Navigating Transitions with ADHD

Transitions, whether big or small, can be particularly challenging for both children and adults with ADHD. From starting a new school year to dealing with last-minute changes in your day, these shifts can disrupt your focus, organization, plan and overall sense of stability. With the right strategies, you can navigate these changes with a bit more ease. Let’s explore how to manage both major life transitions and everyday disruptions.

Understanding Why Transitions Are Hard for ADHDers

ADHDers generally struggle with executive functioning skills. These are our skills for planning, organizing, managing time and attention and prioritizing. These are the exact skills needed to smoothly handle transitions.

Image of 6 children walking towards a yellow school bus. 

Managing Big Transitions

Example: Starting a New School Year

Starting a new school year is an example of a big transition. This transition can be hard for both children with ADHD and/or parents with ADHD. It also could impact adults attending college or any adults who work in roles that are connected with or adjacent to educational systems. The new school year often involves a new environment, different expectations, new schedule, new people, and possibly even new food.

One of the difficulties in setting up support strategies for ADHDers is that the strategies always need to be personalized for the context. For example, imagine an elementary student who has been allowed to put a textured sticker on their assigned desk that they rub/pick at as a fidget to help them pay attention. They have identified a particular strategy to help them sustain attention, however, if they go into a new classroom and are assigned a new desk, if there is no textured sticker on their desk, they no longer have access to that coping strategy. If we don’t account for all of the strategies that may need adjusted, then difficulties in the new environment are likely. Here are some tips for managing big transitions:

• Plan Ahead and Break It Down:

  • What to Do: Break down the transition into smaller tasks. For example, before the school year begins, create a checklist of small tasks like gathering supplies, organizing a study space, reviewing the new schedule, updating any 504/IEP or accommodation plans.

  • Why It Helps: By preparing in advance and tackling each step one at a time, you reduce the overwhelm and set yourself up for a smoother transition.

• Review and Adjust Your Strategies:

  • What to Do: Reflect on the strategies that worked for you in the past and consider whether they need to be adjusted for the new environment. For example, if you used a particular organizational system last year, consider if it will still be effective, or if you need to modify it to better suit the new demands.

  • Why It Helps: Regularly reviewing and adjusting your strategies ensures that you’re using the most effective tools to manage your ADHD in the context of new challenges. Being proactive can allow you to adjust the strategies in advance as opposed to having to experience hardship then trying to problem solve and resolve it.

Hand holding Ipad which displays a calendar with a time block in red with text Cancelled

Navigating Small Transitions

Example: Last-Minute Meeting Cancellations

Small transitions, like a last-minute meeting cancellation, can feel like they completely throw off your day. The sudden change can leave you feeling unsure of what to do next, making it difficult to stay productive. (Which then often leads to beating yourself up about “wasting” the time you had. Unexpected transitions like a cancellation for a meeting you were going to attend can be a bit more difficult to plan for since we don’t know in advance when it’s happening, but there are still strategies that can help in these situations:

• Keep a Short List of Backup Tasks:

  • What to Do: Maintain a list of a few tasks that you can turn to when unexpected free time arises. These should be things that you can easily pick up and stop when needed, but are not urgent or time-sensitive. Some examples might be cleaning up your email, organizing digital files, professional reading, organizing a pile of papers that’s accumulated, etc. You’ll need to personalize this to your own work/home environment.

  • Why It Helps: Having a go-to list of tasks to choose from allows you to quickly pivot when plans change.

4 leaves laying on dark background. Left leaf is green, 2nd to left leaf is yellow, 3rd leaf is orange and leaf on right is brown

General Strategies for Managing Transitions

• Maintain as Much of Your Routine As Possible

  • What to Do: Maintain as much of your daily routine as you can. Listen, I understand that ADHDers have a complicated relationship with the word routine. We hate it and crave novelty, yet also tend to do best when we maintain some sense of routine. I tend to think of routine in a very loose sense. I probably rarely do the exact same activities at the exact same time every day. I might not eat every night at exactly 7:00pm, but I do eat something every evening, generally between 5:00-7:30 pm. I also do not have a specific order that I complete my morning get ready tasks in, but I do all of the tasks every day, even if it’s in different orders or slightly different times. When transitions are happening, if you can maintain any pieces of your (quasi) routine it can help minimize the overwhelm of the new changes.

  • Why It Helps: A consistent routine provides a sense of stability and predictability, which can be calming and help you feel more in control.

• Reduce Demands:

  • What to Do: Be kind to yourself/loved ones during transitions. Understand that it’s normal to experience some difficulties, and give yourself grace when things don’t go perfectly. Also give yourself permission to reduce demands that are not essential. An example could be if you are starting a new job, allowing yourself to use paper plates for dinner for 2 days.

  • Why It Helps: Transitions will require you to use more executive functioning skills than normal during the day, so you will have less energy available for mental or physical demands.

• Seek Support

  • What to Do: Reach out to friends, family, or professionals when you’re facing a challenging transition. Discussing your concerns and getting advice can make the process feel less overwhelming.

  • Why It Helps: Support from others can provide both emotional reassurance and practical tips, making transitions easier to manage. When we are stressed, we may forget to use our best coping skills, or might miss some strategies we could be using to ease things a bit, but supporters can help share some of the mental load.

Transitions are hard for ADHDers because of the extra executive functioning required. However, planning ahead, reducing demands, and getting support can help you navigate these changes with greater ease.