ADHD During Summer Months

ADHD is something that people are very conscious of during the school year. This is because a lot of the situations involved in school can contribute to how we experience ADHD.ADHD tends to present in a more obvious way in classrooms and during testing, etc. However, this doesn’t mean that ADHD isn’t a factor during summer months when there is no school. ADHD is extremely responsive to routine. While schedules–where actions are connected to specific times– can mean almost nothing to someone with ADHD, routine helps the brain regulate what to expect and helps it keep track of what needs to be done. It is this massive change in routine that people with ADHD tend to experience and have effect their ADHD presentation during the summer.

One of the wonderful things about summer is the shift in demand on time. Teenagers notoriously love to sleep in and luxuriate during the summer months, and enjoy the freedom that not having as many obligations provides them. While this is entirely fair, it also creates a situation in which teens don't have the structure that they usually have to help them do what they need to do, including things that are not school year exclusive, such as chores, health and self care, and other family obligations. Because of this, we often see a shift in teens' abilities to meet familial expectations and demands during the summer months. Rather than try and maintain a school schedule during the summer, which can feel like taking away the summer Freedom or even like a punishment, it can be beneficial to create a new routine that incorporates all of the necessary aspects of the school year routine that are still necessary for the summer well also incorporating the ability to enjoy the freedom of summer months. This routine should have some similarities to its School counterpart, such as pairing obligations together in the same way that they were paired during the school year. For example: Taking a shower after dinner, or completing chores before getting a certain amount of free time in the evening. By keeping these tasks connected to things that they would normally be connected to during the school year it makes adapting to the new routine easier. It's also better to have a little more flexibility with Summer routines then we would normally have with school routines. If plans mean pushing the night time routine an hour or two later, or if we're going one night of routine in order to enjoy a vacation or something similar, that's okay. The structure of having a routine most of the time provides the mental and emotional support we need in order to allow us to skip from time to time. 

By utilizing these routines, we create a more favorable situation for people with ADHD to not get caught up in some of the dysregulation that is common with the disorder. If you have questions about how you could help your team with ADHD during the summer months, please feel free to reach out to Mindful Healing.