Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) find it difficult to estimate past and future time. As a result, they tend to procrastinate, to run out of steam when faced with a long task, and to think, often wrongly, that they have plenty of time to complete it. Fortunately, ADHD coaching can help you put in place a few tricks to better grasp this concept.

How to fight procrastination?

Tip #1: Respect their own priority scale

A child with ADHD manages their priorities based on time: the closer the deadline gets, the higher that task rises on their personal priority scale. Instead of rushing and pushing them, learn to let them manage this aspect themselves…

Tip #2: Remove distractions

While it’s possible to remove distractions for a young child with ADHD (phone, PlayStation, computer, etc.), as they get older, they will need to identify these themselves in order to remove them.

Tip #3: Set specific days and times to do the task

Once you’ve estimated the time needed to complete a task, it needs to be placed concretely in their schedule, at the times they prefer, since they know when their attention is at its best. For younger children, don’t hesitate to use a routine chart with pictograms.

How to better grasp the concept of time?

Tip #4: Set up routines

Rituals are definitely a support for children with ADHD: they lighten their daily load, because through repetition, the brain manages to create new connections that make tasks easier.

Tip #5: Build awareness of time from a young age

To make time more “tangible”, don’t hesitate to use comparisons. For example, the journey from school to home takes 10 minutes, the same length as an episode of a favourite cartoon. This can then become a unit of time.

Tip #6: Use supports and tools to frame time

The foundation for learning about time relies on a time-timer to make it visual, a diary to lay out the school week, a calendar to plan and anticipate (and an alarm clock to learn wake-up and bedtime).

How to boost a child with ADHD’s perseverance?

Tip #7: Praise the effort

Whatever the results achieved, it is absolutely essential to praise the effort made by a child with ADHD: “you only went 5 minutes over the time you’d estimated”; “you didn’t finish your homework, but your handwriting is very neat”…

Tip #8: Be a role model

To help your child with ADHD manage their time better, it helps to take all these tips and apply them to yourself: they need to be able to see you as an example to follow.

Tip #9: Ask an ADHD coach for help

Faced with a child who is as surprising as they are unsettling, don’t hesitate to ask for help from a professional to get personalised support tailored to your child’s specific difficulties.