How To Study With ADHD (Best Study Tip I Used For My ADHD Brain!)

Summary

The speaker, who has ADHD and dyslexia, shares their journey through college and medical school, highlighting the challenges they faced with comprehension and note-taking. Initially struggling, particularly in chemistry, they recount a discouraging experience with an unsupportive professor. However, with determination and the discovery of mind mapping—a visual learning technique—they turned their academic performance around. They emphasize the importance of finding a teaching style that meshes with their learning needs and the transformative impact of mind mapping on their ability to study and excel in exams.

Takeaways

• 🎓 Growing up with ADHD and dyslexia made studying and comprehension challenging, especially when teachers used jargon or complicated notes.
• 😓 The user struggled in their first chemistry class, failing exams due to an unhelpful teacher and feeling discouraged about pursuing medical school.
• 💪 Despite initial failure, they were determined to retake the class and ultimately succeeded by finding a more compatible teacher.
• 👩‍🏫 The user recommends interviewing teachers before choosing a class to ensure a good fit for learning style and preferences.
• 📚 They spent extensive time in the library researching study methods, particularly for ADHD and dyslexia.
• 🧠 The game-changing discovery for the user was mind mapping, a study technique that helped them visualize concepts and organize information.
• 🖼️ Mind mapping involves starting with a central idea and branching out into subtopics using visuals and keywords, mimicking how neurons in the brain work.
• ✍️ The user applied mind mapping during lectures, organizing notes visually, and eventually creating a 'master mind map' to summarize everything before exams.
• ✅ This method helped the user excel in exams and became their go-to strategy for succeeding in both college and medical school.
• 📺 The user shares their success story in the video and encourages others to explore various ADHD study tactics, including mind mapping for visual learners.

Q & A

What challenges did the speaker face while studying with ADHD and dyslexia?

The speaker struggled with comprehending information, keeping up with notes, and following lectures. ADHD made it difficult to focus, while dyslexia hindered their ability to process written material quickly.

How did the speaker perform in their first chemistry class, and what impact did it have?

The speaker failed their first chemistry class and struggled to keep up, especially due to the unhelpful teacher. This experience was devastating, and the professor discouraged them from pursuing medical school.

What key advice does the speaker offer regarding selecting teachers in college?

The speaker advises students to interview teachers before enrolling in their class to ensure their teaching style is compatible with the student’s learning needs. Finding a well-organized and supportive teacher can significantly improve learning outcomes.

What study technique did the speaker discover that transformed their learning experience?

The speaker discovered mind mapping, a technique that uses visual diagrams to organize information. This method helped them process and retain information more effectively.

How does mind mapping work according to the speaker?

Mind mapping involves creating a central visual idea, then branching out to subtopics using keywords and visuals. This mirrors the way neurons connect in the brain, making it easier to remember and recall information.

Why was the new chemistry teacher more effective for the speaker?

The new teacher was more organized, writing everything down, which made it easier for the speaker to follow along and create mind maps based on the lecture notes.

How did the speaker use mind maps to prepare for exams?

The speaker created individual mind maps for each class and then a master mind map for exams. The master mind map contained a visual summary of all the key points, helping the speaker visualize and recall the information during the exam.

What was the outcome of using mind mapping for the speaker?

The speaker’s performance drastically improved after adopting mind mapping. They aced their chemistry exams and used the technique throughout college and medical school to successfully complete their studies.

What is the speaker’s message to other students with ADHD and dyslexia?

The speaker encourages students with ADHD and dyslexia to find study techniques that work for them, such as mind mapping. They also suggest seeking out supportive teachers and not giving up on their academic goals.

What additional resources does the speaker recommend for ADHD learners?

The speaker recommends checking out their playlist of ADHD study tactics, where they discuss various methods for different types of learners to improve their study habits.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Overcoming ADHD and Dyslexia in Education

The speaker discusses the challenges of having ADHD and dyslexia, particularly in the context of studying and comprehending information in an academic setting. They share their personal struggles, including failing a chemistry class in college due to the inability to keep up with the teacher's pace and the lack of effective study methods. The speaker emphasizes the importance of finding a teaching style that works for them and the discovery of mind mapping as a life-changing study technique. They describe how mind mapping, with its visual and interconnected structure, helped them to organize and retain information more effectively, leading to success in their academic journey, including medical school.

05:01

📚 Mastering Mind Mapping for Academic Success

In this paragraph, the speaker elaborates on the technique of mind mapping, which was instrumental in their academic success. They explain the process of creating mind maps during lectures, starting with a central idea and branching out to subtopics and key points, using visuals and keywords. The speaker also mentions the creation of a 'master mind map' that consolidates information from various lectures into a single, comprehensive visual aid. This method allowed them to visualize and recall information effectively during exams, resulting in excellent performance. The speaker concludes by encouraging viewers to explore other study tactics for ADHD if they are not visual learners and directs them to a playlist with additional strategies.

Keywords

💡ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by symptoms such as inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. In the video, the speaker discusses how having ADHD made studying and comprehending information challenging, particularly in an academic setting where they had to quickly process and retain complex information. The script mentions how the speaker had to find specific study tactics to overcome these challenges.

💡Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a learning disorder that affects a person's ability to read, write, and spell. The video script describes how the speaker's dyslexia compounded the difficulties they faced in studying, especially when it came to following along with lectures and writing notes. The speaker's experience with dyslexia is integral to the narrative as it shaped their approach to learning and the strategies they developed.

💡Studying Tactics

Studying tactics refer to the methods and strategies used to learn and retain information effectively. The video emphasizes the importance of finding the right tactics for individuals with ADHD and dyslexia, as traditional study methods may not be effective. The speaker shares their personal journey of discovering a study tactic that worked for them, which is central to the video's message.

💡Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is a visual learning technique that involves organizing information in a diagrammatic, radial, or hierarchical way. The script describes how mind mapping was a 'godsend' for the speaker, as it allowed them to visually connect concepts and ideas, which is particularly helpful for visual learners. The speaker uses mind mapping to create a central idea and branch out to subtopics and key points, which is a core strategy they employed throughout their academic journey.

💡Visual Learner

A visual learner is someone who processes and retains information more effectively when it is presented in a visual format. The video script highlights that mind mapping was particularly beneficial for the speaker, who identifies as a visual learner. This concept is crucial as it informs the speaker's choice of study tactic and underscores the importance of tailoring learning strategies to one's learning style.

💡Central Idea

In the context of mind mapping, the central idea is the main topic or concept around which the rest of the information is organized. The speaker in the video uses the central idea as the starting point for their mind maps, drawing it in the center of the paper and then branching out to related subtopics and key points. This approach helps to create a comprehensive and interconnected visual representation of the lecture material.

💡Subtopics

Subtopics are the secondary themes or points that stem from the central idea in a mind map. The video script mentions that as the professor discussed various subtopics during lectures, the speaker would branch out from the central idea to include these, using keywords and visuals. This process of breaking down the central idea into subtopics is essential for creating a detailed and organized mind map.

💡Keywords

Keywords are significant words or phrases that capture the essence of a subtopic or point. In the video, the speaker uses keywords to represent the main points of each subtopic in their mind maps. By focusing on keywords, the speaker is able to condense information and make it more manageable to remember, which is a critical aspect of their study tactic.

💡Master Mind Map

A master mind map is a comprehensive visual representation that integrates multiple individual mind maps into one overview. The speaker in the video describes creating a master mind map by combining the visual elements from daily mind maps into a single, cohesive image. This master map serves as a study aid, allowing the speaker to visualize and recall information from the entire course when preparing for exams.

💡Academic Challenges

Academic challenges refer to the difficulties one faces in an educational setting, such as comprehending lectures, taking notes, and performing well on exams. The video script details the speaker's academic challenges due to ADHD and dyslexia, which led them to seek out and develop effective study tactics. The narrative of overcoming these challenges is a central theme of the video, highlighting the resilience and determination required to succeed academically.

Highlights

Individual with ADHD and dyslexia shares a study tactic that helped them succeed in college and medical school.

Growing up with ADHD and dyslexia presented significant challenges in studying and comprehending information.

The struggle to follow along and take notes in class due to ADHD.

The narrator's failure in their first chemistry class and the discouragement from a professor.

The importance of finding a supportive and compatible teacher through interviews.

The discovery of mind mapping as a life-changing study technique for visual learners.

Explanation of how mind mapping works with a central idea and branching subtopics.

The effectiveness of mind mapping due to its similarity to how neurons connect in the brain.

Using mind maps in lectures to capture and organize information.

Creation of a master mind map for consolidating notes and studying for exams.

The success in acing exams and classes by using mind mapping.

Application of mind mapping throughout college and medical school.

Encouragement for viewers to explore other ADHD study tactics if they are not visual learners.

A playlist recommendation for various ADHD study tactics and learning strategies.

Transcripts

[Music]

this one study tactic for my adhd and

dyslexia is what helped me get through

college and medical school growing up

with adhd and dyslexia was a challenge

especially accommodation of both having

dyslexia and adhd made studying very

difficult and even just comprehending

any information especially when the

teacher goes up there and spouts all

this jargon and writes a bunch of stuff

it was hard for me to follow along and

to be able to keep up to writing notes

you know how it is with having hd we

hear something going through

but then we're like wait what did he say

and then you're like asking your you

know your student not your student but

uh your colleague next

what what did he say and you don't want

to disturb them i dealt with this all

the time and it became a huge challenge

in fact my first chemistry class that i

had very first year in college i did

running start but very first year in

running start doing college in my

chemistry class i

bombed absolutely bombed that class

every exam i would fail and i try to

work with my teacher he was terrible

absolutely terrible he was not willing

to work with me and i just couldn't keep

up and i actually failed that class and

that was devastating i thought i wasn't

smart and

that professor actually told me to

forget about even going into medical

school forget even going into any of the

sciences because i sucked at that and

told me forget about it made me cry i

was like oh my gosh maybe i need to

rethink things but luckily because i had

stubborn assistance a lot of people you

know really encouraged me to push

forward because this was my dream this

is something that i knew i had to do for

myself so what i did is i decided to

okay i'm gonna retake this class but

with a different teacher and what i did

is i

interviewed teachers that's what i would

do is i would interview teachers and

this is really important when you're

going into college i would interview

teachers before you even decide to take

their class see if you mesh with them

see if you like how they teach

ask all these different types of

questions and so i did find a teacher

that i thought would work better and

before that what i did is i went to the

library and i would spend you know so

much time in the library trying to find

ways to study i would have books and

books and tapes you know covering my

face

and the librarians knew me really really

well because i would always come in with

trying to find new information about how

to study especially with the adhd brain

and having dyslexia knowing what is the

best tactics for me to be able to learn

this and i came across something that

changed my life absolutely changed my

life for when it came to studying and

actually taking exams and tests and what

i discovered was mind mapping if you

have not heard about mind mapping and

you are a visual learner oh my gosh this

was a godsend for me because what mind

mapping is just to kind of give you a

picture of what mind map is basically

how it works is there's a central idea

so when your professor is they always

have a topic that's the thing you gotta

understand how your professor or teacher

structures the way they teach but

typically they will have a topic and how

mind map works is you will you have a

draw a piece of paper you draw in the

very center and you make it very visual

with characters and stuff like that make

it as funny as possible and you draw the

center idea and then they'll talk about

subtopics as they're talking about in

that lecture that day and then you use

keywords and you use visuals and you

branch off to it so how mind map works

there's a center idea then you branch

off to it and then also have those

subtopics and then key point elements

and so eventually it looks like neurons

connecting together this is why this

mind mapping works so well is because

there's different types of subtopics

that are connected to the main central

idea just like how neurons work for

actually having memory that's how

neurons and work within our brain so by

doing this it made a huge difference so

how i would use this in lecture is as my

professor so i found a chemistry teacher

that was he was really organized and

that was really important for me he

would actually write everything down

that he would say which made a huge

difference for me to catch up with that

and everything that he would write i

would create these mind maps he would

have he would write down the topic i'm

like alright great and then i would draw

like a funny character or whatever

related to that topic and then i would

draw it then i'd branch out because

you'd have subtopics and he would even

bullet point things it made it so easy

to follow for me and then i would have

several pieces of paper so we would have

like an exam i think we had three exams

within the quarter and i would have

several of these papers and then i would

make a master mind map so how master

mind mac works is essentially you have a

visual for each one of those notes that

you create each one of those mind maps

so you have an actual specific target

picture do you see how this is layering

so you have the ones that you have for

each day of the class then you have the

master one which will have just one

picture for each one of those notes so

when you are studying for the final exam

you have this visual in your mind so

when i would come prepped for the exam i

could visualize it all because i could

see all those pictures and those notes

and just all connected so when i had

questions come i would be visualizing

those particular types of mind maps that

i created and i absolutely aced it i

aced my whole class every exam and did

really really well because i found this

one tactic

made all the difference for me and guess

what this is exactly what i used

throughout college throughout all my

other classes as well as through medical

school and this is what made me be able

to get through college and medical

school by using this one tactic that

made all the difference by using mind

maps if you enjoyed this video and

you're maybe okay i'm not a visual

learner but i need some other adhd

tactics to learn well check out this

playlist right here where i talk about

all different types of hd tactics and

other types of learners to implement