How to Get Your ADHD Child Ready for College

One thing your teen can’t bring to college is a parent. So if she’s planning to go away to school, you’ve got to come up with a plan for her to become self-sufficient before she leaves home.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Make a list of chores and skills that must be in place before he begins college. These should include: keeping up with assignments, managing medications, doing laundry and organizing personal items.
2. Emphasize to your child that she must accomplish the items on this list before she can be on her own.
3. Establish consequences for setbacks, whether it’s a physical activity such as running, raking leaves or doing housework (ideal for many ADHD teens) or perhaps an agreed-upon number of hours of community service.

Schoolwork

4. Require him to keep an assignment book during his senior year in high school.
5. At first, check the book with him to make sure it’s being filled out daily.
6. Before March of her senior year of high school, work up to the goal of her taking complete responsibility for completing and turning in schoolwork.

Personal items and medications

7. Designate one specific, handy place for all personal items such as medications, wallet and keys in a site that is visible to you and your child such as the kitchen or dining room table.
8. Purchase a seven-slot dispenser to organize the week’s medications. Have your teen re-fill it every weekend.
9. Give her a watch with an alarm to remind her when it’s time to take her meds. Practice setting the alarm.
10. Teach him how to do laundry, from sorting it to putting it away.

Tips & Warnings

• Resist the urge to remind your teen of his chores and responsibilities.
• If your teen is feeling too much pressure, back off and start the program again in a few weeks.