I thought I was broken: I was a daydreamer, I couldn’t focus on things everyone else thought were important, I fidgeted when I should have been focusing, and I focused intently on the wrong things when people wanted my attention elsewhere.

It’s not like there weren’t clues. I excelled as part of an award-winning marching band in high school where marching in unison was expected, but it was like I was out of step with society.

I had difficulties with organization, time management, and sustaining attention in non-stimulating environments.

I couldn’t make important decisions to save my life. I kept putting things off. I had health problems, money problems, interpersonal problems.

I waited until the 11th hour to begin anything important, and things frequently fell through the cracks.

When I was young, what I wanted most was to be “normal.” But the older I got, the more I believed that was never my reality or calling.

Everything changed the day I heard a piece on NPR called “Adult ADHD in the Workplace.” As they discussed what ADHD was and shared six basic questions, I realized I checked five of the six boxes. They shared a link to a website, and I double-checked my results when I got home.

And then I met with a doctor and confirmed the diagnosis. My entire identity changed.

When I tried two different medications that gave me additional focus at the expense of my creativity (and some other small side effects), I sensed, for the first time, that my creativity was somehow tied to my condition. I valued my ability to sling words, see patterns, and make intuitive leaps that others around me couldn’t.

Because I valued my creativity, I ultimately handled my ADHD through other means that I’ll talk about below.

I realized I could either run from my ADHD or embrace it.

I decided to lean into it.

Communication

Knowing is half the battle. Knowing this about myself (and knowing that I was special, not broken) changed the way I saw everything.

I started by talking to my wife Linda and my family about what I was like and gradually increased my communication to include my boss and peers at work.

For some of them, what I told them was no surprise, and my biggest pleasant shock was how cool everyone was about it.

Finally, when appropriate, I shared about my ADHD with people I met out in the world. Letting people know what I was like set expectations and minimized confusion.

Once I had that handled, I moved on to the fun stuff.

ADHD as a Superpower

If attention deficit is the disorder, attention hyper-focus is my superpower.*

During the pandemic, Linda and I watched an interrupted season of The Amazing Race , mostly for Penn and Kim Holderness from YouTube’s The Holderness Family . It was only while watching the show that we learned that Penn was very ADHD. They referred to his ADHD as a superpower, and I saw with my own eyes how his ADHD helped him with pattern recognition, creative outside-the-box thinking, and hyper-focus during challenges.

And watching Penn at work on the show changed how I viewed my own ADHD.

In short, when managed effectively and embraced for its positive attributes, ADHD can empower writers to harness their inner strengths and achieve success in various domains of life.

Understanding ADHD in the Writing Process

People with ADHD exhibit different symptoms such as difficulty maintaining attention, hyperactivity, or impulsive behavior. For writers, these symptoms can manifest as challenges in organizing thoughts, staying on task, and completing projects.

However, it’s also associated with high levels of creativity, the ability to make unique connections, and a propensity for innovative thinking.

Challenges Faced by Writers With ADHD

(The following challenges are common but not universal.)

• Distraction: Writing progress can be derailed by the lure of new ideas , social media, or even minor environmental changes.
• Difficulty Organizing Thoughts: It can be daunting to translate a whirlwind of thoughts into coherent, structured writing.
• Procrastination: Delaying writing tasks in favor of more immediately rewarding activities.
• Impulsivity: Starting new projects without finishing current ones can lead to a cycle of uncompleted works .

Despite these challenges, many writers with ADHD have developed strategies to thrive.

Strategies and Tools for Writing with ADHD

I decided against medication. Once I took medication off the table, I began leaning harder on software tools to become more organized and to remind myself of important things.

Turning ADHD challenges into advantages requires a combination of personal strategies, environmental adjustments, and technology.

Linda and I are a team—she knows to prompt me to use my tech to capture ideas or thoughts in the moment, and I’ve become better at tracking my ideas by noting them in my phone or on my calendar.

Today, there are more tools available than ever.

Here are several approaches:

1. Structuring the Writing Environment

Minimize Distractions: Create a writing space with minimal visual and auditory distractions. Tools like noise-canceling headphones or apps that play white noise can help.

Establish Routines: Having a set writing schedule can provide structure and make it easier to start writing sessions.

2. Breaking Down Tasks

Outlining Your Novel (Amazon affiliate link)

Use Lists and Outlines: Breaking writing projects into smaller, manageable tasks can make them less daunting. Outlining can also help organize thoughts before diving into writing.

Set Small Goals: Focus on short, achievable objectives , such as writing a certain number of words daily, to build momentum.

3. Leveraging Technology

Calendars : Google Calendar or Fantastical (MacOS only) free up my mind and keep me up-to-date.

Writing Software: Applications like Scrivener or Google Docs offer features to organize ideas, research, and drafts in one place.

Time Management Apps: Pomodoro timers or task management apps like Trello can help manage time and keep track of progress.

Pocket : A social bookmarking service for storing, sharing, and discovering web bookmarks.

SnagIt : A screenshot app on my computer where I capture and store screenshots in folders for later use. Also does optical character recognition (OCR) on text strings, allowing me to replicate URLs with copy/paste.

Note-taking apps : Apple Notes —my second mind that I can access from any of my Internet-connected devices.  Notion —a beefier app for more sophisticated note-taking

4. Embracing the Creative Process

Allow for Free Writing: Set aside time to write without worrying about coherence or structure. This can help capture creative ideas without the pressure of perfection.

Develop a System for Capturing Ideas: Use note-taking apps or carry a notebook to jot down ideas as they come, regardless of the time and place.

5. Seeking Support

Writing Groups: Joining a writing group or participating in writing challenges can provide accountability and motivation.

Professional Help: For some, working with a coach or therapist specializing in ADHD can offer personalized strategies and support.

Success Stories: Writers With ADHD

Many successful writers have ADHD and have spoken about how it affects their creative process. Writers emphasize the importance of embracing their non-linear thinking, and view it not as a hindrance, but as a source of creativity and originality:

• Agatha Christie: The “Queen of Crime” was known for her prolific output and intricate plots. Some speculate that her energetic writing style and ability to focus intensely on details could be signs of ADHD.

Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie (affiliate link)

• Dav Pilkey: The creator of the popular children’s book series Captain Underpants has openly discussed his struggles with ADHD. He credits his condition with helping him be a creative thinker.

The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey (affiliate link)

• John Irving: The author of The World According to Garp was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and has spoken about how his condition has both helped and hindered his writing process.

The World According to Garp by John Irving (affiliate link)

As a writer, I don’t see things the way others do. I think outside the box.

My ADHD makes me more:

• Hyper-focused on things that capture my attention

Don’t let anyone tell you ADHD is a curse. You can view it as a gift. You can embrace it.

And then you, too, can lean into it!

Resources and Further Reading

For those looking to dive deeper into managing ADHD as a writer, or seeking inspiration from those who’ve navigated similar challenges, here are some invaluable resources:

• ADHD Questionnaire (a questionnaire based on an internationally respected screening tool for ADHD)
• 6 Surprising Ways My ADHD Brain Helped Me Write an Award-Winning Novel
• The Link Between Creativity and ADHD
• Tool & Tricks For Writers With ADHD
• ADHD Is Awesome written and read by Penn and Kim Holderness

* Hyperfocus is common but not universal.

Wordplayers, tell me your opinions! Can you share any tips or experiences for managing ADHD as a writer? Tell us in the comments!

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Johne Cook is a Senior Technical Writer for medical device companies like IBM, Optum, and Merge Healthcare, and writes under two alternate personas: John the Wordsmith writes about business storytelling and narrative intelligence on LinkedIn. Johne with the silent vanity e is a fiction author working on a Fantasy / Noir called The Blue Golem , now in its 14th draft.

I discovered that the writer that got me into reading years ago–Jules Verne– had ADHD. And that is truly inspiring! • Jules Verne: In school, he was not a very smart kid. Rather a student who did not focus well on daily tasks and some other projects. But in today’s world, he is a very famous French novelist who was into writing from his childhood. The creator of some revolutionary science-fiction stories and a great inspiration for the steampunk stream. His most popular novels are ‘A Journey to the Center of the Earth’, ‘Around the World in Eighty Days, ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’, and so on. Although undiagnosed, according to some psychologists, he was suffered from ADHD or ADD. “We are of opinion that instead of letting books grow moldy behind an iron grating, far from the vulgar gaze, it is better to let them wear out by being read” — Jules Verne.

Hey, David – love that Jules Verne quote! That’s new to me!

Thanks so much for sharing with us, Johne!

Thanks for reaching out,and for the awesome introduction! I’m touched! We’ve come a long way!

Learning that I was different, not broken, was a major crossroads in my life, and I’m happy to share my experience and what I’ve learned since then.

My writing and career would not be the same without ADHD, and I’m pleased to say that together, Linda and I are managing my condition, minimizing the deficits and maximizing the advantages!

Thanks for sharing!

I use many of the strategies you mention. Calendars, note-taking apps, and to-do-lists. I think it all started with getting over a copy of “Getting Things Done” several decades ago, but I do remember a slight obsession with Filo Faxes way back in high school.

Another strategy I’ve developed is to create a folder system on a cloud drive where I PDF-print web pages and articles (more than a few from this site) and store them in my own system.

Having spent many years organizing those folders helps me immediately answer the question, “where should I put this amazing piece of info”? It falls into the cognitive strategy of each thing having its own place. And of course, more crucially, “where did I put that amazing piece of info”…

Of course, the system isn’t perfect, but macOS search helps a lot as well. (Not to mention tagging… I have a few tags for my current project that I can view in a finder window.)

You mention being outside the box. I’ve found this one thing to be core to my writing. To be honest, I think most creatives that give insightful comments on life “in the box” are somehow outside it. Personally, I’d probably not have much interesting to say had I not been able to look in on that box and draw conclusions from my observations.

And the world, as it looks today, really need voices from outside the box that can look in and comment on what’s going on in there… wake people up a bit… it’s happened before…

You can’t see it but I’m over here nodding vigorously, erk!

I’ve been tagging my thoughts in Apple Notes and I download PDFs on LinkedIn (called ‘carousels’) for later research. There’s a tool called Humata that helps me to find things in my folder of .PDFs. It’s like I’ve created my own searchable library!

I also use a MacOS search tool called Alfred, like Spotlight on steriods, to find and launch apps from the keyboard. It’s very powerful and very cool.

At first thinking outside the box felt alienating–I could sense I wasn’t with everyone else, and I felt lonely. Now I see it’s a great gift, and I appreciate it.

I’ve heard of Alfred before, so maybe it’s time to check it out. Humata or something like it sounds like a missing link in AI, answering the question “what if I want to use a bunch of documents as input”? Very nice!

Tools are always interesting. I use a bunch like Excel and Word, Aeon Timeline, yEd, Scrivener (of course) even Markdown text files, and the previously mentioned cloud drive as the common denominator and searching and tagging… Though, I do my hard core world and character building in DokuWiki… links rocks 😀

I’ll definitely see what Humata and Alfred might add to the mix! Thanks for the tips!

It can, of course, be lonely to be the odd one out. And painful and scary. Not to mention really destructive. But for me, the biggest problem was always to try to be normal because I was sure if I just did what everyone else did, I’d be happy. Then I was diagnosed (with both ADHD and Autism), and I had this epiphany; I’ll never get the results I want by trying to be normal… I should just try to get the results I want in my way instead. It works way better! 😉

“I’ll never get the results I want by trying to be normal” – That’s a great epiphany! Normality is overrated. If you’re getting good results being yourself, being ‘normal’ would be a giant step backward! We’re all about forward movement!

Johne, this was superb and also so helpful. my daughter recently diagnosed and having read your post I now see her superpowers. creativity etc. miss seeing you. hope all well.

Hey, Neroli! In my story, learning about ADHD and common behaviors and challenges helped us immensely. I hope that learning about your daughter’s diagnosis will help bring clarity and understanding to your family!

(I miss seeing you, too! So good to see you pop up here!)

I’m not diagnosed but pretty sure I have it. I do know I had a TBI in a wreck that causes me executive function problems. I found two things that have helped me organize my life – the book Getting Things Done by David Allen, and the Bulletproof Journal. I used the BuJo, as it’s called, to organize the stuff GTD tells me I need to do. It’s taken days to sort through everything, but now that it’s all written down, I can focus better.

I’m sorry to hear about your accident, John. I’m glad you’re finding mechanisms to help you to focus! I’m familiar with GTD but haven’t played around with it.

Simple awareness and communication was a huge thing for us.

BuJo has changed my life, as well. I have memory issues in addition to ADHD, and it seriously helps staying organized and remembering this. Thanks for sharing!

Before I was a writer, the only time my mind was at rest was when I read. Therefore, I read a lot. Still do. Now writing channels all that energy I have into creating suspense.

This is really inspiring, P.T.!

THANK YOU!!! I have just recently been traveling down the adhd awareness path and am waiting on the appointment that will almost certainly lead to the official diagnosis. I probably am HSP as well, which makes for a very interesting mix!

I have found myself wondering if my desires to write actually fit with who I am…maybe I’m just not intended to be a writer. This gives me encouragement that yes, it is actually possible to make it work.

Don’t give up! We ADHD people do have gifts of curiosity and insights others often don’t possess. I urge you to try some of the tech tools Johne mentions, they do help. I began medication later in life and it’s calmed my reactive emotions and allowed me to function much better. It’s never too late to write! Best wishes on your journey.

Thanks for sharing your story! I agree with you about the gifts of curiosity and insight that not everyone else always sees. For me this commonly manifests in movies. For instance MORTAL ENGINES was not hailed as a great film, and yet when I realized it was essentially a Space Opera, I relaxes and leaned into the genre tropes that are very much there and enjoyed it for what it was, an ambitious miss. When others were critical, I found it a wildly entertaining example of the genre that I love, and relished it knowing that me and 3 others appreciated it. At first I was upset that everyone else couldn’t see what I see, but now I kind of like that I have certain genres that work for me that won’t be appreciated by the mainstream. (They’re frequently one-off things that don’t get sequels, so I enjoy them for what they are, glittering little jewels sometimes become classics after the fact. I’m thinking of DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS with a young Denzel Washington as Easy Rawlins, and introducing a young Don Cheadle in his first role as Easy’s murderous friend Mouse.)

I actually found the Mortal Engines series (it started as books!) to be fascinating for basically the same reason. Would I recommend it to the average person? Nah. But the character development aspect was quite good. It makes even more sense in the opera framework.

That’s so encouraging! Yes I struggle a lot with reactivity… Also just a general feeling of not fitting in has dogged me for most of my life. I’m starting to realize that I need to find people that I can resonate with more!

Finding your tribe is huge!

E – I wrestle with the infinite possibilities of the blank page, but once I get going, ‘Katie bar the door!’ I capture my first ideas in Apple Notes, develop them more fully using Notion (where I keep images and sketches and links to related articles), and then begin writing in Scrivener. (I love Scrivener so much that I transferred over from Windows to MacOS to write in Scrivener in its native format!)

I have no trouble getting started. It’s when I hit the first couple turns and I can’t unravel how I want everything to go and then I get frustrated with trying to figure it out and then I try to outline and then I get overwhelmed and shut down that I give up 😛

If I can see it all clearly in my head, in pictures, then I can sit down and write it out straight, no stop. Super hard to get there though.

This feels very familiar to me right now, heh.

I just last night realized I need to take a step back and adjust some things that happened early in my novel to enable me to write what I need to write here in chapter 16.

I love this article! I’m a writer with ADHD and the challenges are real. However, I’ve come to appreciate and even love my disorganized, curious, and active self. Technology tools are a big help, especially Google calendar reminders and Pomofocus.io. Thanks for mentioning SnagIt…my screenshots are out of control!

I’ll mention that I adore not only SnagIt as a tool but as a directory. I save lots of screenshots and name the ones I want to use later.

Furthermore, SnagIt has an OCR feature where I can screenshot a URL and then copy the URL to my clipboard. It’s an underrated tool!

Loved this! The journey our family has been on has taught me so much, and has even helped me implement strategies for writing. I personally do not have ADHD, but my 20 year old does, and we have traveled an interesting road! Despite going to the best since he was in second grade, we still didn’t know what we were dealing with until he was 14 and we found an incredible behavioral therapist who taught us. ADHD is an executive function disorder. Learning about executive functions changed our lives, because my son was not able to tolerate the medication because of other issues. Our therapist recommend an amazing book, that we still use to this day, called Smart but Scattered. It goes into all the executive functions, talks about the challenges, and behaviors and tools to implement for each. There is even executive function tests to see maybe where you struggle the most. They have many versions of this book from kids, teens, and adults. Even tho we don’t all have ADHD, we may still be a little low on a particular executive function. For instance, mine is getting started. Smart but Scattered has a book for people like me who want to improve my executive functions, and this has helped tremendously. I really feel like those books could help anyone in the writing process.

This is a great resource, Jenny! Thanks for sharing this with us! https://www.amazon.com/Smart-but-Scattered-Revolutionary-Executive-ebook/dp/B005D7D57K/

I wrestle with Executive Function and lean heavily on my tools to get me to the place where my interest kicks in and I know what to do after that.

It’s a bit like using exterior booster rockets to get me into space where my main engines can ignite and power me forward from there!

Lovely article. Another great encouragement on the ADHD writer journey. Thank you Johne and K. M.! I’ll try to be brief, something no one has ever accused me of. 59 years old. Finally diagnosed officially earlier this year. All my friends and family said, “Duh! We knew that from the first day we met you!” But it felt good to know that all the struggles I’ve had all my life are (mostly) not due to moral failure. I have 637,534 writing fragments and ideas in various states ranging from a few words on the back of a napkin to a novel I thought was nearly complete until I decided to blow it up because when I sat down and had a conversation with my main characters, they all told me I was too nice, and they needed more peril. This number, a rough estimate, also includes numerous unfinished or unsatisfactory poems, two non-fiction books, an excruciatingly long list of perhaps impossible children’s books, and lots of other random things. A few things to add to Johne’s list that I’ve found helpful, though outward success in finishing anything is so lacking you may want to ignore me: 1. Yes, schedule writing. Also schedule eating well, exercise, and good sleep. These go a really long way, especially with the ADHD brain, to foster the highest functioning of our superpowers. 2. I love Evernote for capturing notes, and pretty much keeping track of everything. Also great for clipping web pages, articles, etc. I use the GTD method of organizing: use tags to organize notes, not notebooks. Everything I have, except for my woodworking pictures, is in one notebook. It is WAY easier to search by tags than to try to remember where you put something or what you called it. 3. Some of us ADHDers need silence or white noise to block out distractions. Some of us need music or something like it going all the time to keep us from getting distracted by the constant noises in our heads. I’m definitely the latter. Good instrumental music in the background helps me focus on what’s in front of me instead of what the committees and bands inside my head are doing.

Talking about your writing fragments takes me way back, Craig. I have a stack of long-hand story fragments written on many yellow legal pads that stands 16″ tall. I didn’t know how to finish anything at that time so they’re just a tall stack of scenes and snippets of scenes.

Scheduling everything – writing, sleep, meals – had made a real difference in my life!

Do you schedule everything in a digital calendar or some other app?

I havent been diagnosed and i find condition labels unhelpful, however i have so many coping mechanisms. In addition to the programs you mention i use cold turkey to block myself from the internet. I also use the free version of appblock on my andriod phone. On my phone i block the internet whatsapp and outlook. I deleted all other apps from my phone that gave me a back door. I have a big list of notebooks on one note to capture ideas. I have a main launch page which has an instruction list to help prime and start my list. I use a few of these primer lists for everything on how to get ready to leave the house to how to set my mind up for a work session to how to begin to decorate. If i dont use them it can take me a long time to get started. I need to clearly define tasks composing or outlining. I also use freemind a mindmapping program to help me manage and think about all my plot ideas.

A lot of the biggest content creators on LinkedIn use various mechanisms to block off the internet while working or writing, so you’re in good company!

Finding what helps you to focus and write is huge!

By the way i read an article where they found that teaching children to meditate was as effective or more effective than the medication at controlling the symptoms. The medication can reduce children’s appetite and thereby stunt the growth of some.

“…teaching children to meditate was as effective or more effective than the medication at controlling the symptoms.”

That’s really fascinating!

This is a great post! Thank you. I’m ADHD and am only finishing books and publishing them now because I’ve learned some coping strategies over the years. I believe ADHD can be a superpower as long as you learn how to work with yourself and build in some balancing habits. One thing I have learned to appreciate is that I get bored easily–so I rarely let the action drag in my books. If I’m bored with it, the reader will be bored, so I ratchet up action and microtension to keep myself engaged. A downside is that I struggle big time with hyperfocus; if I’m writing an important scene, I can’t stop or even sleep till I am done. Sometimes my mind will not shut off, even after I’ve finished.

I get bored easily as well. It can be a challenge to focus on something that isn’t naturally interesting to me, but I’m working on it.

I’ve wrestled with sleeping while I’m on the hunt–I find if I capture the bullet points for the scene, I can rest knowing that I’m not losing anything and resume working on the scene the following day.

I also use Damon Knight’s ‘Fred’ strategy for loading a scene or plot problem in my head as I lay down and wake with the answer the following morning. He writes about that in his award-winning book CREATING SHORT FICTION. https://www.amazon.com/Creating-Short-Fiction-Damon-Knight-ebook/dp/B01N9JGSYU/ref=sr_1_1

I loved the book series Mortal Engines is part of, and indeed anything Phillip Reeve writes. He’s so original. The film didn’t do the book justice in my opinion, maybe it’s budget wasn’t big enough? Lots of crossover with High functioning autism aka Autism Level 1 and ADHD, I identify with both. There are plenty of positives in my experience, but these can be hard to enjoy or mobilise, your ideas here are helpful. People generally seeing both issues as differences rather than defects or deficits would probably help too! We are all a mix of qualities, whether neurotypical or neurodiverse.

re: Phillip Reeve – thanks, Chaz! I’ll check him out!

Quoting for emphasis: “People generally seeing both issues as differences rather than defects or deficits would probably help too!”

Oh, man, can I ever relate to this posts. Not only do I have ADHD but I also struggle with dyslexia. I’ve learned to harness it to an extent and will explore the tools listed here. Do any others with these issues have trouble outlining? I’m a terrible outliner!! Thanks Katie for this post!!

Hey, Rebecca, I was a lifelong, unrepentant discovery writer, a proud Panster (in my ignorance) until I competed in NanoWriMo 2014. I wrote 55k words in a fantasy / noir but stalled at the climactic scene and couldn’t figure out why. I put off writing the ending for an hour, a day, a week…

Four years passed and then I read a book that introduced the idea of 12 content genres and noted that many people who get stuck do so because they’re mixing genres incorrectly and your subconscious knows enough about story to know that’s a mistake.

I never paid much attention to story structure because I didn’t understand it, but this time it was like the heavens parted and the angels sang. I realized I was trying to write an epic Action climax for what was under-the-hood a classic Thriller. So I cut the big battle finale and realized I already had a perfect ‘hero-at-the-mercy-of-the villain’ Thriller scene (complete with a false ending!) already written!

So I delved deeper into study and saw that in that theory, every scene has the same 5 elements: * an inciting incident * a progressive complication turning point * a crisis question * a climax * and a resolution

That’s when I became a believer in outlines. I became a Plantser, a writer who appreciates story structure and outlines and then discovery writes between my plot points. (If there’s a spectrum between absolute chaos on one side and absolute chaos on the other, perfect complexity resides somewhere in the middle, and that’s where I now live.) Now, I write out my outlines in Notion first and then develop from there in Scrivener. It totally works!

I suffer from the “out of sight, out of mind” aspect of ADHD—when things are put away, whether physically or digitally, they cease to exist. Since it’s not 1954, manuscripts require a digital form, but I do all my planning and what-iffing with notebooks and index cards, and I print copies for pen-and-paper revisions. There’s always visible, touchable evidence that projects are in progress and at what stage. My desk is clean only during the window between “finished old thing” and “started new thing.”

Lena, I worked with a woman who thought best with tangible shapes. When doing a complex flowchart, she’d draw out elements on a number of sheets of paper and lay them on the floor and then begin to fit them together with Scotch tape. Once she had a frankencreation, she’d hand it off to me and I’d put it into Visio, but the vision (and the process) were hers.

Lena – thank you for this. I have the same “out of sight, out of mind” thing. Your tips are much appreciated.

Lena, I’m becoming aware of this for myself. My calendar is going back to paper (gasp) because if it’s digital I literally don’t remember to look at it. I forget stuff even exists when it’s digital a lot of the time. But digital is so much easier to manipulate! On a journey to find what works best for me…

Thank you so much for this post, I’m a beginning writer but I’ve been really struggling with my ADHD recently and have had a hard time working on my story and plot. I’m so glad to have this to relate to and find creative strategies in my writing journey! I will definitely look into the resources you’ve listed!

If you have any specific questions, feel free to reach out! You got this!

Awesome post! I never struggled with ADHD (and haven’t been “officially” diagnosed) since I had Covid in 2020. I’ve learned that the more I stick to a writing schedule, the better I can deal with it. But switch up that schedule and, oh boy, it’s nearly impossible to keep on track. My brain goes everywhere but where I want it to be. And unless it’s visual, I’m really lost.

Thanks, Rhonda!

As a medicated ADHDer I am proud of mine! I find I need my medication to help me focus my energy and mind into my work. One thing that works for me in this day and age of technology is to email my thoughts and ideas to myself from my phone. It works wonders! This way all I have to do is look them up by my email later. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. For shining a light on us neurodivergent people. We’ve not only survived-we’ve thrived!

That’s a clever workflow! Thanks for sharing!

Talking to myself via email, text, voice message… agreed— an ADHD super power!

OMG. I have recently been diagnosed with adult ADHD, and am now revelling in that knowledge, quite delighted to be ‘dotty.’ Reading very quickly some of the above, I can see myself here. I’ve always had a great love of writing, and story telling, and have attempted in recent years with both a non-fiction and historical fiction story. Neither finished, like so many other ‘projects’ through my life. Thank you HKW for bringing this to us. I have several of your books, and am so grateful for you sharing your knowledge and insight.

Heh. Welcome to the club, Pat!

This article was very helpful! I’ve been a “mess” of ADHD/OCS/Depression/anxiety all my 77 years. I have piles of poetry, stories, novels… most of them incomplete due to my ultimate boredom or (perhaps) even fear of completing. But I’ll tell you this: I am one hell of a word-slinger, and master of the absurd and ironic. So, go figure… Thanks again!

Thanks, Jay!

Great tips! As a fellow ADHDer, whathas helped me the most is realizing that I need more gratification than writing can realistically offer-unless if I eventually become famous or land a steady fiction writing job, like serial writing, which hasn’t happened yet. I leave time for writing several times a week and am a part of writing groups, but I find that I need other creative hobbies, a social life, close friendships and a stimulating job to keep me going–if I’m relying on writing alone to fascinate me, it usually doesn’t work.

This is a great point, Ellie. “Moderation in all things!” (Even fiction writing!)

Thank you so much for this. I wasn’t diagnosed until my 40s. I was always creative & have always wanted to get published. I’ve completed NaNo 3 out of 5 times. I think the hectic pace of it helped, but trying to edit was a non-starter. I’ve been a DM for RPGs since the 1st D&D & Traveller boxed sets came out. I didn’t like running modules & was great & coming up with my own campaigns. The locations & ideas often came from pictures I saw. 13 years ago I started a Fantasy campaign that went on for 8 years then the group moved away, including myself. We tried online but it just wasn’t the same. I’ve wanted to turn it into a campaign to sell on DriveThruRPG. Despite knowing the whole story to where we stopped, having detailed maps, etc., the writing of it has alluded me. Likewise, I have sci-fi project that has been floating around for about the same amount of time. One of my NaNo victories was writing the history leading up to the start of my story. That “misstep? engaged my ADHD creature’s World Builder’s Disease. It keeps telling me that I can’t start the story I have planned until I figure out one more thing. Your article has given me renewed hope. I’m going to give time management tools a try. So much of what you said hit home. I work with 2 Dr’s who understand ADHD. I’m considering changing my medication. The other Psy is a sci-fi fan. I once took over the binders, maps, etc. of my work & he is slowly encouraging me to get back to it. After this article, I’m going to. I will have to get the ADder-HaDder, (I made that up), creature to behave. Thx

This sounds very familiar, Chris. I was diagnosed when I was 45 (and have won NaNo twice).

Thanks for this post, Johne! The entire time I read it, I was nodding to myself like, yeah. I’m a writer with ADHD, self-diagnosed, and realizing my “problem” changed my life. I understood why I was so spontaneous, and why I always got so distracted. A great thing about ADHD is that your brain is open to any ideas that come by. It might be chaotic, but creativity is basically harnessed chaos. Once the idea is there, all I have to do is not forget it so I can grow it into a potential story.

The downside to ADHD is that I get SO distracted. I’ve learned to always plug in my earbuds to tone down the auditory distractions. To eliminate visual distractions, aka anything that moves, I write alone in my room. Sometimes, however, being in my room leads to doing other things, like picking up a good book and forgetting I’m supposed to be writing. Then, I take my writing into our school room (my family homeschools, and I recently graduated), where the potential interruptions turns on my determination to fight for my writing time, put in my earbuds, start writing.

Notes must be written down, and/or organized (or not). Whenever an idea comes to my head, I dwell on it more so that I won’t forget. But if it’s a word that I had been searching for, I write it down.

My smartphone is my most important tool, the gateway or portal to tools that help me to capture and work the things that come up on my day.

I have a number of tools that I use so I don’t lose anything, and many of the tools overlap with each other.

For instance, I use Things3 to make daily ToDo lists and then create calendar entries from there in Google Calendar (for work) or Fantastical (for personal things).

I take notes in Apple Notes and tag them so I can quickly find them later.

And so forth.

As an ADHD teenaged writer, I can say that I absolutely loved this article! I’ve never thought that my ADHD was something to be fixed, just something to be used. It means that I often get so sucked into the project I’m working on that my siblings enjoy grabbing my shoulders while I’m in the zone. 🙄 I get so distracted with everything sometimes it’s hard to shift away from things I can hyper focus on. But I can say that all of these tips are things I use and they work!

Thanks, Allie! I’m so pleased this article was of help to you!

Johne and Katie, Thank you both for sharing this. Judging by the list of comments, many other writers struggle with ADHD as well. It’s nice to know we’re not alone. Much like you Johne, when I received my diagnosis, the years of self-hatred and self-loathing instantly evaporated, and felt like I was starting anew. I often think about the phrase “Your weakness is your strength.” Where in the past, I often focused on my “failings”, once diagnosed, I began viewing my neuro-divergent qualities less as a detriment to my writing, and more as a set of tools that I need to learn how to use properly. I tend to lose focus when researching the history and setting of the story I’m working on. Rather than Googling the information and spending all day poring over the multitude of search results, I’ve started using ChatGPT to simply ask it for the information that I need. It delivers a concise summary of the information I need and cuts my research into a fraction of the time I would normally spend. (Chat GPT has been proven to occasionally get things wrong, so one should always fact check any information derived from it.) Thanks again to you both!

Hey, Bret, ChatGPT plays fast-and-loose with fact (referred to as ‘hallucinating’ (short for ‘outright B.S.’) but Perplexity.ai sources all its answers. I rely on both for different things!

Thanks, Johne! I’ll check that out.

Hi Johne, thanks for this, it’s really helpful! I was wondering where you came across the information about John Irving having ADHD? I’m currently writing a paper about books by authors with ADHD and would love to include one of his, but can’t find anything about him having ADHD online. Thanks 🙂

Hi, Katie, I went back and took a look. My research makes it explicit that John Irving had dyslexia but when pressed for examples, it’s looking more and more like his ADHD is implied rather than something he talked about personally. (I use Perplexity.ai for sourced results and all the sources talk about his dyslexia.)

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162 ADHD Essay Topics & Examples

Looking for ADHD topics to write about? ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is a very common condition nowadays. It is definitely worth analyzing.

🔝 Top 10 ADHD Research Topics

🏆 best adhd essay examples, 💡 most interesting adhd topics to write about, 🎓 exciting adhd essay topics, 🔥 hot adhd topics to write about, 👍 adhd research paper topics, ❓ research questions about adhd.

In your ADHD essay, you might want to focus on the causes or symptoms of this condition. Another idea is to concentrate on the treatments for ADHD in children and adults. Whether you are looking for an ADHD topic for an argumentative essay, a research paper, or a dissertation, our article will be helpful. We’ve collected top ADHD essay examples, research paper titles, and essay topics on ADHD.

• ADHD and its subtypes
• The most common symptoms of ADHD
• The causes of ADHD: genetics, environment, or both?
• ADHD and the changes in brain structures
• ADHD and motivation
• Treating ADHD: the new trends
• Behavioral therapy as ADHD treatment
• Natural remedies for ADHD
• ADD vs. ADHD: is there a difference?
• Living with ADHD: the main challenges
• Learning Disabilities: Differentiating ADHD and EBD As for the most appropriate setting, it is possible to seat the child near the teacher. It is possible to provide instructions with the help of visual aids.
• Everything You Need to Know About ADHD The frontal hemisphere of the brain is concerned with coordination and a delay in development in this part of the brain can lead to such kind of disorder.
• ADHD and Its Effects on the Development of a Child In particular, this research study’s focus is the investigation of the impact of household chaos on the development and behavior of children with ADHD.
• The History of ADHD Treatment: Drug Addiction Disorders Therefore, the gathered data would be classified by year, treatment type, and gender to better comprehend the statistical distribution of the prevalence of drug addiction.
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Recommended Therapy The condition affects the motivational functioning and abnormal cognitive and behavioural components of the brain. Dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex contributed to a lack of alertness and shortened attention in the brain’s short-term memory.
• Rhetorical Modes Anthology on Attention Deficit Disorder It clearly outlines the origin and early symptoms of the disorder and the scientist who discovered attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Summary & Validity: This article describes the causes of hyperactivity disorder and the potential factors […]
• Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in a Young Girl The particular objective was to assist Katie in becoming more focused and capable of finishing her chores. The patient received the same amount of IR Ritalin and was required to continue taking it for an […]
• Similarities and Differences: SPD, ADHD, and ASD The three disorders, Sensory Processing Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Autism Spectrum Disorder, are often confused with each other due to the connections and similarities that exist.
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Awareness According to Sayal et al, ADHD is common in young boys as it is easier to identify the problem. The disorder is well-known, and there is no struggle to identify the problem.
• Assessing the Personality Profile With ADHD Characteristics On the contrary, the study was able to understand significant changes in the emotional states and mood of the children when the observations and the tests ended.
• Aspects of ADHD Patients Well-Being This goal can be achieved through the help of mental health and behavioral counselors to enhance behavioral modification and the ability to cope with challenges calmly and healthily.
• ADHD and Problems With Sleep This is because of the activity of a person in the middle of the day and the condition around them. The downside of the study is that the study group included 52 adults with ADHD […]
• The Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Treatment It has been estimated that when medicine and therapy are applied as treatment together, the outcomes for children with ADHD are excellent.
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Organization’s Mission Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is an organization that is determined to handle individuals affected by ADHD. The organization was founded in 1987 following the rampant frustration and isolation that parents experienced due to […]
• Case Conceptualization: Abuse-Mediated ADHD Patient The case provides insight into the underlying causes of James’s educational problems and the drug abuse of his parents. The case makes it evident that the assumption from the first case conceptualization about James’s ADHD […]
• Change: Dealing With Patients With ADHD In the current workplace, the most appropriate change would be the increase in the awareness of nurses regarding the methods of dealing with patients with ADHD.
• Dealing With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Although my experience is not dramatic, it clearly shows how untreated ADHD leads to isolation and almost depression. However, the question arises of what is the norm, how to define and measure it.
• Parents’ Perception of Attending an ADHD Clinic The main principles of the clinic’s specialists should be an objective diagnosis of the neurological status of the child and the characteristics of his/her behavior, the selection of drug treatment only on the basis of […]
• ADHD: Mental Disorder Based on Symptoms The DSM-5 raised the age limit from 6 to 12 for qualifying the disorder in children and now requires five instead of six inattentive or hyperactive-impulsive symptoms.
• Understanding Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Thus, the smaller sizes of the reviewed brain structures associated with ADHD result in problems with attention, memory, and controlling movement and emotional responses.
• Effective Therapies for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder The problem at hand is that there is a need to determine which of the therapies administered is effective in the management of ADHD.
• Participants of “ADHD Outside the Laboratory” Study The participants in the testing group and those in the control group were matched for age within 6 months, for IQ within 15 points and finally for performance on the tasks of the study.
• Variables in “ADHD Outside the Laboratory” Study The other variables are the videogames, matching exercise and the zoo navigation exercise used to test the performance of the boys.
• Different Types of Diets and Children’s ADHD Treatment The last factor is a trigger that can lead to the development of a child’s genes’ reaction. Thus, diet is one of the factors that can help prevent the development of ADHD.
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children The consistent utilization of effective praises and social rewards indeed results in the behavioral orientation of the child following the treatment goals.
• Reward and Error Processing in ADHD: Looking Into the Neurophysiological and the Behavioral Measures The study was mainly concerned with looking into the neurophysiological and to some extent the behavioral measures utilized in self regulation particularly in children suffering from attention – deficit hyperactivity disorder and those who are […]
• Vyvanse – ADD and ADHD Medicine Company Analysis It is produced by Shire and New River Pharmaceuticals in its inactive form which has to undergo digestion in the stomach and through the first-pass metabolic effect in the liver into L-lysine, an amino acid […]
• Dealing With the Disruptive Behaviors of ADHD and Asperger Syndrome Students While teaching in a class that has students with ADHD and Asperger syndrome, the teacher should ensure that they give instructions that are simple and easy to follow.
• Behavioral Parenting Training to Treat Children With ADHD These facts considered, it is possible to state that the seriousness of ADHD accounts for the necessity of the use of behavioral parental training as the treatment of the disorder.
• Current Issues in Psychopharmacology: Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder This is the area that is charged with the responsibility for vision control as well as a regulation of one’s brain’s ability to go to aresynchronize’ and go to rest.
• Cognitive Psychology and Attention Deficit Disorder On top of the difficulties in regulating alertness and attention, many individuals with ADD complain of inabilities to sustain effort for duties.
• ADHD Symptoms in Children However, there are some concerns in identifying the children with ADHD.described in a report that support should be initiated from the parents in, recognizing the problem and seeking the help of the educational professionals.2.
• Adult and Paediatric Psychology: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder To allow children to exercise their full life potential, and not have any depression-caused impairment in the social, academic, behavioral, and emotional field, it is vital to reveal this disorder as early in life, as […]
• Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Biological Testing The research, leading to the discovery of the Biological testing for ADHD was conducted in Thessaloniki, Greece with 65 children volunteering for the research. There is a large difference in the eye movement of a […]
• Issues in the Diagnosis of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children Concept theories concerning the nature of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder influence treatment, the approach to the education of children with ADHD, and the social perception of this disease.
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Care Controversy The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy, in terms of symptoms and function, and safety of “once-daily dose-optimized GXR compared with placebo in the treatment of children and adolescents aged 6 17 […]
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Interventions The authors examine a wide range of past studies that reported on the effects of peer inclusion interventions and present the overall results, showing why further research on peer inclusion interventions for children with ADHD […]
• Sociodemographic and Cultural Factors of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Children at this age have particular difficulties in retaining and concentrating attention and in controlling behavior, and this stage is sensitive to the development of these abilities. The general problem is the increase in prevalence […]
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in a Child A child counselor works with children to help them become mentally and emotionally stable. The case that is examined in this essay is a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Drug-Free Therapy The proposed study aims to create awareness of the importance of interventions with ADHD among parents refusing to use medication. The misperceptions about ADHD diagnosis and limited use of behavioral modification strategies may be due […]
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Psychosocial Interventions The mentioned components and specifically the effects of the condition on a child and his family would be the biggest challenge in the case of Derrick.
• The Diagnosis and Treatment of ADHD Cortese et al.state that cognitive behavioral therapy is overall a practical approach to the treatment of the condition, which would be the primary intervention in this case.
• The Attention Deficit Hypersensitivity Disorder in Education Since ADHD is a topic of a condition that has the potential to cripple the abilities of a person, I have become attached to it much.
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Comorbidities Due to the effects that ADHD has on patients’ relationships with their family members and friends, the development of comorbid health problems becomes highly possible.
• Medicating Kids to Treat ADHD The traditional view is that the drugs for the disorder are some of the safest in the psychiatric practice, while the dangers posed by untreated ADHD include failure in studies, inability to construct social connections, […]
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Signs and Strategies Determining the presence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in a child and addressing the disorder is often a rather intricate process because of the vagueness that surrounds the issue.
• Cognitive Therapy for Attention Deficit Disorder The counselor is thus expected to assist the self-reflection and guide it in the direction that promises the most favorable outcome as well as raise the client’s awareness of the effect and, by extension, enhance […]
• “Stress” Video and “A Natural Fix for ADHD” Article There certainly are some deeper reasons for people to get stressed, and the video documentary “Stress: Portrait of a Killer” and the article “A Natural Fix for A.D.H.D”.by Dr.
• Attention Deficit Disorder: Diagnosis and Treatment The patient lives with her parents and 12-year-old brother in a middle-class neighborhood. Her father has a small business, and her mother works part-time in a daycare center.
• Bright Not Broken: Gifted Kids, ADHD, and Autism It is possible to state that the book provides rather a high-quality review of the issues about the identification, education, and upbringing of the 2e children.
• Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder: Case Review On the other hand, Mansour’s was observed to have difficulties in the simple tasks that he was requested to perform. Mansour’s appears to be in the 3rd phase of growth.
• Treatment of Children With ADHD Because of the lack of sufficient evidence concerning the effects of various treatment methods for ADHD, as well as the recent Ritalin scandal, the idea of treating children with ADHD with the help of stimulant […]
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Medicalization This paper discusses the phenomenon of medicalization of ADHD, along with the medicalization of other aspects perceived as deviant or atypical, it will also review the clash of scientific ideas and cultural assumptions where medicalization […]
• Medication and Its Role in the ADHD Treatment Similar inferences can be inferred from the findings of the research conducted by Reid, Trout and Schartz that revealed that medication is the most appropriate treatment of the symptoms associated with ADHD.
• Children With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder The purpose of the present research is to understand the correlation between the self-esteem of children with ADHD and the use of medication and the disorder’s characteristics.
• Psychology: Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder It is important to pay attention to the development of proper self-esteem in children as it can negatively affect their development and performance in the future.
• Natural Remedies for ADHD The key peculiarity of ADHD is that a patient displays several of these symptoms, and they are observed quite regularly. Thus, one can say that proper diet can be effective for the treatment of attention […]
• Cognitive Behavior Therapy in Children With ADHD The study revealed that the skills acquired by the children in the sessions were relevant in the long term since the children’s behaviors were modeled entirely.
• Is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Real? In fact, the existence of the condition, its treatment and diagnosis, have been considered controversial topics since the condition was first suggested in the medical, psychology and education.
• Is Attention Deficit Disorder a Real Disorder? When Medicine Faces Controversial Issues In addition, it is necessary to mention that some of the symptoms which the children in the case study displayed could to be considered as the ones of ADHD.
• Foods That Effect Children With ADHD/ ADD Therefore, it is the duty of parents to identify specific foods and food additives that lead to hyperactivity in their children.
• Toby Diagnosed: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder The symptoms of the disorder are usually similar to those of other disorder and this increases the risks of misdiagnosing it or missing it all together.
• Identifying, Assessing and Treating Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder For these criteria to be effective in diagnosing a child with ADHD, the following symptoms have to be present so that the child can be labelled as having ADHD; the child has to have had […]
• ADHD Should Be Viewed as a Cognitive Disorder The manifestation of the disorder and the difficulties that they cause, as posited by the American Psychiatric Association, are typically more pronounced when a person is involved in some piece of work such as studying […]
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Influence on the Adolescents’ Behavior That is why the investigation was developed to prove or disprove such hypotheses as the dependence of higher rates of anxiety of adolescents with ADHD on their diagnosis, the dependence of ODD and CD in […]
• Stroop Reaction Time on Adults With ADHD The model was used to investigate the effectiveness of processes used in testing interference control and task-set management in adults with ADHD disorder.
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Causes Family studies, relationship studies of adopted children, twin studies and molecular research have all confirmed that, ADHD is a genetic disorder.
• Diagnosis and Treatment of ADHD The diagnosis of ADHD has drawn a lot of attention from scientific and academic circles as some scholars argue that there are high levels of over diagnosis of the disorder.
• Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder As it would be observed, some of the symptoms associated with the disorder for children would differ from those of adults suffering from the same condition in a number of ways.
• Working Memory in Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Whereas many studies have indicated the possibility of the beneficial effects of WM training on people with ADHD, critics have dismissed them on the basis of flawed research design and interpretation.
• Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: The Basic Information in a Nutshell In the case with adults, however, the definition of the disorder will be quite different from the one which is provided for a child ADHD.
• How ADHD Develops Into Adult ADD The development of dominance is vital in processing sensations and information, storage and the subsequent use of the information. As they become teenagers, there is a change in the symptoms of ADHD.
• Medical Condition of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder A combination of impulsive and inattentive types is referred to as a full blown ADHD condition. To manage this condition, an array of medical, behavioral, counseling, and lifestyle modification is the best combination.
• Effects of Medication on Education as Related to ADHD In addition, as Rabiner argues, because of the hyperactivity and impulsivity reducing effect of ADHD drugs, most ADHD suffers are nowadays able to learn in an indistinguishable class setting, because of the reduced instances of […]
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Diagnosis and Treatment Generally the results indicate that children with ADHD had a difficult time in evaluating time concepts and they seemed to be impaired in orientation of time.
• The Ritalin Fact Book: Stimulants Use in the ADHD Treatment Facts presented by each side of the critical issue The yes side of the critical issue makes it clear that the drugs being used to control ADHD are harmful as they affect the normal growth […]
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD / ADHD) Some critics maintain that the condition is a work of fiction by the psychiatric and pharmacists who have taken advantage of distraught families’ attempts to comprehend the behaviour of their children to dramatise the condition.
• Behavior Modification in Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Introduction The objective of the article is to offer a description of the process of behavior modification for a child diagnosed with ADHD.
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IvyPanda. (2024, February 20). 162 ADHD Essay Topics & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/adhd-essay-topics/

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IvyPanda . "162 ADHD Essay Topics & Examples." February 20, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/adhd-essay-topics/.

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How to write an essay with ADHD

As someone with ADHD, this is how I write my essays with minimal effort and right before the deadline.

If possible, write your essay at the library. No distractions & being in public will shift your brain into "work" mode.

Create three word documents: outline, sources, and essay.

In outline, create the structure of your essay. While structure depends on the type of essay, the general format is generally--->

CONTEXT/SUMMARY

THESIS STATEMENT -Supporting statement 1, 2, and 3 (each goes in separate lines)

SUPPORTING STATEMENT 1-3

evidence a, b, c

Connect evidence to supporting statement (Copy this section for the other supporting statements)

THESIS STATEMENT -Supporting statement 1-3 (Reword your introduction paragraph)

CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH (Write about the significance or consequences of your topic)

This will allow you to form your essay as you research. It also feels less like writing an essay (daunting task), and more like filling in a worksheet (easy!). You can also research different sections of your essay without getting disorganized. It's less stressful to write an essay if you can visualize your process.

As you plan your essay, you will likely have an idea of your argument. After examining relevant class materials, look for sources that confirm your argument. It's bad practice to research information that only confirms your  bias, but we aren't here to challenge your worldview.

In sources, this is where you copy&paste source links, and important paragraphs. IMPORTANT TIP--- don't bother reading the entire source, you will get bored. INSTEAD, read the abstract, conclusion, & relevant charts. ADDITIONALLY, use the "find" feature in the browser and search for keywords. There you can read the relevant paragraphs, and copy&paste them into sources.docx.

Doing this will allow you to sift through more sources. More sources = better paper . It's unlikely your teacher is going to scruntize your sources (unless you use Wikipedia or another encyclopedia website).

Copy&paste the citations into sources, so you can add it to the bibliography later.

The sources will get cluttered, so make sure you leave lots of space between each source and label them. If it's helpful, you can also bullet point or number them.

Keep the sources and the outline in separate windows, so you can write the "evidence sentences" while looking at the sources. Remember to CITE YOUR SOURCES, because no one likes plagiarism. Place the author name and page number in parentheses, so you can cross reference later.

After filling in outline, go to essay and MAKE SURE IT'S FORMATTED CORRECTLY (MLA, Chicago, etc). Make sure to put the date you should have started writing the essay and not two days before the deadline.

Copy&paste the sentences from the outline to the essay.

For quick proofreading, copy&paste your essay into the Hemingway editor. A concise essay is a better essay.

Copy&paste the citations from sources.docx, add footnotes, et cetera. Now you finished your essay!!!