How to create an ADHD friendly home

Summary

In this insightful video, Matt, a therapist and owner of a group practice, discusses strategies for creating an ADHD-friendly home environment. He emphasizes the importance of tailoring the home to individual needs, rather than adhering to conventional standards. Matt provides practical tips to combat procrastination, such as making tasks more accessible and designating specific spaces for specific activities. He also addresses forgetfulness through the use of reminders and keeping essential items in plain sight. Lastly, he suggests creating a dedicated space for relaxation to help manage feelings of overwhelm, offering a comprehensive approach to enhancing functionality and well-being in daily life.

Takeaways

• 🏠 Creating an ADHD-friendly home environment requires personalization and trial and error to tailor it to individual strengths and weaknesses.
• 🔍 The world is often designed for neurotypical individuals, and a home environment for neurodivergent people should not strictly adhere to conventional standards.
• 🛠️ Reducing procrastination can be achieved by making tasks easier to start and distractions harder to access, such as placing workout clothes near the door or keeping phones out of reach.
• 📍 Designating specific spaces for specific tasks can help to focus and reduce the likelihood of procrastination, like using a desk primarily for work.
• 🛌 Associating the bed with sleep only can improve sleep quality, which is why it should not be used for work or other activities.
• 📝 To combat forgetfulness, using visual reminders such as Post-it notes in unexpected places can serve as helpful memory aids.
• 👜 Keeping frequently forgotten items out in the open, rather than stored away, can reduce the chances of forgetting them, like having keys on a hook by the door.
• 🧘‍♂️ Designating a space in the home for relaxation and decompression is important for managing feelings of being overwhelmed or overstimulated.
• 🎨 Personalizing this relaxation space with soothing colors, comfortable furniture, and pleasant scents can enhance its calming effect.
• 🚫 It's essential to separate spaces for relaxation from spaces for work or other tasks to avoid confusion and maintain the purpose of each area.
• 🔄 The speaker encourages creativity and experimentation in designing a home environment, acknowledging that what works may change over time and requires adaptation.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is creating an ADHD-friendly home environment.

Who is Matt and what does he do?

Matt is a therapist in private practice who owns a group practice. He also has a channel for his group private practice and coaching community known as Progress Therapy and Progress Coaching.

What are some of the issues that Matt's channel and community help with?

Matt's channel and community help with issues like ADHD, executive function struggles, and other related challenges.

What does Matt suggest about the conventional home environment setup?

Matt suggests that the conventional home environment setup may not fit everyone, especially neurodivergent individuals, and that it's important to create a home environment tailored to one's strengths and weaknesses.

Why does Matt emphasize the importance of not adhering to conventional standards for a home environment?

Matt emphasizes this because most of the world, including educational and work systems, is designed for neurotypical people, and neurodivergent individuals often need a different setup to function well.

What is one of the major issues that Matt discusses in relation to creating an ADHD-friendly home environment?

One of the major issues discussed is procrastination, and how to build a home environment that helps reduce it.

How can creating a space that makes easy tasks hard and hard tasks easy help with procrastination?

By reducing the friction around tasks we tend to procrastinate on, such as placing workout clothes by the door or leaving cooking ingredients out, we make it easier to start those tasks. Conversely, making easy tasks like checking social media more difficult, like placing the phone out of immediate reach, can help us focus on more important tasks.

What is the significance of designating specific spaces for specific tasks in an ADHD-friendly home environment?

Designating specific spaces for specific tasks helps create a mental association with those tasks and the space, making it more likely that we will engage in the intended activity when we are in that space.

How can using Post-it notes help with forgetfulness in an ADHD-friendly home environment?

Using Post-it notes in strategic places, such as on the toilet bowl for medication reminders or on the steering wheel for keys and wallet reminders, can serve as visual cues to help us remember important items or tasks.

What is the purpose of having an area in the home specifically for decompression and relaxation?

Having a designated area for decompression and relaxation provides a safe and comforting space where individuals can feel at ease, especially when feeling overwhelmed or overstimulated.

How does Matt suggest dealing with forgetfulness by leaving important items out in the open?

Matt suggests that leaving important items out in the open, such as keys on a hook by the front door or shoes by the door for a planned run, can help reduce forgetfulness by making those items more visible and accessible.