An ADHD-friendly home is set up to make it easy for family members with ADHD to manage daily stress and avoid emotional meltdowns. By following these strategies, you'll not only simplify your family's life, but you'll lower stress levels for everyone.
According to Dr. Zentall, children with ADHD seek change/novelty and high-interest activities. They do best with an engaging active curriculum at school and an active home environment. Incorporating physical movement and motor activity throughout the day increases successes.
Trish Buscemi, a specialist who creates calm interiors for those with cognitive learning challenges, recommends blue, green, and muted brown towns for bedrooms of children with ADHD. These gentle hues actually work well with people of all ages seeking a space that inspires rest and calm.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can make it seem impossible to keep a tidy house. As a result, ADHDers might have messy and unorganized homes and find that the usual tips and tricks don't work for them.
Use Soothing Colors and Scents
Bright, bold colors may be overstimulating for your child's sensory system, so opt for a muted shade instead as the main color of their room. You can always include a few bright pops of colors in smaller accessories.
Schemes should consist of neutrals, pastels and earthy tones to create a relaxing space. Neutral colours such as creams, greys and beige are perfect choices for a considered sensory friendly room. Not only are they super versatile but they aren't distracting and can have a calming effect on emotions.
This frustrates parents, who can't understand why these kids have so much trouble cleaning their room. The problem is that children with ADHD struggle with executive functioning skills, which enable us to plan, prioritize, manage our time and get things done.
Overwhelm is a feeling all too familiar to anyone with ADHD or neurodiversity. When you're constantly bombarded with stimuli and your to-do list seems impossible to manage, it's easy to feel like you're drowning. One of the best ways to combat overwhelm is to write things down.
You still face some of the same challenges you had as a child, they just look different. Researchers have found that adults with ADHD may have trouble with memory and organizational skills, which could impact getting the household chores done. These challenges, though, can be overcome.
Some people are naturally neat. They keep their things fairly organized and try to avoid making a mess. But many kids and adults with ADHD are the opposite — they're messy most of the time. And it can cause problems at home, school, and work.
People with ADHD are often over-stimulated by colors, patterns, and even temperature. Choose neutral, soft, and calming hues of blue, green, and brown to encourage more restful sleep. Keep it simple.
Sodas, Caffeine, and High-Fructose Corn Syrup Cause ADHD Symptoms. If you have ADHD, consider eliminating soda. (Even if you don't have ADHD, saying no to soda is a good idea.) These drinks often have many of the same sugars and sweeteners that make candy a bad idea for kids on the ADHD diet.
Reduce Clutter and Simplify
Make sure what remains is stored in a simple, visible way so kids can maintain the system. The same goes for adults. It becomes an overwhelming task to clean when there is too much stuff. Decluttering your home can also help cut down on distractions that can derail you or your child.
If you or a loved one has ADHD, managing things and stuff can be overwhelming. Cindy Glovinsky, psychologist and author, explains that clutter is caused by impulsive actions that don't do a good job of compensating for a better solution.
They tend to be forgetful, disorganized, and messy. This makes cleaning with ADHD nearly an insurmountable task, especially since cleaning seems like such a chore to neurotypicals themselves.
Several ADHD traits can make it hard to maintain personal hygiene. Being easily distracted can make you forego things like taking a bath or brushing your teeth.
ADHD burnout is often something a little deeper. It refers to the cycle of overcommitting and overextending that leads to fatigue in people with ADHD. It involves taking on too many tasks and commitments, and then the subsequent exhaustion that happens when we're unable to fulfill all of our obligations.
It is often characterized by feelings of overwhelming fatigue, reduced productivity, and a sense of hopelessness or despair. Those experiencing ADHD burnout may find it even more challenging than usual to initiate and complete tasks, maintain focus and attention, and regulate their emotions.
When people with ADHD are activated, they are often plagued by self-sabotaging, negative internal talk that prevents them from believing they can do things. It can be conscious or unconscious and can keep folks from setting, working towards, and reaching goals. It holds them back from doing what they want to do.
There are a variety of design ideas that can transform a space into one that is ADHD-friendly. Use a calming color palette. By incorporating colors that are known to calm the mind, such as earthy tones (like browns and greens) or soothing blues, you can contribute to the mood of the room and reduce any added busyness.
Plan it out.
Starting with the easiest job, make a list of tasks you'll need to do to organize the space. Break these tasks down into 15- to 60-minute segments, depending on how easily you get stressed or bored. On your phone or a calendar, schedule time over a few days or weeks as needed to finish the job.