How to Organize an ADHD Child

One of my sons once said, "ADHD is being able to lose something without moving." It's true. The mind of a child with ADHD goes in 1000 different directions. Their environment often matches, full of chaos and disorganization.

As the mother of three ADHD boys, parents often ask me how to organize an ADHD kid. Here are ten ideas...

1. Declutter. Get rid of all the extra JUNK in your child's rooms. Old books, toys, games, trophies, pictures...you know what is in there. Take it out. Store it, throw it away, or give it away. Don't store it in the closet or under the bed. You're trying to get as little in the room as possible. If you've tried to declutter with little success, read about a different approach to decluttering at www.goaskmom.com/declutter.html.

2. Get rid of CLOTHES. Your child probably has way too many. (If you don't believe me, count how many shirts are in your child's room.) No kid needs more than a dozen outfits. Keep two sets of 'junky' clothes, two sets of 'good' clothes, and eight sets of everyday clothes. If you're in doubt, pull out a dozen outfits, and put everything else in storage. See how long you can go, and how much simpler your life will be.

3. Label! Use a permanent marker to label all shoes, sports equipment, books, calculators, jackets, and everything else that might leave your house. Inside your house, organize the stuff in your child's room and bathroom into labeled bins. Label school folders and notebooks; try to use a different color for each subject. Don't forget that there are silver markers for those dark items.

4. Be prepared. Keep an amply supply of school supplies on hand. We have a closet that looks like Wal-Mart, with pens, folders, erasers, markers, glue sticks, poster board, rulers, and on and on and on. Read our list here: http://www.goaskmom.com/MomsToDo/Staples_ADHD.html. Don't forget ink cartridges and printer paper! I buy in bulk at the beginning of the school year, and save tons of money.

5. Use a planner. Your child NEEDS a planner. We tried the standard ones from Franklin Covey, but they were too cluttered and the spaces for each date were too small. So we made our own, which you can see at www.goaskmom.com/planner.

6. Use a planner. This means YOU! Get a daytimer, a PDF, or something, and keep your life organized. If you have ADHD tendencies as well, visit www.flylady.net, or grab one of the many books available on being ADHD and organized.

7. Think out of the box. Why are underwear stored in the bedroom? To me, it makes more sense that underwear be stored in the bathroom. If you have a place near your door for shoes, store socks there. Keep a small box of school supplies in your car. Go through the arrangements in your house, and see if there are things you can change that make things more convenient.

8. Get a 'night before' drawer. We have a big lateral file cabinet near our back door. give each child a drawer, and put everything for the next day in it - notes, clothes, backpacks, sports equipment, homework, lunch money. In the morning, grab and go.

9. Dump the equipment. No, don't get RID of it. Just put a container next to your entry for everything your child needs for those extra curricular activities - uniforms, sports equipment and balls, props, pom poms, and that pocket knife from Scouts. (Especially that pocket knife...) Have your child put the items in the container the moment they walk in the door. This will eliminate those last minute, "I can't find my jersey!!!!" moments of panic.

I have to take a small break here to tell you an ADHD story. We were halfway to a soccer game, and were just on time. All of a sudden, our soccer star yelled, "I can't find one of my shin guards!" He was frantic. He looked, his brother looked, I looked. No shin guard, I KNEW he had it when we left house. Finally, his brother began to laugh and point. Two shin guards were on the same leg...

10. Use electronics. As much as your school will allow, let your child use electronics. PDA's, electronic dictionaries, smart phones - they are all great. Truth be told, they were probably invented by people with ADHD.

Life is never totally organized. And life with ADHD is even less so. But these hints will help give your child that bit of order that every ADHD child craves.

HOMEWORK NIGHTMARES? Read Waking Up from the Homework Nightmare!