Attention Deficit Disorder & Life Skills: How & Why to Help People With ADHD Learn to Plan for the Future Special Needs Diseases/Disorders

Many with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have difficulty thinking about the future – their sense of time experienced in terms of "now and not now." This makes them more likely to give in to impulse. It's important to learn to plan:

• Plan a meal.
• Plan a trip to the store.
• Plan your day.

Then you can start thinking about planning your week and so on. Planning for something where the reward requires some waiting has many benefits:

• It teaches delayed gratification.
• It fosters the value of the journey toward the goal.
• It teaches the ability to create and work a plan toward a goal.
• It teaches that you do have a say in the direction of your life and are not at the whim of whatever happens.

Planning in simple ways lays the foundation for longer-term planning. Questions?