Occupational therapy may help people with ADHD improve executive functioning and develop better time management, organizational, and social skills. It can also help familiarize them with assistive devices that may make tasks easier.
If you have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or you’re close to someone who does, you know there’s hardly an area of your life it doesn’t touch: career, school, family, finances, and physical and mental health… the list goes on.
Because ADHD causes such wide-ranging difficulties, treating it takes a highly individualized, multi-modal approach. You may consider including an occupational therapist (OT) on your treatment team.
“Occupational therapists are good team players,” says Cara Koscinski, MOT, OTR/L, a pediatric occupational therapist and the author of eight books on occupational therapy for children and young adults.
Occupational therapy can address physical, social, educational, and organizational deficits with a plan focused on your individual skills, needs, and activities. Read on to learn more about how an OT can help you manage ADHD symptoms and improve your quality of life.
Occupational therapy focuses on the skills that each person needs to be able to function independently in daily life.
An OT’s first step will be to talk with you to find out how ADHD impairs your (or your child’s) ability to succeed at home, work, or school, or in relationships or other areas.
Here are a few areas where evidence-based OT interventions have been instrumental in managing ADHD.
Time management
Research shows that OT is effective in improving time-processing and daily time-management abilities.
In a 2017 study, students ages 9 to 15 who worked with an OT for 12 weeks showed significant improvement in their:
- awareness of time
- ability to orient themselves in time
- ability to manage their time effectively during daily tasks
OT-tested tip
Keep an analog clock in each room to help you or your child track time visually.
Organizational skills
“Occupational therapists are specialists in activity analysis,” said Koscinski. “This means taking a look at each activity and breaking it down into steps and performance factors or skills the child needs to succeed.”
Once a project has been broken into steps, an OT can help organize materials, develop simple systems, and create visual cues to help people track, remember, and follow through on one step at a time.
An OT can work with a student to create an outline of the steps involved in a project, color-code different activities, make a model to demonstrate what’s expected, and show a student how to keep a clutter-free workspace.
OT helps adults with organizational skills, too. In one 2019 study, a 7-week program of occupational therapy targeting routines and time management resulted in lower stress and fewer symptoms for women with ADHD.
OT-tested tip
Keep supplies well stocked. Store them in labeled containers or drawers that are easy for your child to reach, and help your child return all supplies to the labeled space where they belong.
Executive function
Children with ADHD often have difficulty with a complex set of interrelated thinking skills known as executive functions. These childhood difficulties often
Several studies have shown that occupational therapy can be useful in building executive function.
Using a series of hands-on, engaging therapeutic activities called the Cog-Fun (Cognitive Functional) program, children working with parents and OTs experienced significant improvement in executive function after therapy. However, in
In another
OT-tested tip
Teach your child how to prioritize homework by helping them sort assignments first by the due date and then by how hard your child thinks the assignment will be. During homework sessions, help them tackle the most challenging assignments first when their focus and energy levels are highest.
Social skills
An astute OT can be helpful in getting to the “why” underlying inappropriate social behavior linked to ADHD. Koscinski explained that children with ADHD often “act out” because they’re frustrated. An OT working with a classroom teacher can ask:
- Is the student sitting close enough to the teacher to hear and understand instructions?
- Is the classroom environment over-stimulating the student?
- Is the individualized education plan meeting the student’s needs, and is it being followed?
- Is the student allowed to self-advocate in the classroom?
- Does the student need to take a break or move around physically?
“Giving kids breaks to move is so important,” she emphasizes. “Movement increases oxygen in the brain and gets the wiggles out.”
Children with ADHD can take short breaks to return books to the library or run other errands. Better still, the whole class can participate in quick brain breaks to restore energy levels.
There’s some scientific evidence that OT improves social skills among children with ADHD. A
OT-tested tip
Keep play dates to a smaller number of children — one or two — so your child is not overwhelmed. Try to choose children who have good social skills so your child has an example of these skills to model.
Assistive devices
Occupational therapists are especially good at training people with ADHD how to use devices that enable them to function more smoothly in daily life.
Koscinski pointed to several objects that make life easier for kids who need wiggle room and let them expend excess energy during a productive day:
- yoga balls
- scooter boards
- mini-trampolines
- swings
- air cushions
- other personally-matched devices
A 2024 study indicated that adults benefit from training on such assistive devices, too. Low-tech interventions such as checklists, timers, and sticky notes can often be helpful.
OT-tested tip
You can set a vibrating watch to vibrate at regular intervals to remind an adult or child to stay on task or return to a task if they’ve been distracted.
Here again, Koscinski had seven tips for those looking for an OT to help with ADHD:
- Find an accredited OT: Make sure any prospective OT graduated from a graduate program accredited by the American Occupational Therapy Association and is licensed in the state where you live.
- Observe your child with the OT: If you’re a parent, watch how your child and the OT interact. You want to be sure that there’s a good personality match.
- Find a therapist who understands sensory processing: If you or your child have difficulty with sensory processing, does the prospective therapist have special training in that area?
- Ask to see the therapist’s assessment and therapy goals: It’s important that you and your therapist communicate clearly from the start.
- If you’re a parent, observe sessions, especially the early ones: Does the therapist encourage your child? Does the therapist show high energy and interest in the therapeutic activities? How does your child seem to respond?
- Determine whether the OT listens to you: When discussing your own or your child’s progress, do you feel the therapist hears your concerns? Mutual respect is a key part of the process.
- Ask for homework: Your child will progress more smoothly if therapy isn’t an isolated experience. Practicing at home will help build skills.
There are also practical considerations. You may need to choose an OT in your insurance network or one close to home or school. You may be assigned an OT in your school district.
As you consider your options, talk with friends, relatives, and healthcare professionals you trust. Their recommendations could save you some trial-and-error.
Always trust your instincts, too. If you don’t feel a particular therapist is a good fit for yourself or your child, find another option. You don’t need a reason to choose a different therapist.
Occupational therapy focuses on building skills people need to function independently at home, work, and school. For people with ADHD, occupational therapy can be especially helpful in:
- developing better time management skills
- building better organizational habits
- improving executive functions
- practicing new social skills
- working with assistive devices to compensate for any deficits
A good OT will conduct a thorough assessment to see what skills and needs you have before creating a treatment plan to address your areas of concern.
It’s okay to take your time finding the right OT for yourself or your child. Working with a skilled, caring OT can mean the difference between struggle and success if you have ADHD.