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Goal Setting for ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) is hard to deal with for adults, children and parents of children who suffer from the disorder. Managing the disorder often leads to discouraging attitudes and impatience. However, one key way to progress in spite of the disorder is to set goals, which ultimately leads to encouragement and progress.

  1. ADHD

    • ADHD primarily is a disorder that pertains to a number of behavioral problems such as hyperactivity as well as a poor attention span. A child who is suffering from the disorder will exhibit some of the following symptoms: failure to pay attention or making careless errors, being easily distracted, disorganization or avoiding tasks that require consistent mental effort. These symptoms, coupled with hyperactivity and impulsiveness, lead to a diagnosis of ADHD.

    Goal-Setting Importance

    • Seeing that a child suffering from ADHD has issues with focusing and completing tasks, it is important to give him something concrete to focus on and work at achieving. This is where goal-setting comes into play. A child with ADHD cannot be overloaded with multiple tasks or goals. In order to achieve long-term results, you should focus on one aspect of the child’s life at a time. For instance, improving grades in English is a more realistic goal than improving grades in all major courses.

    Identify Motivations

    • Before goals can be set, it is integral to recognize where your child desires to go. It is especially hard to get a child to succeed in something when she does not have the desire, let alone a child with ADHD. Sit down with your child and discuss with her what it is she enjoys. It is easier to motivate a child with ADHD when there is already an invested interest. From there, appropriate and realistic goals can be set and achieved.

    Starting Off Simple

    • To jump-start success, you will want to set a goal that is easily achievable. Setting a goal that is too hard to meet may stunt progress, because children with ADHD become increasingly unnerved and frustrated upon failure at tasks. It is extremely important to set specific goals. For example, a younger child who desires to improve his math grade could focus initially on improving his multiplication skills. Success in that small arena will spark encouragement and increased desire in other areas.

    Take It Slow

    • Once motivations and goals are set, remember that slow and steady wins the race. Children with ADHD will certainly falter when it comes to meeting expectations and goals. Frustrations will occur. However, the key to meeting the set goals is to pick up where the problem started, address it and move on. Develop a structured yet flexible action plan, and be willing to deviate from the plan in the event of a mishap. Evaluate progress, and offer positive reinforcement and encouragement when goals are met.

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