A mother sighs in exhaustion when she walks past the overflowing trash bin, again. For the life of her, she cannot fathom why her son seems content to tolerate such a level of filth, despite the three times she has reminded him to take out the trash today. She starts to think about the state of his bedroom, which she has been avoiding entering for days now, and she starts to feel angry and exhausted. She is not the only one, like many hard working and high achieving parents, she does not understand why her son does take after her or his father’s traits for hard work and being detail-oriented.

Why don’t reminders work?

Your ADHD child is neither lazy or oppositional. They are simply overwhelmed. For children and teens who struggle with ADHD, their ability to get motivated and follow through with a task is dysregulated. This means that dopamine, the neurotransmitter in the brain, responsible for influencing feelings of reward and satisfaction in response to doing something, is not being released consistently. It is hot and cold. Simple tasks like taking out the trash, making the bed, or brushing one’s teeth can........

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