Why do Adults with ADD and ADHD Improve Performance?

This ties into my last piece about adults outgrowing ADD and ADHD, and just like the last piece, there’s some real misinformation is out there. Well, let me backtrack, adults with ADD/ADHD can and and often times do improve performance once the issue is understood and a foundation of supports is put into place. Does this mean I am suggesting that everyone with ADD/ADHD needs to run out and hire a team of professionals? Not at all, but the path to improving performance involves three key steps…

1. Identifying the issue(s)
2. Finding ways to compensate for concern(s)
3. Implementing impactful strategies and interventions

Ah, sounds simple enough, but the hardest part is number one. Many adults with ADD/ADHD don’t even know there’s an issue. It may take a life-changing event for him or her to see the problem. Or, if an adult has ADD/ADHD, they may hold to the misguided principal that they’ve outgrown it. Either way, putting one’s finger on the issue is the first and most difficult step.

So let’s continue this process by looking at the second step. Compensation strategies develop over time. This is where the misnomer about outgrowing ADD/ADHD usually starts. An adult may start carrying a smart phone and missing less appointments. Does that mean the issue or concern has disappeared? Not at all. But it does tell us that with effective compensation strategies, the impact of ADD/ADHD can be minimized.

What does the third step mean exactly? How does one implement? Here’s the tricky part. There is more than one way to skin a cat (sorry cat lovers). And there are a million intervention strategies and interventions. There isn’t one way or another I would recommend approaching your concerns. If something works, go with it. Do not try to do what others do to be successful. Make these things your own and it becomes your system. If you hire me as a coach, what works for me may not work for you. What works for you may not work for me; but it doesn’t mean either of us are wrong. It means we are who we are…pure and simple.

For more information on my ADD, ADHD and Executive Functioning coaching, please visit www.adhdefcoach.com. In addition to working with clients in-person, I also work with clients all over the United States and World online, please visit www.onlineadhdcoach.com for more information. To learn more about my other services, please visit www.carrolleducationalgroup.com & www.iepexperts.com. I can be found on Twitter at ADHDGuru. You can also find me on Facebook, Google Plus and Tumblr. Feel free to email me at [email protected] or call 877.398.ADHD (2343) with any additional questions.