I sat in the Boston University library, on the fourth floor, and I counted out the M&Ms—10 of them—placing them on a piece of paper in the corner of the desk. I stood up and stretched before returning to the pictures of parasites in eyeballs. I looked at my watch, anticipating my sweet treat in about 30 minutes, and then I dug into my work. I had friends in medical school who could study for hours without moving, and I used to wonder what was wrong with me. Eventually I realized I just had to be kind to myself and do what worked. I studied in different places, changed subjects frequently, and sometimes worked backwards from the end of a chapter to the beginning. Years later, I would know about my ADHD diagnosis, but at the time I just knew I had to study differently than my peers.
What do all these things have in common—why did they help with my ADHD brain? One word: novelty. ADHD nervous system circuits need high intensity to get going and stay moving. They get bored quickly. Study strategies that weave novelty into the workflow are powerful. This can seem counterintuitive when ADHD coaching often centers on structure, routine, and predictability—but without including novelty, these ideas often work for a while and then fade out.
How can you use this principle to support your child or teen with ADHD in their approach to homework and studying this school year?
Work in small, flexible chunks of time
Workable and successful time frames will vary by age, task, and personal factors. Whether it’s five minutes for a third grader or 30 minutes for a high school junior, planning small, achievable periods helps overcome the paralysis of facing a task that seems massive. And keep in mind that the 8-year-old may spend an hour on something that fascinates her, and the high school junior may be so tired on a particular day that the five-minute chunk may be all he can muster. The details will vary but the strategy builds the foundation.
Even if your child can hyperfocus for hours, breaks are essential to prevent cognitive fatigue and help them manage the “Mt. Everest” feeling of upcoming work. Brains and bodies get tired and stiff. Learning becomes far less productive if you go past a certain point of cognitive fatigue.
Strategic rewards
A tasty snack, a walk outside, or a short game can be good break-time activities. Avoid screens when possible, as they are hard to disengage from, but prioritize movement and activities your child finds inherently interesting. Some families and kids love a good dance party break. Don’t suggest a run on the treadmill or practicing the piano unless those are really fun things for your child. This isn’t about more productivity—it’s about planful rest and fun to reset the nervous system.
Make room for flexible study spaces
While a dedicated study area is a common recommendation, it may be that a child or teen with ADHD needs to move around the house and study in different places to maintain novelty. Let them. See if they want to create a movable “study kit” with required supplies that they can pick up and move with them. This might include pens/pencils/extra paper/an extra charging cord/fidgets or whatever they need.
Adapt to the flow of quiet vs. a soundtrack for studying
Some children and teens need total quiet to study and do homework while others need background noise or sounds. Parents’ “excuse” alarm often goes off when kids say they need sound to study, but it’s a common ADHD brain quirk and worth giving a try. Noise-canceling headphones can be a great investment so your child can tune out when they need quiet or tune into their background sounds when they need them. Best choices for background content are things that are familiar—not novel—such as favorite music, previously read and loved audiobooks, or shows/videos they have watched 100 times. Keep the cellphone out of sight, though, as even turned off, they can be very distracting.
Consider the need for and value of body-doubling
Many children and teens (and adults) with ADHD struggle to work independently—having someone else around helps with focus. Your child may want to be around you or others while studying, even if they don’t need help with the work itself (although they may need that too). Try to be patient with your child who plops themselves in the middle of the busy kitchen to get work done or who keeps coming out of their room or who calls out to you with seemingly unnecessary questions just to get you to come in. Just being in the same room or sitting next to them while you read or do something else may be a big help.
Shake the brain up and work backward or from the middle
Work backward or from the middle. Tackling math problems, vocabulary lists, or a short-answer question sheet from the end to the beginning or jumping into the middle can shake up the brain, providing needed novelty. Even with text reading, jumping ahead to the end can sometimes be an interesting tactic—getting to the “why” without wading through all the “what.”
Follow curiosity
Stopping to look up an interesting word or person may seem like a distraction, but it often adds depth to monotonous tasks and provides a necessary novelty break.
Embrace flexibility: Work with the brain and not against it
Understand that your child’s needs may change depending on the day or the subject. Trust their feedback on what environment helps them focus.
Sleep is more important than homework
While not specific to novelty, I never miss an opportunity to say this. Sleep is the ultimate break. If work isn’t finished by bedtime, put it away. Your child needs rest far more than they need to finish every assignment. Tomorrow is a new day.
