On Being a Mom with ADHD

Let me start by stating I am not a medical professional in any way shape or form. This is all about my personal experiences with ADHD.

Mental Health and Neurodivergence is a Family Affair

Mental health and neurodivergence are not something new to my family. I’ve shared our journey with Autism and Ethan, Rosalynn, and Benjamin. Each of my kids has their own unique brain and they come by it honestly.

I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was in college. I was a nanny for a family where the mom was an ARPN with a specialty in adult mental health. She noticed very quickly some of my behaviors and started working with me on different things I could do (accommodations) to make my life a little easier.

Now, as a mom with kids whose brains are a little different and knowing the little I have learned from their therapist, when I look back at my elementary school report cards and it seems so glaringly obvious what was going on. We all know though that hindsight is 20/20. Research on girls and neurodivergence is not mainstream and we now know that diagnoses of ADHD and Autism present much more differently between girls and boys. Within ADHD there are different subtypes that are classified as predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive/ impulsive, and predominantly combined. If you were to subtype my personal ADHD it would be inattentive type.

Mom Life with ADHD

How do I handle being a mom and having ADHD? Well, there have been times in the past that I have chosen to medicate, under the supervision of medical professionals. Most of that time was when I was working full-time jobs outside of the home. Because of the type of medication, I was using I could not take it while I was pregnant or breastfeeding and I was essentially pregnant or breastfeeding for the better part of eight years.

Accommodations

Remember me talking about accommodations? That is what I rely on now. Some of the things that I have found that help me stay on track are timers like this one, planners, my phone, my Apple Watch, and a regular predictable schedule. Also, there’s lots and lots of coffee…but that’s probably more just being a Mom then the ADHD.

Timers and Alarms

Timers are tools that I use in multiple different ways. If I have a non-preferred task (something I really don’t want to do), I will set my timer for a specific amount of time, usually 20 minutes, to work only on that one thing. Then I set another time for how long of a break I give myself. If I don’t do this second part I will never come back to that task. I also use timers/alarms to keep myself on task for the day. If I know we have to be somewhere by a specific time I will set an alarm on my phone for when we need to be getting ready to leave and when we need to actually be walking out the door.

Planners

Planners #plannernerd #plannermom are all hashtags I’m sure you’ve seen floating around social media. It is a real thing. I have to have everything written down. Then ADHD hits, and I see a new planner or a new type of layout and so I have to try it. The key to this working is actually writing down the things that you need to do! Otherwise, you just end up with a collection of planners and notebooks.

Things We Do At Home

Some of the other things that we do to help our whole family are to limit the amount of processed foods, processed sugars, artificial dyes, and lots of fragrances. I also try to make sure to have lots of fresh fruits and veggies around to snack on. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of not eating and then needing to eat and grabbing something quick and easy. We also keep a pretty consistent rhythm with all the kids. These rhythms aren’t strict minute by minute but just a flow of what comes first, second, and third.

These are just some of the things I do as a mom with ADHD. I would love to hear if there is anything you have found that helps you!