Practical Tips for ADHD College Students
I know a few posts like this already exist, but I wanted to add my own experiences to the mix in case it would be helpful to someone else. Some of these will look familiar, some not so much.
Disclaimers: 1) What works for me may not work for you, take everything with a grain of salt and experiment, 2) These are what Iâm using for a 4-year school but I imagine it would be applicable for any college? I wish Iâd known to do some of these things when I was at CC, 3) I wonât pretend that I am an ADHD success story, not yet. Iâm still finding my way, learning to cope, learning to thrive. Itâs a process.
NOTE: This post is kinda long; if itâs too long I recommend just reading the bolded/italicized headings and only reading the ones that pique your interest :)
Wear comfortable clothing: Screw the mentality that you always have to look your best in college. At the end of the day, feeling hot but ridiculously uncomfortable will trigger sensory issues (especially if youâre someone who is sensitive to certain materials/styles of clothing) and it will impact concentration and can cause a lot of distress. Are you comfortable in those sweatpants, pajama bottoms, baggy shirts? Cool, wear them.Â
Stim toys: Love yourself, buy (or make!) stim toys and bring them to school. Canât speak for CC because I didnât use stim toys when I went, but at my 4-year school everyone is too busy drowning in deadlines to notice you squishing thinking putty or using a fidget cube under the table.Â
Try different stim toys: I used to get caught up on trying to make the more popular stim toys work for me when they didnât, so I had to experiment a bit to see what worked. Itâs not always as simple as cubes, spinners, squishy toys, etc. If you have issues with texture youâll want to really experiment, especially with things like putty, squishibles, etc. to see what is comfortable and what isnât. But thereâs a big olâ market out there!
Headphones/Earplugs: The single most helpful sensory detail for me was always bringing my headphones to campus. I get easily overstimulated in uncontrolled situations with lots of different sounds. I make sure my volume is enough to block the noise out, but the songs I choose in these instances are usually familiar, so they donât provide too much new stimulation when I canât handle it. I also keep earplugs in my backpack for exams.
If possible, leave your house: This has been one of the hardest changes Iâve had to make because Iâm an introvert and genuinely prefer being home. But Iâm starting to learn that my ass will not do work 9/10 times when Iâm home. Too much to do, too many other things to get done, lots of fun distractions, and cats! So many cats! Unfortunately cats wonât take my exams. Iâve found that the library is okay, but for me small cafes worked much better. Armed with my headphones, some coffee, and an atmosphere that caters to silently getting work done, Iâm able to focus longer, and to focus on what I really need to.
Note-taker: Admittedly Iâm talking out of my ass on this one, because I havenât yet done this. But thatâs exactly why I want to stress getting a note-taker. My college life would be infinitely better if Iâd done this when the semester started; instead, my notes have gaps where I couldnât concentrate, or couldnât process what was being discussed, etc.Â
Other accommodations: Accommodations for ADHD differ depending on the college, but some of the common ones are: note-takers, silent exam spaces, assignment extensions, and use of tech such as recorders, speech-to-text software⊠If youâre like I was and are worried that youâre asking too much asking for accommodations, remember two important things: 1) Accommodations exist to level the playing field, not to give us an edge, and 2) YOU PAY FOR THIS SERVICES. That huge, overwhelming tuition bill with all those âextra feesâ? Youâre paying for these services already, might as well take advantage of them!
Talk to your professors: This part is truly terrifying for me, but Iâve started opening up this semester to my professors and it has made a difference. The professor for my hardest class actually has a son with adhd so she understood and was even able to provide me with some resources that would help. At the very least, it made my professors aware of my struggles and aware that I wasnât just being lazy, which calmed my RSD a bit.
Organization: Staying organized is important for any college student, but especially for those with adhd. We lose things a lot, and if things arenât in obvious, constant places it becomes so much easier to lose or forget where we put things. That being said, your âorganizedâ will probably not be other peoples âorganizedâ. For example, I use my Ipsy bags for organization. One holds any writing utensils, flashcards, and post-its, another holds anything medical-related, etc. It seems a bit cluttered and disorganized to other people but it works for me. So try keeping things in the same spot if possible, but remember that finding what organizational structures work for you might take time and effort. If your school has success coaching, I highly recommend it for this purpose! Which brings me to the next point.
Success Coaching: Most colleges offer some kind of program like this, though names may differ. Success Coaching is designed for students of any academic level in order to help them get and stay on track. My college offers study skills, schedule planning, test prep, time management, help navigating campus resources, and a whole host of others. And the people doing the coaching are usually grad students whoâve been through the process. Theyâre typically trained in working with students with adhd, because that tends to be a significant portion of their students. Theyâre also just really nice to talk to. Almost like a therapist, but not quite.
Really forgetful? The best thing you can do is change your environment, not try to change yourself. You probably wonât be able to stop your brain from forgetting your notebook at home, but you can get a five subject and keep it in your backpack at all times. Same with folders. Keep losing pens/pencils? Just get a fuckton and shove them in a pouch in your backpack in the beginning of the semester. Iâm not kidding when I say I have at least 20 pens and pencils in mine, not including the glitter pens and highlighters.Â
Planners: Many people have said that it will take time to find just the right planner for you, and theyâre correct. The planner I use right now is 8x11 with wide boxes. Some prefer smaller planners, others will use planner apps or just the calendar in their phone. Youâll have to mess around a bit to see what works for you, but you do have options!
Printables: Oh man I love printables so much, but a lot of the time I find that theyâre more trouble maintaining than my adhd can handle. You can find a ton on tumblr, free to download and print, and some very beautiful packs for sale on etsy. Right now I use a monthly budget printable and one for studying terms/definitions. Sometimes the adhd mind needs something pretty and different to cling to, so I try to switch things up every so often.
Color-coding: This absolutely will not work for everyone (Iâve seen people say color-coding notes gets the hung up on the coding and not the notes, and I can definitely see that happening). For me, I use color-coding in my planner. Each class gets its own color. This keeps me from seeing a page covered in the same color of ink or pencil and mentally blocking it out. Gelly roll has the most amazing glitter pens!
Test prep: Will vary depending on the person and how they learn best, but for me Iâve found that no one method will work on its own. I have class notes, typed notes, hand-written flashcards, flashcards on quizlet. I wonât pretend that itâs easy; itâs fuck-all time consuming and sometimes I donât have energy for it, but depending on the class I usually need a combination of at least two different methods to work. This is definitely something success coaching can work with you to figure out!
General Life Advice (that will impact college):
Get on a sleep schedule: I donât even care what your particular schedule is (because itâll vary person to person) but just get on one. Much easier said than done, because our brains never want to shut up at night, but lack of a consistent sleep schedule will mess with your concentration, focus, hypersensitivity, etc.Â
Iâll just do this laterâŠ: is the adhd monster talking. What even is later? Does it exist? Sometimes I have to tell myself ânope, weâre doing this right now!â Doesnât always work, but I try my hardest to do things in the moment if executive dysfunction isnât at my door.
Develop a support system: This can be difficult because sometimes making and maintaining friendships with adhd can be hard, and sometimes family members arenât very receptive or supportive. But a strong support system can make all the difference in the world! If your current friends donât understand the extent of what youâre dealing with, send some resources their way and you might be surprised how fast they get in your corner. But sometimes people without adhd just donât get it. If your college has a meet-up for students with adhd like mine does, this is a great place to meet like-minded students who understand what youâre going through and can provide support and advice!Â
Iâm going to stop this here because itâs already too long, but I hope this is helpful to someone and Iâd love it if you could add your own tips as well!Â
