Now what was this post about? ADHD & Forgetfulness.

Dear Coach:
My memory sucks! I’m only 21 and feel like an old person. If I need to go into a room for something, by the time I get to that room I have forgotten what it was I went in there for. I’m constantly repeating myself in conversations because I forget what I’ve already told people. Leaving notes for myself just doesn’t cut it. Is there anything that can help people like me?

Signed,  Forgetful

Dear Forgetful,
Memory problems and ADHD often go hand-in-hand. So please know you aren’t alone in your forgetfulness. There are, of course, lots of different things that you can do to cope with this type of challenge: writing notes on sticky pads or leaving yourself a message on your cell phone are two options. They key is to experiment with different reminder methods to figure out which works for you and why. For some people jotting down downs of notes solves the problem. But for people who are not visuallearners, that is learning primarily using their sense of sight, it doesn’t work so well. A person with an auditory learning style may need to hear the reminder (thus the phone message suggestion). And the string tied around your finger was a memory tool custom made for kinesthetic learners.

A skilled coach can help you learn about yourself, help you understand your strengths, and work with you to develop coping skills to compensate for your weaknesses. Edge coaches will not just recommend coping mechanisms but help you understand why some will work for you and why others may not. They will help you tap into your unique talents and help you to sharpen your edge.

ADHD and Learning Styles

For more information about how to use your learning style to your advantage when getting organized, check out:
https://edgefoundation.org/blog/2009/12/21/getting-organized-learning-what-works/

If you’d like to discover more about your learning style, you can take a quick assessment here:
http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html

Another quick assesment can be found here: 
http://www.agelesslearner.com/assess/learningstyle.html

For an interesting list of learning tools targeted towards each learning style (warning, this could be a time waster; there’s so much to click on!):
http://www.collegeathome.com/blog/2008/06/10/100-helpful-web-tools-for-every-kind-of-learner/

Do you have a question to ask our ADHD Coach? Please leave it in the comments.