EAST HANOVER, N.J., June 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Get to soccer practice ...
finish homework ... cook dinner ... Our lives are full of "to do" lists.
It's no surprise many people have trouble staying organized. When a family
is coping with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) too, the
disorder can make it harder to keep track of day-to-day activities and
priorities.
ADHD affects 8.7 percent of children in the U.S., according to the
Centers for Disease Control, and is defined by symptoms of inattention,
hyperactive and impulsive behavior. It's probably no surprise to learn
organizational skills may be affected. It might be surprising, however, to
find out that not all organizational methods are created equal, and some
work better for people with ADHD. A new resource available at
http://www.OrganizeADHD.com, provided by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation,
suggests strategies designed to help families with ADHD get and stay
organized.
There are some simple steps you can take to manage organization, get
the whole family involved, and make tidying up an easy, five-minute task
instead of an all-day affair.
The Kitchen is Not the Playroom
The more stuff we own, the more difficult it is to find places to store
it all. When this happens, sometimes our things enter spaces that they
don't belong, and the kitchen becomes the playroom. One easy fix for this
problem is to designate rooms or spaces in the house for each activity.
The first step is to examine your items, tackling only one room or
project at a time. Gather all your kids' toys, look at the condition
they're in and decide whether they can be kept, donated or thrown away.
Next, give your kids a place of their own by assigning a room or space in
one room where they can store, access and play with their toys.
For ADHD-friendly storage, use shelves and open-faced or clear bins so
your kids can easily see the toy they want and take just that one out
without dumping out the bin's entire contents. This approach isn't limited
to toys and can be used to organize office materials and other possessions
that can create clutter.
Streamline Chores and Responsibilities
That's one way to tackle a big job, but there are lots of little steps
you can take to help your whole family, including those with ADHD, keep the
house a little more organized.
-- When your child's done with his homework, put it right in front of the
door. If he has to move it out of his way to leave for school, he'll
have a harder time forgetting it.
-- An ADHD-friendly solution to homework frustration is to have one large
notebook with dividers for each subject. One with folders can help
keep all school papers in one place.
Tips like these will work for anyone, but these simple, one-step
approaches are particularly successful for adults and kids with ADHD. For
more of the best organizational tips designed to help families coping with
ADHD, visit http://www.OrganizeADHD.com.
SOURCE Novartis Pharmaceuticals
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Related links:
http://www.OrganizeADHD.com
CONTACT:
Katherine Tripple for Novartis
Pharmaceuticals, +1-617-761-6723
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