ADHD and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Mareli Fischer - PsychologistAttention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder:

What is all the fuss and research about?

During my Psychology Honours year at UCT in 2008, I conducted research that focused on children with ADHD and OCD, and how these disorders impact on their lives every day.

At the time, I could not find many other studies that looked at this topic, and none which had application in South Africa. It is essential to try and answer some of the many questions that parents and teachers often struggle with when dealing with these two disorders.

Here are a few tips from Dave Pughe-Parry to help you get focused and improve your study habits.

1. Place your desk against a blank wall with no posters
2. One subject at a time – only have the books you need on your desk while studying a particular topic.
3. Work to your attention span for each subject. Might be only 5 - 10 minutes. Take a short break and do a chore or have a quick swim, run etc to refresh your brain.
4. Cover your bookcases so that you don’t get distracted by other outstanding work.
5. Turn headings into questions. eg. What makes the West Coast so good for fishing? Instead of trying to learn the names of all the fish off by heart
6. Use non-vocal music and white noise such as fish tanks and fans to damp down distractions.
7. Tap into your visual brain. Create visual contexts to help you grasp concepts.
8. Use Google Calendars and reminders to help plan for your exams.
9. Ask your teachers to give you your homework at the start of the lesson so you have time to write it down
10. Have study parties with your mates. Create your own Trivial Pursuits for different subjects.

These suggestions are just a tiny sample of what you will learn if you sign up for our ADHD Study Skills Coaching Course. This is a one-2-one coaching course.